How the Porsche Macan Helped Jaguar F-Pace Development

While the in-house laundry list of F-Pace rivals runs from Lexus NX to Mercedes-Benz GLC, the folks at Jaguar will tell you they concentrated most on the BMW X4 and the Porsche Macan. Especially the Macan.

“The Macan changed the class standards,” admits Jaguar dynamics guru Mike Cross. So much so that a temporary halt was called to the F-Pace development program while the chassis team evaluated the Macan’s ride and handling characteristics.

One major change to emerge from the evaluation of Porsche’s compact SUV: A decision to increase the roll stiffness of the F-Pace chassis. “Initially we were working with a roll gradient of 4.5 degrees per g, which was similar to that of the Range Rover Evoque,” says F-Pace vehicle dynamics lead engineer James Matthews. “Now we’re at 3.5 degrees per g, and that’s purely because of Macan.”

F-Pace vehicle program director Andy Whyman also points out the F-Pace’s front axle lateral stiffness is now 50 percent greater than that of the Macan, while at the rear it’s 35 percent stiffer.

Read our 2017 Jaguar F-Pace First Drive review HERE, and check out our First Test of the 2016 Porsche Macan S and Macan Turbo HERE.

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