Tesla Model X vs. Jaguar I-PACE — It’s All About Efficiency

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YouTube channel NextMove has put the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-PACE through a head-to-head competition on the autobahn, the German highway system that has no speed limits in some sections. The idea was to compare the two cars to see whether the Jaguar really is a true competitor to the Tesla.

Global EVRT Tesla Model X

Both cars have a 90 kWh battery, but the Tesla is larger and heavier than the Jaguar — so, naturally, it should be at a disadvantage when it comes to squeezing maximum miles out of the available stored energy, right? That’s what logic would suggest, but that’s not the way it worked out in practice.

The test drivers drove from the city of Jena to Berlin, a distance of 166 miles. When driving between 58 and 68 mph, the I-PACE consumed an average of 22.5 kWh of electricity per 100 kilometers. The Model X consumed 17.5 kWh per 100 kilometers. In non-metric terms, the Jaguar used 363 watt-hours of electricity per mile versus 282 watt-hours per mile for the Tesla, making the Tesla 23% more efficient than the Jaguar. (As Max Holland noted recently, Tesla excels at highway efficiency.)

Efficiency may or may not be important to every driver. A Toyota Prius is more efficient than a Ford F-150, but Ford sells a lot more Stupid Duties than Toyota sells hybrids. Some people will prefer driving a Jaguar even if it is less efficient than other electric cars. But as electric cars go mainstream, efficiency may become as important to educated consumers as miles per gallon is today.

As Teslarati points out, the Model X is built using 18650 battery cells. The 2170 cells used in the Model 3 are even more efficient than the old-style cells, as is the Model 3’s new motor. Tesla places a premium on efficiency, as Elon Musk pointed out during the most recent earnings call.

“We’ve got the best in terms of miles or kilometers per kilowatt hour, and we also have the lowest cost per kilowatt-hour. This makes it very difficult for other companies to compete with Tesla because we’re the most efficient car and the lowest-cost batteries. So I do encourage our competitors to really make a huge investment. And we’ve been saying that for a long time. And… they are only in this competitive disadvantage because they didn’t. We tried to help them as much as we could, and they didn’t want to take our help.

“The fact of the matter is we made the investment in the Gigafactory, and other companies didn’t. And we put a lot of effort into having extremely efficient cars, which are having the most efficient powertrains, and the other companies didn’t. But that’s what has put us in quite a strong competitive position right now.”

The Model X also enjoyed an advantage over the I-PACE when it came to charging. The NextMove team used an Ionity high-power charger with a maximum 350 kW of power to recharge both cars. The Tesla was able to recharge at 100 kW versus a maximum of 83 kW for the Jaguar. The result? The Jaguar needs to be recharged more frequently and takes longer to charge when plugged in. For long-distance driving, the Tesla has a clear advantage.

Jaguar I PACE

Elon Musk has been begging the auto industry to make compelling electric cars for years now. It’s no secret that I loved driving the I-PACE in Portugal earlier this year. But I didn’t have to worry about charging it or running out of electricity along the way. Jaguar took care of all those details. As the electric car revolution goes forward, Tesla’s obsession with efficiency will continue to raise the bar for every other company and make its vehicles the first choice of more buyers.

You can watch the entire NextMove video with English subtitles below.


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Steve Hanley

Steve writes about the interface between technology and sustainability from his home in Florida or anywhere else The Force may lead him. He is proud to be "woke" and doesn't really give a damn why the glass broke. He believes passionately in what Socrates said 3000 years ago: "The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new." You can follow him on Substack and LinkedIn but not on Fakebook or any social media platforms controlled by narcissistic yahoos.

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