What's all this about?

We've got full details on the Jaguar I-Pace, the company's all-electric SUV that went on sale from March 1. The I-Pace costs from £63,495 here in the UK, excluding Government incentives, and is available initially in four specifications - S, SE and HSE, as well as a limited-time First Edition trim. It comes with an eight-year battery warranty and 21,000-mile/two-year servicing intervals.

All very nice. So what have we got in terms of the technical make-up?

Designed as an electric vehicle (EV) from the off, the I-Pace's aero-optimised roof, curved rear windscreen and Kamm tail-esque rear all combine to give it a 0.29Cd figure that means it's great at cutting through the air, as far as SUVs go. Active Vanes in the front grille can open or close, depending on whether cooling or maximum aerodynamic efficiency is required, while the aluminium architecture and structural 90kWh, 432-pouch lithium-ion battery pack - it's mounted between the axles, in the chassis floor, allowing for a 50:50 weight distribution - both ensure that this is the most torsionally rigid Jaguar yet. Its body stiffness is a colossal 36,000Nm per degree.

Wow, impressive stuff! What about the powertrain?

Two Jaguar-developed electric motors, one attached to the front axle and one on the rear, are powered by that big Li-ion battery. The driveshafts go through the motors themselves, for reasons of compactness, and between them they provide all-wheel drive while churning out 400hp and 696Nm - big numbers that see the I-Pace sprint from 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds (no 0-62mph time is yet quoted, but it should be around 4.7 seconds). Of course, the rapid performance is all well and good - and Jaguar also says the double-wishbone front, integral link rear suspension allows the I-Pace to deliver both 'agile handling and outstanding ride comfort' - but you buy an EV because it's all saintly and zero emissions.

Luckily, the I-Pace scores highly in this regard, with a 298-mile range and the ability to suck down 80 per cent of battery charge on a 50kW DC hook-up in just 85 minutes. Jaguar adds that when 100kW DC chargers come on stream in the UK soon, the I-Pace will be compatible with those, and an 80 per cent charge will then take just 40 minutes. Alternatively, plug it in at home overnight on a 7kW AC wallbox and in ten hours, you'll be ready to rock and roll.

Cor, it's all sounding too good to be true. Is the interior all pokey and cramped?

Not a bit of it. Jaguar says the five-seat I-Pace has large SUV volumes within, despite being a mid-sized SUV, so rear legroom is pegged at a healthy 890mm, there's a 656-litre boot at the back (rising to 1,453 litres if you fold the back seats down) and the lack of a central transmission tunnel means a 10.5-litre storage compartment can be found in the centre of the EV. Finally, under-seat laptop and tablet storage has been built into the I-Pace in the rear.

Anything else on the equipment front?

Options will include air suspension and a premium textile interior finish from Danish firm Kvadrat. Furthermore, the I-Pace is a fully connected car that can download software updates over-the-air, meaning its Touch Pro Duo infotainment system, its telematics and its battery charge management programmes will always be as up-to-date as possible.

And can we conclude on a soundbite from Jaguar?

No problem. Ian Hoban, the vehicle line director for the Jaguar I-Pace, said: "We set out with a clean-sheet approach to harness new battery electric technology with an architecture engineered from the outset to optimise performance, aerodynamics and interior space. The result is the I-Pace - a true Jaguar and truly driver-focused EV. For I-Pace customers, fuel stations are a thing of the past: after overnight charging, they'll wake up every morning with a 'full tank of fuel'!"