Jaguar i-Pace: Tesla rival unveiled, arrives in Australian showrooms this year priced from $120,000

BRITISH brand Jaguar has amped up the electric-car competition with its new i-Pace.

JAGUAR cars might conjure images of stuffy tweed jackets and old leather gloves but the British brand has just catapult into the future with its first electric car, the i-Pace.

The sleek SUV-style Tesla-fighter is faster and cheaper than its main rival and is due in Australian showrooms in October 2018 with a starting price from $119,000 plus on-road costs.

It’s an electric car, but not as we know it: the 2018 Jaguar i-Pace. Picture: Supplied.

Dearer models will eventually join the range but Jaguar says they will not exceed $200,000, undercutting the competition which can stretch beyond $300,000.

Jaguar claims the i-Pace has an electric driving range of 480km on a single charge and can sprint from 0 to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds.

Owners can monitor the car’s level of battery power via a smartphone app.

Owners can control the charge of the Jaguar i-Pace over the phone. Picture: Supplied.

Jaguar has sculptured the unusual body to slip through the air as efficiently as possible.

The door handles retract so they sit flush with the body when the car is on the move, and the suspension lowers at freeway speeds to reduce air turbulence.

Instead of feeding air to cool an engine, the large Jaguar grille is used to redirect air through the bonnet scoop and over the roof to reduce aerodynamic drag.

The futuristic interior of the Jaguar i-Pace. Picture: Supplied.

Inside there are massive touchscreens to operate the cabin controls; a full-size sunroof covers the cabin compartment.

The i-Pace’s SUV design means when the back seats are folded there is a massive cargo area.

Jaguar says more than two-dozen tech savvy Australian buyers had already begun placing orders before the production car or pricing were unveiled today.

“Our dealers have already received orders and we expect this to grow now that the car and the price have been unveiled,” said Jaguar Australia spokesman James Scrimshaw.

The door handles retract and the suspension lowers at speed to reduce aerodynamic drag. Picture: Supplied.

This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling