Jaguar I-Pace range extended

Jaguar is giving I-Pace customers an early Christmas present with a complimentary update giving increased real-world range.

An extra 20km (8%) of range can be added, thanks to technical knowledge gained from the I-Pace eTrophy race series.

Range-boosting software has been developed as a result, available to I-Pace customers with the complimentary update installed at retailers.

Changes to the all-electric model will improve battery performance and deliver up to 20km of additional real-world range on a full charge, with race-derived enhancements delivered through optimisation of battery management, thermal systems and all-wheel drive torque improvements.

The update will also add enhanced software-over-the-air functionality.

Jaguar introduced the eTrophy in 2018 as the world’s first all-electric production-based international race series supporting the ABB FIA Formula E racing.

The aim was to leverage technical expertise to develop future electric road cars as part of Jaguar’s ‘Race to Innovate’ mission.

The series puts the all-electric SUV through extreme use conditions and the first competitive season yielded critical learnings for the durability and thermal control of the battery and torque management systems, Jaguar says.

Jaguar engineers have also analysed data from more than 80 million kilometres of real-world journeys across the world.

“The data gathered from the eTrophy series has been incredibly valuable in providing insights into the limits the I-Pace can reach,” Jaguar NZ general manager Steve Kenchington says.

“Jaguar engineers have been able to analyse this information and use it to optimise the powertrain control systems through software updates. The results mean greater efficiencies can be derived from the battery storage without any hardware changes,” he says.

Kenchington says drivers in the eTrophy series, including New Zealand’s Simon Evans, have been instrumental in the improving I-Pace technology.

Jaguar’s first full battery-electric vehicle has a 470km range from its 90kWh lithium-ion battery.

While the new software upgrade doesn’t change the official certified range figure, the marginal gains developed from eTrophy analysis will give customers access to an improvement of up to 8% dependent on usage – potentially an extra 20km of real-world range.

Changes include all-wheel drive torque distribution alterations between the front and rear motors to deliver greater efficiency when driving in ECO mode, refinements to thermal management control making greater use of the active radiator vane system and closing the vanes more frequently to enhance aerodynamic performance more.

Updates allow the battery to run to a lower state of charge than previously, without affecting driveability, durability or performance.

Additional changes derived from real-world data analysis include more efficient energy harvesting from regenerative braking when the battery is in a high state of charge. The amount of energy recovery has been increased at lower driving speeds to maximise efficiency and range.

Changes to the predictive range calculation algorithm will deliver a more accurate and consistent estimate of vehicle range, while being more reflective of an individual’s driving style.

After receiving the latest software, more electronic modules will be able to receive remote updates, providing ongoing enhancements.

The I-Pace has also been named New Zealand Car of the Year.