2020 Jaguar E-Pace vs Volvo XC40

What's the difference?

The Jaguar E-Pace Chequered Flag P250 is a compact, polished premium SUV package. Good value, super safe and spacious, it combines brilliant practicality with comfort and healthy performance. It’s a little thirsty, there are some relatively minor dynamic niggles, and Jaguar’s ownership package needs to lift its game. But for those who don’t have a lot of room to spare, yet don’t want to skimp on the luxury experience, it’s a compelling option in a highly competitive category.  

The XC40 distils Volvo’s current virtues – charismatic design, easy functionality, and top-shelf safety – into an SUV package with brisk performance, an impressive standard equipment list, and enough space and flexibility for small families. Based on this test fuel efficiency could be better, and the warranty needs a boost, but if you’re looking for a cool, compact SUV that stands apart from the mainstream your ride awaits.

Ian Callum. Jaguar’s design director for 20 years, from 1999 to 2019, evolved the brand’s look and feel from traditional and conservative, to cool and contemporary, without throwing the heritage baby out with the new design bath water.

The E-Pace will be one of the last Jaguars to emerge under his full-time direction (Callum remains a consultant to Jaguar) and at the time of its global launch in 2018 he was keen to highlight the car’s gender neutrality, summing it up as, “Not too genteel; muscular and curvaceous at the same time.”

And it’s hard to argue the point. The E-Pace follows the distinctive Jaguar design template set in place by breakthrough models like the F-Type sports car, and larger F-Pace SUV.

At just under 4.4 metres long the E-Pace is smaller than mainstream medium SUVs like the Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV4, but it’s appreciably wider, giving it a broad footprint and athletic stance.

Ultra short front and rear overhangs, and black 19-inch, five-spoke alloy rims enhance that impression, at the same time highlighting a relatively lengthy 2681mm wheelbase.

The Chequered Flag’s dark mesh grilles across the nose, and long tapered LED headlights, complete with ‘J-blade’ LED DRLs around their outer edges, create a recognisably feline face, with dark accenting on the fender grilles and window surrounds adding an extra air of intensity.

A raked, almost coupe-style roofline, tapered side glass, and broad haunches combine to accentuate the E-Pace’s dynamic look, the long, slim, horizontal tail-lights and fat chrome-tipped exhaust outlets both current Jaguar hallmarks.

The interior feels as tightly wrapped and carefully designed as the exterior with the instruments, media screen and key controls clearly oriented towards the driver.

In fact, a specific defining edge sweeps down from the top of the dashboard, around the centre stack and across the console to form a flying buttress barrier (complete with left-side grab handle) between the driver and front passenger.

And if you’re still associating Jags with walnut veneer interiors, think again. An understated ‘Noble Chrome’ finish is used to highlight the gearshift surround, instrument panel, and other details across the dash and doors. 

The upright sports gearshifter is a distinct departure from the rotary controller used in older Jaguar models, yet according to Jaguar, the beautifully tactile front ventilation dials were inspired by the rings of a classic Leica camera lens.

Across its current range Volvo has mastered the art of design consistency without stepping over into confusing sameness. It’s a fine line, and the XC40 illustrates why Volvo is winning that game.

Signature design elements, like the distinctive ‘Thor’s Hammer’ LED headlights and long hockey stick tail-lights tie the XC40 to its larger siblings, while chunky, masculine styling sets it apart from the compact SUV crowd.

Always a subjective call, but I like the XC40’s stocky build with a touch of toughness added via a sharply chiselled recess across the side doors just above the rocker, and black over-fender trims on the wheelarches.

Speaking of which, the sturdy, 18-inch, five-spoke alloys dial up the macho feel a little further, with other unique elements including the rear door glass kicking up at a roughly 45-degree angle to create a third side window, and the bold ‘Iron Mark’ logo in the grille.

And our test car’s optional ‘Glacier Silver’ finish ($1150) is extraordinary, depending on the light, shifting between off white, to a soft grey or stronger silver.

