As a Tesla Model S owner it’s great to see come competion finally arriving. Unfortunately JLR, so far at least, have decided not to throw any money at a high speed charging network. That, in my view, relegates the car to those that can afford £75k+ for a car that isn’t needed for the longer distance trips most of us tend to make at least a few times a year.
In simple terms (so I can understand them!) the I Pace can charge at a rate of 100kW’s. However, there are no 100kW chargers in the UK, the Ecotricty motorway network is 50kW max. That means it’ll take 90 minutes to charge your I Pace from empty to 80%. I have also never seen an Ecotricity delivery more than 40kW and the reliability is shocking and there is only one of them at most locations. Trying selling that to the other half
The Tesla Supercharger network will start at 120kW and gradually ramps down as the battery fills. Think of filling a jug of water where you cannot spill a drop - you can start quickly but must slow down nearer to the top. Typically 10%-80% is 20/25 mins, just enough for a comfort break and to grab a coffee.
This is a huge differential between the brands, and it’s not that Tesla won’t share their network, they are happy to.
To spec one equivalent to my S is around £80k, but tbh I became bored with the options list and gave up. Size wise it’s much smaller than the X, more Evoque size I think.
I’m not an avid follower but believe JLR has spent tons of money on revamping their ICE engine, so the cynic in me wonders if this will be a niche vehicle and JLR can continue their profitable ICE and servicing network, whilst saying there’s little demand for EV’s.
Nonetheless, they should be applauded for being the first to get something to start competion with Tesla to market, everything else is coming in 2020 or still concept.