Every once in a while, a car comes along that completely warps your perception of fun behind the wheel. It could be something that you least expected to do so, or something that you thought you’d have a hard time vibing with.

The 2021 Jaguar F-Pace SVR was this car for me. Or rather, sport utility vehicle—4,535 pounds of British muscle doesn’t exactly fit the bill as a lowly (height-wise) car. I went into it with the opinion that, sure, it’ll be fast and fun in a straight line, but there’s no way this big beast could cut it on a twisty road. Between its high curb weight and high elevation above the road, physics is absolutely not on its side. Power, suspension tuning, and tire size can make up for weight, but not center of gravity.

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Boy, was I ever so wrong.

Recently, Jaguar handed me the keys to this Firenze Red 2021 Jaguar F-Pace SVR to find out how capable at enthusiastic driving it could be. This example starts at $84,600, and as equipped comes out to $91,679 after destination fees.

Brilliantly Brutal Power Despite Having A Lot To Haul Around

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

Is “sporty SUV” redundant? As in, sporty sport utility vehicle? I found myself saying this a lot while describing the 2021 F-Pace SVR to friends during my week with it, and can’t seem to shake it. Maybe it’s better to say SSUV, as in “super sport utility vehicle”, or ESUV for “enthusiastic sport utility vehicle.” Those don’t really have a good ring, though, and the latter sounds way too environmentally friendly to boot. Especially for a vehicle that’s anything but.

I think I’ll just jump between super SUV and sporty SUV.

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Under the F-Pace SVR’s massive hood lives Jag’s venerable, old stand-by 5.0-liter V8 with a big supercharger bolted up on top. No complex twin-turbo, hot-v fare here, just a big lump of belt-driven anger. Output is rated at 550 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. These figures are sent through the SVR’s all-wheel drive system, and help it lunge to 60 MPH from a standstill in just 3.8 seconds, and rip off a low 12-second quarter mile time.

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

The sound that this mighty power plant produces is truly addictive. It’s got that quintessential V8 aggression in its tone, and is always happy to express itself as loudly as possible. This is in part thanks to some baffling in its exhaust system that automatically opens up past a certain RPM and throttle position to make it really, really loud. To the point of obnoxiously loud? Yes, but very much in a good way. I couldn’t help but stab the throttle while driving through highway underpasses, alongside walls, down city streets lined with storefronts, and more, it’s just that intoxicating.

The only downside to this feature, is that the exhaust can’t be consistently loud. A button that has three modes would be an ideal situation: quiet all the time, dynamic (like it is), and just loud. While I appreciate this Jag for staying quiet during more modest driving, I would’ve preferred it to be constantly loud while sailing through fast corners, no matter the RPM or throttle input. Having that aural reference for where the revs are exactly helps with determining the best speed, gear selection, and throttle input for the given moment. The dynamic aspect of the exhaust’s volume messed with my perception of this a tad.

I mentioned that the SVR is anything but environmentally friendly, but that’s not entirely true. It’ll return 15 MPG City and 21 MPG Highway, which is better than a lot of other high horsepower, super SUVs out there. Though, average economy greatly decreases when driven in anger: the best I saw during a long morning of fun mountain road driving was just 11 MPG. It’s awfully hard to keep your foot out of it in this one in general, so 15 MPG around town might be a little too optimistic in the real world.

Surprisingly Excellent Handling

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

I didn’t have high hopes for how the portly F-Pace SVR would handle itself on tight, twisty roads.

I thought that, surely, physics would take over and threaten to topple the sporty SUV over as I came through a long, fast sweeper, or understeer like crazy as I made my way up a nice succession of tight corners on Southern California’s Angeles Crest Highway.

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This however was not the case. In fact, the SVR felt incredibly planted and sure of itself in the twisties. So much so, that as I got more and more comfortable with the right pedal, I thought that some stealthy intrusion by stability control was messing with my perception. So I turned that off… and it just continued to confidently sail through corners. There’s no doubt in my mind that I put its double wishbone front and integral link rear fully independent suspension to the test, and it just gripped and gripped.

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

When driven with poise and precision the Jag never did anything scary, though on the flipside that also meant that it wasn’t keen on any degree of induced oversteer. But that’s ok, it’s probably for the better. I was shocked at the speeds it held through every variety of corner I threw at it, which weren’t much lower than those I experienced at the helm of the 2021 BMW M3. The SVR’s massive, upgraded ceramic brakes always had plenty of bite as well, thankfully, with a solid feeling pedal that wasn’t grabby at all.

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This whole experience was thoroughly enjoyed with its drive mode set to Dynamic. The ride felt taught and well controlled, and I barely felt any body roll through my normal, lengthy route through Southern California’s Angeles National Forest.This mode brought on sharper shifts, sharper throttle response, and even more sharpness in its damping. Though its ride was never too sharp, which I attribute to the fact that it's a heavy SUV that requires slightly more rubber than usual on its sidewalls. Thanks to its sticky P265/45R21 front and P295/40R21 rear Pirelli’s aspect ratio, annoying bumps that are normally a total buzzkill for sporty damping were very nicely ironed out.