The interior is simple and understated in typical Scandinavian style. Form and function feel equally balanced, with a portrait-oriented 9.0-inch media touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster subtly integrated into the gently sweeping dash design.

Decoration is low key, with curved, horizontal ‘Grid Aluminium’ inlays, ‘piano black’ finishes, and small touches of bright metal adding visual interest. Optional leather-faced seats ($750) continue the pared back theme with broad, over-stitched panels enhancing what is a cool and calming atmosphere overall.

For a car measuring less than 4.4 metres between its bumpers, a 2681mm wheelbase is lengthy, and interior space is also enhanced thanks to the E-Pace’s broad beam and relative height.

Somehow the front part of the cabin feels cozy and spacious at the same time, this strange dichotomy created by the steeply sloping dash and centre console increasing the feeling of space, yet keeping key controls and storage options within easy reach. 

Speaking of which, front seaters are provided with a generous lidded storage box/sliding armrest between the seats (housing two USB-A ports, a micro SIM slot, and 12V outlet), two full-size cupholders in the centre console (with a smartphone slot between them), a loose items tray ahead of the gearshifter, a sizeable glove box, an overhead sunglasses holder and big door bins with enough room for large bottles. 

Special note on the centre storage box. The space extends forward, a long way under the console, so a pair of 1.0-litre bottles can be laid down flat, with plenty of space still on top. And a net pocket on the underside of the lid is great for small, loose items.

Move to the back, and again, despite the E-Pace’s diminutive size accommodation is good. Sitting behind the driver’s seat, set for my 183cm (6.0ft) position, I enjoyed plenty of leg and headroom, even with the inclusion of a standard glass sunroof. 

Shoulder room is pretty handy, too. And backseaters are provided with a lidded storage box and two cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest, netted pockets on the front seatbacks, and useful door bins, with enough room for standard bottles. There are also adjustable centre air vents housed with a 12V outlet and a trio of storage hidey holes.

Cargo space is another plus for the compact E-Pace, offering 577 litres with the 60/40 split-fold rear seat up, expanding to a substantial 1234 litres with it folded down. 

Multiple tie-down anchor points are helpful for securing loads, there are handy bag hooks either side, as well as a 12V outlet on the passenger side, and a netted bay behind the driver’s side wheel tub. A power tailgate is also a welcome inclusion.

Towing capacity is 1800kg for a braked trailer (750kg unbraked) and a ‘Trailer Stability Assist’ system is standard, although a tow hitch receiver will set you back an extra $730. A steel space spare sits under the cargo floor.

At just over 4.4m long the XC40 fits the small SUV profile perfectly, and within that footprint a 2.7m wheelbase is the same as comparably sized mainstream models like the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5.

It’s also quite tall and there’s plenty of space for the driver and front passenger, with storage including a medium-size lidded box between the seats, a smaller flip-top compartment in front of it, as well as two cupholders (with another small lidded tray in front of them) and a wireless device charging pad in the centre console.

There are bottle holders in the sizeable front door pockets, a wide but slim glove box (cooled with bag hook), and an additional oddments box under the driver’s seat. Power and connectivity runs to a 12-volt socket and two USB ports (one for media, the other for charge only).

Move to the back and sitting behind the driver’s seat, set for my 183cm position, head and legroom is excellent, and the seat itself is nicely sculpted and comfortable.

There are modest pockets in the doors but unless the bottle you want to slip in there comes from the spirits section of a hotel mini-bar you’re out of luck on the liquid container front. Elastic nets on the front seatbacks are handy, as are coat and bag hooks in the roof.

A fold-down centre armrest contains two cupholders, and twin adjustable air vents in the rear of the front centre console will be welcomed by backseaters.

Then the boot offers up 460 litres of cargo space with the rear seats upright, which is more than enough to swallow our three-piece hard suitcase set (35, 68 and 105 litres), or the jumbo size CarsGuide pram.

