In-Depth Photos of the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace EV400

It'll never be mentioned in the same breath as Miata or Cayman or Corvette, but the I-Pace whisked us away from traffic lights and through sweepers in ways that left our oil-stained palms tingling.

There's a natural fluidity to its body motions, organic tugs and lulls in its steering weight.

Agility and grip don't always go hand in hand. Nor do thrills and speed.

But the I-Pace delivers the experience to match the numbers.

This 4951-pound quasi-crossover claws through corners at 0.90 g and hits 60 mph in 4.3 seconds.

Neither of those metrics is as impressive, though, as what happens when you stand on the accelerator from 30 mph.

The speedometer jumps with the immediacy of flipping a switch and a jolt strong enough to stun the person whose right foot made it happen.

The I-Pace's only dynamic misstep happens during the final 5 mph, as the friction brakes graunch and heads bobble when coming to a stop.

On our 75-mph highway-range test, the I-Pace tallied 170 miles in ideal weather conditions.

What Jaguar has done matters just as much to us.

By building personality into the I-Pace, Jaguar moves the EV forward nonetheless.

While the I-Pace is an athletic prodigy, it doesn't do much to advance the EV state of the art.

The sole battery pack, a 90.0-kWh unit, is EPA rated for 234 miles between charges.

A DC fast-charging port is standard, but using the more common 240-volt AC equipment means the I-Pace adds less than 20 miles for every hour it's tethered to the grid.

The $1700 22-inch wheels clad in Pirelli P Zero summer rubber certainly didn't help the range of our $88,595 First Edition model.

That effectively limits the electric Jaguar's reach to a roughly one-hour radius from your home base unless you have the patience—and you'll need it—to charge on the road.

Tesla's Model X earns a 238-mile rating with a 75.0-kWh battery, and a Chevy Bolt covers that distance with just 60.0 kilowatt-hours.

With only average range, an $87K tug, and modest charging speed, the I-Pace is unlikely to pull EVs closer to the mainstream.