Before this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the world’s sportiest and most agile premium/luxury compact SUV was undoubtedly the Porsche Macan. But what are the odds that changes?

Before we answer such a difficult question, let’s try to recap what Jaguar have done here. They just came out with their first ever crossover (SUV is more like it) and overall, the public seems to find it quite likable in terms of its appearance and its style.

If we do stop to analyze the F-Pace’s design, we’ll just walk away knowing that it’s unmistakably a Jaguar, evident by the front fascia, taillights, even its profile – despite the fact that we’ve only seen Jaguar build sports cars and sedans so far.

Thanks to its aggressive and dynamic appearance, the F-Pace might be your best choice when thinking about saying no to a Macan and buying something else. The BMW X3 doesn’t look anywhere near as sporty as the Macan, the X4 is a crossbreed, the Audi Q5…forget about it, and the new Mercedes-Benz GLC is a bit too much on the elegant side, compared to what we’re looking for here.

So, if say you wanted to spend your money on nothing but a sporty premium compact SUV without going the Porsche-route, the F-Pace might be your only choice, let alone your best one. Of course, looks aren’t everything and next up you need to consider powertrain options.

People who buy a Porsche Macan aren’t particularly interested in outputs that measure below the 250 PS range. The F-Pace is aimed at a wider audience, naturally, which means that you can also get it with a 180 PS (177hp) 2.0-liter diesel engine, which we won’t mention again for the duration of this “comparison”.

Thankfully, both cars have equally powerful V6 petrol engines, which means that we can actually learn a lot by analyzing just how they behave on paper, before the first batch of video reviews come in.

In one corner, we have the Jaguar F-Pace 35t AWD V6 S/C AWD with its 340 PS and 450 Nm (331 lb-ft) of torque. While accelerating in a straight line, it can reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.8 seconds, helped of course by its 8-speed automatic transmission.

The F-Pace also features a rear-biased all-wheel drive system as well as an electronic brain controlling the body movement 100 times per second and the wheel movement 500 times per second. In theory, this means that you can get the best of both worlds – comfort and agility.

But not so fast, because the Porsche Macan kind of has…let’s say an even sportier pedigree to it. The Macan S version also packs 340 PS and 460 Nm (339 lb-ft) V6 unit (though turbocharged), making for one really fun and relevant comparison with the supercharged F-Pace.

Its 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time is 5.4 seconds (almost half a second quicker than the Jag), which may or may not influence your decision when buying either of the two cars.

What might influence you is the fact that the F-Pace has a slightly longer wheelbase, a more spacious boot (on paper) and will use about as much fuel on average as the Macan.

Bottom line, this is what it comes down to. Exterior looks, interior looks & quality, handling, turbocharged vs supercharged and of course practicality – they are SUVs after all.

Poll: Which one do you fancy more?

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