Drop the 60/40 split-folding rear seats (they fold easily) and no less than 1336 litres of volume is at your disposal, and a through port in the centre of the back seat means you can stash long objects and still fit people in.

A deep storage well behind the driver’s side wheel tub boast a 12-volt socket and an elasticised strap to retain small bits and pieces, with a smaller sunken trench on the other side.

A grocery bag holder and foldable floor hatch increase flexibility, the latter able to sit up Toblerone-style to compartmentalise the cargo floor. Additional bag hooks and tie down anchors round out a useful, user-friendly interior package.

Towing capacity isn’t massive at 1800kg for a braked trailer (750kg unbraked), but it’s pretty handy for a car of this stature.

The XC40 lives in one of the hottest segments in the Australian new car market, and at $46,990, before on-road costs, the T4 Momentum lines up against a slew of quality competitors.

For that money you can go up in size, but down in prestige, so we stuck with the compact luxury formula and without trying too hard came up with eight high-quality options in the $45-$50,000 band. Namely, the Audi Q3 35 TFSI, BMW X1 sDrive 20i, Mercedes-Benz GLA 180, Mini Countryman Cooper S, Peugeot 3008 GT, Renault Koleos Intens, Skoda Kodiaq 132 TSI 4x4, and the Volkswagen Tiguan 132 TSI R-Line. Yep, hot competition.

So, you’re going to want some premium features bang for your compact SUV bucks, and the XC40 T4 Momentum tips in Volvo high-performance audio (including digital radio), a 9.0-inch (vertical) media touchscreen (with speech function), a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, inductive smartphone charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation (with road sign information), power adjustable driver’s seat (with memory and four way lumbar support), leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearshift, and dual-zone climate control air (with cooled glove box and ‘CleanZone’ interior air quality system).

Also included are keyless entry and start, auto LED headlights, front fog lights, power operated tailgate (with hands-free electric opening), and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Standard upholstery is textile/vinyl, but ‘our’ car was optioned with ‘leather accent’ trim for an extra $750, as well as the ‘Momentum Comfort Pack’ (passenger power seat, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, mechanical cushion extension - $1000), the ‘Lifestyle Pack’ (panoramic sunroof, tinted rear windows, Harmon Kardon premium sound - $3000), and the ‘Momentum Technology Pack’ (360-degree camera, power folding rear headrest, LED headlights with ‘Active Bending Lights’, ‘Park Assist Pilot’, and ambient interior lighting - $2000), plus ‘Glacier Silver’ metallic paint ($1150). Which all adds up to an ‘as-tested’ price of $54,890, before on-road costs.

The E-Pace Chequered Flag P250 is powered by a 2.0-litre, turbo-petrol version of Jaguar Land Rover’s modular ‘Ingenium’ engine, based on multiples of the same 500cc cylinder design.

This ‘AJ200’ unit features an aluminium block and head with cast iron cylinder liners, direct injection, electro-hydraulically-controlled variable intake and exhaust valve lift,  and a single, twin-scroll turbo. It produces 183kW at 5500rpm, and 365Nm from 1300-4500rpm. 

Drive goes to all four wheels via a (ZF-sourced) nine-speed automatic transmission, and an 'Active Driveline’ all-wheel drive system. With a default rear axle bias, it constantly monitors driving conditions, updating torque distribution every 10 milliseconds.

Two independent, electronically-controlled (wet-plate) clutches distribute drive between the rear wheels, the system able to send 100 per cent of that torque to either rear wheel if required.

The all-alloy, 2.0-litre (VEP4) four-cylinder engine features direct-injection, a single (BorgWarner) turbo and variable valve timing on the inlet and exhaust sides.

It’s claimed to produce 140kW at 4700rpm and 300Nm between 1400-4000rpm, with drive going to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 7.7 litres/100kmL/100km, the Chequered Flag P250 emitting 174g/km of CO2 in the process.