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

The F-Pace's Dynamic Mode wasn’t too much for Los Angeles’ terrible streets, either. I think the combination of decent sidewall and fully independent suspension worked wonders in this department. Then, with Dynamic Mode turned off, it rode even sweeter, doing its brand’s heritage proud.

As speeds increased on fun mountain roads, steering became vague and overboosted, as in it was a bit too light for the task at hand. I would’ve preferred that the rack tighten up and gain more heft in fast corners, but instead I had to be especially smooth and careful with steering input. That could potentially be chalked up to “well of course you should be smooth and cautious with steering inputs,” but in the event of an evasive, emergency maneuver on a twisty road or even on the highway, this would be the opposite of confidence inspiring.

A Well-Appointed Interior Chock Full of Comfort

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

Even though this F-Pace SVR exceeds $90,000, its interior appointments are still very good for the price. Throughout the cabin is real brushed aluminum, a generous helping of Alcantara and soft, supple leather, and switchgear that’s solid to the touch.

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Windsor leather trims the front sport bucket seats, which feature heating and cooling, have excellent lumbar adjustment, and provide enough headroom for my tall frame. Additionally, they’ve got a great driving position -you feel like you’re up high above most motorists, yet also deep in the Jag’s body shell, instilling a sense of confidence. Backseat passengers get heated seats as well, plus a generous amount of head and shoulder room.

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

The big, super SUV is always a comfortable, pleasant place to be. When I wasn’t so focussed on speed and noise, low RPM cruising, a comfortable ride, and SiriusXM satellite radio tuned to a chill channel was quick and easy to shift to. The Jag’s just as happy to lumber along in an easy-going fashion, in fact this is even found in its throttle: I found it really easy to maintain a constant speed just cruising around town or ticking off the miles on the highway.

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

The Jag's center infotainment screen measures in at 11.4 inches, and features Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a 400-watt Meridian sound system. Jaguar and Land Rover share the same system, and while it takes some getting used to, it generally functions smoothly and is easy to navigate. Stereo sound quality is excellent, which is a nice accompaniment to the F-Pace’s awesome exhaust note. My only small complaint is that you have to navigate to a screen to turn the auto stop/start off -most manufacturers give this a prominent, physical button.

Finally, a massive Panoramic sunroof stretches across the entire roof for occupants to enjoy, and really helps in bringing more airiness and space to an otherwise cavernous SUV interior. I find this to be the best combination, by the way: a sporty and cavernous interior feel, though with the ability to open it up and feel less so when you’re in the mood for simply just cruising around on a beautiful, sunny day.

Extra Handsome Exterior Looks

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

Jaguar’s current design language bodes quite well for the F-Pace SVR. If one wanted something more family friendly in addition to their beloved little F Type R coupe, the F-Pace SVR would look so good sitting next to it in their garage. In fact, it just looks like a bulkier, larger F-Type that can fit four people. It’s quite cool that they share some very similar design between their headlights, tail lights, and front grilles.

The large front grille with its accompanying angry Jaguar badge, sharp LED headlights, 21-inch wheels wrapped in meaty tires, massive quad exhaust tips in the rear, and SVR body kit pieces to tie it all together is an excellent mix of large, brooding athleticism that matches its performance and exhaust tone quite well. It’s really quite massive in person, though the proportions help hide its size, and make it look more trim than it is. The same can’t be said for BMW X5 M or Lamborghini Urus.

A Compelling And Competent Option

Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Peter Nelson

To say I had a fun week with the 2021 Jaguar F-Pace SVR would be an understatement. Instead, I had an absolute blast ripping through fun stretches of twisty tarmac, doing everything I could to keep its mighty, supercharged V8 singing in its upper range. Occasionally peering down at the speedometer always followed with a chuckle, too, as I was continually impressed by the speeds it could hold in the corners, as well as how little road was needed to reach triple-digit speeds.

As fast and capable as it is, especially for its size, it’s equal parts comfortable and daily-friendly. This Jag SVR has a well-appointed and comfortable interior with an excellent driving position, making it an easy environment for slathering on the mileage and hours behind the wheel.

I didn’t want to love the concept of a fast, sporty, super, whatever SUV. But the F-Pace SVR convinced me that, while one has to pony up for it, big vehicles can tango almost as hard as their small, low-roof-lined, sports car counterparts. Plus, they can fulfill any everyday A-to-B role that you throw at them. Strange times we’re living in, these -though considering the thunderous sound of a supercharged, 5.0-liter V8 is still alive and well, then it’s safe to say it’s also the best of times.