Before seeing the E-Pace for the first time, I was fully expecting a baby Jaguar F-Pace, particularly given the close relationship between the Jaguar XE and Jaguar XF saloons – the cars the E and F letters are borrowed from for the SUVs.

See full details of the Jaguar E-Pace launch, including specs and pictures, here

It’s actually anything but. The E-Pace is a car with a character and style all of its own: fun-looking and distinctive, but clearly still a Jaguar. Nor can you spot that there’s a Land Rover hiding underneath it. 

The I-Pace aside, the E-Pace challenges the notion of what a Jaguar can be more than any other car the firm has made. But it is testament to the success of the recent designs that such a radical departure for the car maker can look so at home in the range so quickly, and be so distinctive with it. 

Indeed, the F-Paces dotted around Jaguar’s Whitley site, which had looked fresh and modern before I went into the design studio, started to look quite old and dated after I left.