In our week with the car, over close to 150km of city, suburban and freeway conditions (including a cheeky B-road run) we recorded an average of 12.0L/100km, which is getting up there for a compact SUV. That number equates to a real-world range of 575km.

And it’s worth noting that despite the use of lightweight aluminium for key body panel and suspension components, at a touch over 1.8 tonnes the E-Pace is line ball for kerb weight with its larger F-Pace sibling.

Minimum fuel requirement is 95 RON premium unleaded, and you’ll need 69 litres of it to fill the tank.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 7.2L/100km, the XC40 T4 Momentum emitting 165g/km of CO2 in the process.

Despite standard stop-start, over roughly 300km of city, suburban and freeway running we recorded 12.5L/100km, which is pushing the thirst factor up to a concerning degree.

Minimum fuel requirement is 95 RON premium unleaded, and you’ll need 54 litres of it to fill the tank.

The E-Pace’s bonnet, front guards, roof, tailgate and key suspension components may be made of weight-saving alloy, but this chunky little SUV still tips the scales at a sturdy 1832kg. Nonetheless, Jaguar claims the Chequered Flag P250 will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7.1sec, which is quick, if not blindingly so.

The 2.0-litre twin-scroll turbo-petrol engine delivers a solid block of (peak) torque (365Nm) from just 1300rpm all the way to 4500rpm, which combined with no less than nine auto gear ratios means healthy mid-range punch is always available.

The transmission’s adaptive shift system reads the way you’re driving to tailor its behaviour accordingly, and it works well. But shifting gears manually via the wheel-mounted paddles adds to the fun and accuracy.

Thing is, despite being finished in racy black, the paddles themselves are plastic which feels ordinary and is a letdown in an otherwise high-end environment. 

Suspension is strut front, ‘integral’ multi-link rear, and ride quality is surprisingly cushy for a high-riding car of this size. No tricky active dampers here, just a well-engineered set-up tuned to cope with a variety of conditions.

That said, the ‘JaguarDrive Control’ system offers four modes - ‘Normal’, ‘Dynamic’, ‘Eco’ and ‘Rain/Ice/Snow’ - tweaking things like the steering, throttle response, transmission shifts, stability control, torque vectoring, and AWD system.

Dynamic is the sweet spot, buttoning everything down just a little tighter, without any major effect on refinement, the car remaining quiet and composed even when driver enthusiasm starts to take the upper hand. 

The variable ratio ‘Speed proportional’ electrically-assisted steering is nicely weighted and points nicely, but road feel is mediocre. On the flip side, the torque vectoring system, which uses the brakes to put the squeeze on a wheel breaking traction in cornering, works seamlessly. 

Brakes are 349mm vented discs at the front and 300mm solid rotors at the rear, and although they arrest the car well enough, initial pedal feel is ‘grabby’, especially at slow speeds. It’s a challenge to grease your pedal application to the point where the effect goes away.

Under the heading of General Notes, the ergonomic layout is hard to fault with super clear instruments and user-friendly switchgear, but the ‘Ebony’ headlining darkens the interior too much. Even though the huge (standard) glass sunroof lets in a lot of light, we’d prefer the lighter ‘Ebony’ shade available on other E-Pace grades (but not this one).

Speaking of the interior, the sports front seats are grippy yet comfortable on longer runs, and their (standard) heating is a big plus on chilly mornings, the (21:9) wide format hi-res media screen is a pleasure to use, and the level of quality and attention to detail all around the cabin is impressive.

The strongest take-out behind the XC40’s wheel is how comfortable it is. Volvo’s ride and handling boffins have performed some kind of suspension voodoo, making a 2.7-metre wheelbase feel half a metre longer.

It’s a strut front, multi-link rear set-up and you’d swear there was some kind of magnetic damper or air-ride tech under the car. But it’s all conventional and does a brilliant job of soaking up bumps and other imperfections without sacrificing dynamic response.

