The F-Pace Is the Most Important Jaguar of the 21st Century, Goes Off-Road

Fortunately, the F-Pace has arrived just in time to save the company. We know it's important, you know it's important, but when Motor Trend calls it "the most important Jaguar of the 21st century" tens of thousands of people hear about it every day.

They do make a couple of great points. First of all, Jaguar could have made a horrible car, and it would still have been successful. Sure, the F-Pace has a V6 engine that's too heavy and a slightly bland interior, but the way is set up is brilliant.

You see, when you order AWD for your expensive VW Tiguan plus a 240 horsepower diesel engine, you expect that it will be a lot of fun. But only in dire traction emergencies will a maximum of 50% be shuffled to the back.

On the other hand, the F-Pace keeps 90% of the power at the rear of the vehicle for most of the time. This has the added advantage of not overpowering the front wheels, making the steering more engaging.

It would have been nice to see some drifting or an alternative type of hooning. I mean, they clearly did some of that, as 0 to 60 and quarter mile times are very clearly displayed at the bottom of the video. But maybe Motor Trend is trying to give Jaguar a bit of support by being all positive about it.

The F-Pace isn't an SUV in the conventional sense, as the company is calling it a "performance crossover," agiler than its Land Rover counterparts. There are several elements borrow from the sister company which allows Jaguar's 4x4 to play in the dirt with more poise than you'd expect.

But just because Lieberman has enjoyed his time with the F-Pace doesn't mean you should go ahead and buy one. We think there are plenty of fascinating alternatives, like the BMW X4 M40i or the exciting new GLC Coupe.