The Controversial Jaguar Type 00 Test Results Turned Out to Be Comfortable and Have Brutal Performance

JAKARTA - Jaguar seems to have managed to reverse public doubts about its latest electric car. After having caused controversy with the Type 00 concept and a rebranding campaign titled "not imitating anything", now the attention has shifted to the substance of the car itself.

A number of leading automotive journalists who have tried the prototype have started to give high praise, reported by Insideevs, Thursday, December 18. Editor-in-chief of Autocar magazine Steve Cropley, was one of those impressed after driving the prototype of the electric sedan Jaguar at the Gaydon testing facility, England.

He even called it the best driving comfort car ever, a bold claim for a high-performance electric vehicle. According to Cropley, the incredible comfort is born from a combination of a very rigid chassis and a three-chamber adaptive air suspension.

This system is able to regulate the level of stiffness and damping individually on each wheel, so that the car remains stable in various road and speed conditions. Not only about comfort, Jaguar also seems serious about delivering extreme performance.

This prototype carries a three-motor electric configuration with a total output estimated to exceed 1,000 horsepower. Around 900 horsepower is channeled to the rear wheels, making it a brutally powerful engine.

Top Gear even called this car very potential as a "monster drift", thanks to the precision torque vectoring system of the dual-motor rear axle. Although still shrouded in camouflage, the figure of this Jaguar electric sedan is already exuding a strong aura.

The dimensions look very long and low, with a short front overhang, a cabin pulled far back, and a firm rear wheel shoulder. The proportions are reminiscent of the 1930s era luxury cars of character that can now only be found in certain models of Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

Inside the cabin, Jaguar offers something rarely found in modern electric cars, where the seating position is very low. Unlike many EVs that make drivers feel like they're sitting on a battery pack.

The result is a combination of premium comfort, sporty touch, and driving experience that is claimed to be different from anything else on the market today. High-speed cruising ability is also a major selling point.

Cropley said normal conversations could still be carried out without raising the voice at speeds of up to 150 mph, although the prototype still uses camouflage that adds aerodynamic noise. He even suspects this car uses a two-speed transmission, similar to the Porsche Taycan, to maintain optimal performance at high speeds.

Top Gear editor Jack Rix, also reinforced the positive impression. He agreed on performance, silence, and comfort, and revealed Jaguar's plans to present an acceleration sound that does not sound like a spaceship.

This means that Jaguar will likely adopt a more realistic and emotional artificial voice, resembling a high-performance conventional engine character. With a predicted battery capacity of around 120 kWh, this electric sedan is claimed to be able to travel more than 400 miles on a single charge.

As a consequence, the weight of the car is estimated to be around 2.2 tons. Although it cannot be called light, Jaguar is believed to be able to tune the driving character that is still fun, continuing the I-Pace's reputation as one of the EVs with the best dynamics in its class.

Jaguar is scheduled to introduce the production version of the Type 00 next year. The car will likely come with a new name and be priced starting at over $130,000, confirming its position as a high-performance luxury electric sedan that is Jaguar's new face in the electrification era.