Standard footwear on the Momentum is 18-inch alloys shod with 235/55 Pirelli P Zero rubber. The middle level Inscription grade rides on 19s, and the top-shelf R-Design rolls on 20s. But you can bet the relatively cushy sidewall on the 18-inch tyre contributes to the entry model’s ride quality.

Claimed 0-100km/h acceleration for the roughly 1.6-tonne XC40 is 8.4sec, which is pretty sharp. With maximum torque (300Nm) available from just 1400rpm all the way to 4000rpm there’s plenty of mid-range punch available and the slick-shifting eight-speed auto does its bit to keep the engine in that sweet spot.

The electrically assisted steering is nicely weighted for easy turning at parking speeds, loading up with decent road feel as speeds rise. The front-wheel drive XC40 feels balanced and predictable in corners.

As well as looking a million dollars, the central media screen delivers easy, intuitive navigation by swiping through multiple screens revealing icon-based functions on additional screens to the left and right of the main page.

One thing that isn’t adjusted by swipe is the audio volume control, with a centrally placed knob a welcome, user-friendly addition. The seats feel as good as they look, ergonomics are hard to fault, while engine and road noise is modest.

On the minus side of the ledger, that kicked up rear door glass treatment may look interesting but impacts over the shoulder vision on both sides.

In the main, the XC40 does its bit to maintain Volvo’s outstanding reputation for active and passive safety standards by scoring a maximum five-star ANCAP (and Euro NCAP) rating at launch in 2018… except for the T4 Momentum.

This two-wheel drive model is not covered by the ANCAP assessment, while all-wheel drive variants are. But like the AWD models, the T4 Momentum features an impressive suite of crash-avoidance tech, including ‘City Support’ - (AEB with pedestrian, vehicle, large animal and cyclist detection, ‘Intersection Collision and Oncoming Mitigation’ with ‘Brake Support’, and ‘Steering Support’), ‘Intellisafe Assist’ - (‘Driver Alert’, ‘Lane Keeping Aid’, adaptive cruise control including ‘Pilot Assist’, ‘Distance Alert’, and ‘Lane Keeping Aid’, as well as ‘Oncoming Lane Mitigation’), plus ‘Intellisafe Surround’ - (‘Blind Spot Information’ with ‘Cross Traffic Alert’, ‘Front and Rear Collision Warning’ with mitigation support, ‘Run-off road Mitigation’, ‘Hill start assist’, ‘Hill Descent Control’, ‘Park Assist’ front and rear, rear parking camera, rain-sensing wipers, ‘Drive Mode’ with personal power steering settings, ‘Emergency Brake Assist’, and an ‘Emergency Brake Light.’

If that’s not enough to prevent an impact you’re protected by seven airbags (front, front side, curtain and driver’s knee), Volvo’s ‘Side Impact Protection System’ (SIPS) and ‘Whiplash Protection System.’

There are three top-tether points across the rear seat back with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions for child seats and baby capsules.

A hugely impressive package for a car in the under-$50K bracket.

Jaguar’s three-year/100,000km warranty, is well off the mainstream pace, which is five-years/unlimited km, with some brands at seven years. And even in the luxury segment, newcomer Genesis, and the most established of them all, Mercedes-Benz, have recently dialled up the pressure with the offer of a five year/unlimited km warranty. 

Extended Warranty Insurance is available for 12 or 24 months, up to 200,000km.

Service is scheduled every 12 months/26,000km, and a ‘Jaguar Service Plan’ is available for a maximum five years/102,000km, for $1950, which also includes five years roadside assistance.

Volvo offers a three year/unlimited km warranty across its new car model range, including 24-hour roadside assist during that period. Off the pace when you consider most mainstream brands are now at five years/unlimited km.

But, on the upside, once the warranty runs out, if you have your car serviced at an authorised Volvo dealer each year (for up to six years from the warranty start date) you receive a 12-month extension to the roadside assist coverage.

Service is recommended every 12 months/15,000km (whichever comes first) with a Volvo Service Plan covering scheduled servicing for the XC40 over the first three years or 45,000km for $1595.