Can the Jaguar I-Pace do 298 miles on a single charge?

The new Jaguar I-Pace electric SV comes with an official WLTP range of 298 miles, but can the I-Pace actually do that in the real world?

Although advances in battery technology have not been huge in the last decade, there have been advances in density and improvements in thermal management to start to deliver electric cars with a range that is now at least reliably in triple figures for most current EVs.

Near the top of the promised range figures sits the new Jaguar I-Pace, Jaguar’s new electric SUV, with a quoted WLTP range of 298 miles. But can the I-Pace really do almost 300 miles on a single charge?

It’s a question the chaps at Top Gear decided to answer, and they did it by taking the I-Pace from London to Lands End (to, it seems, the consternation of the man from Jaguar who was keen to point out the I-Pace’s range was only achieved in lab tests).

Driving in a way you never would, Top Gear’s Paul Horrell set off on the 291 mile trip, treating the throttle ‘like a glass knife’ and avoiding braking at almost all cost, keeping under 47mph and eschewing the delights of all power-sapping comforts like Air Con.

Reaching Cornwall, Horrell decided to top-up the I-Pace’s electrickery by 10 per cent rather than risk running out of juice altogether, and finally made Lands End with 11 per cent battery left. So the I-Pace really did the 291 mile trip from London to Lands End on 99 per cent of its available power. 

It proves the I-Pace can do 300 miles on a charge, and it also proves no one in their right mind will ever achieve it. 

Horrell reckons you should work on a real world range of under 200 miles. Which is pretty much in line with our usual rule of thumb that you need to knock a third off official figures to get a real world average. It seems that still applies with WLTP testing.