Jaguar offers free software update for I-Pace

CHRISTMAS has come early for Jaguar I-Pace owners with the British marque offering a complimentary software update designed to increase range and improve efficiency of the electric vehicle.

Jaguar says “up to 20km of additional real-world range” has been added – on a full charge – by optimising battery management and the thermal systems along with tweaking the torque split of the all-wheel-drive system.

The headline change lies in the battery, which – after the update is installed – can run to a lower state of charge than before without affecting the driveability, durability or performance of the vehicle.

Tweaks to the active radiator vane system account for the thermal system changes, with the vanes now closing more frequently, aiding aerodynamics.

Changes have also been made to the torque distribution of the front and rear motors are also said to help deliver greater efficiency, though only when driving in Eco mode.

I-Pace vehicle engineering manager Stephen Boulter said the update was the result of analysing huge amounts of data gathered from the brand’s I-Pace eTrophy race series where marginal gains were the name of the game.

“The new software updates optimise the powertrain control systems to improve efficiency and allow I-Pace drivers to travel even further on a single charge without any hardware changes – it really is a case of the vehicle getting better with age,” he said.

Despite the updates, the I-Pace’s official range figure of 470km remains unchanged, as do the power (290kW/ 696Nm) and performance figures – 0-100km/h still takes 4.8 seconds.

While the one-make race series accounts for most of the changes included in the update, a few have also been made as a result of Jaguar analysing a claimed 80 million-plus kilometres of real-world journeys from around the world.

The regenerative braking system has been enhanced to collect more energy more efficiently while predictive range calculationshave also been made more accurate via an algorithm tweak.

The software update is available now from Jaguar retailers around the country free of charge and includes upgrades to the I-Pace’s existing Software-Over-The-Air function.

Jaguar, the first premium vehicle manufacturer to launch an all-electric vehicle, has sold 146 I-Paces in Australia this year.