Food and cars. What a pairing, hey? Perhaps not an obvious one, but when they are paired right, magic happens. This happened to me this past weekend when I got to drive the Jaguar E-Pace to a restaurant like no other. Jaguar kindly offered us an experience we could not refuse. It involved the Jaguar E-Pace (do we even need more?) and La Colombe restaurant at Silvermist in Constantia, Cape Town. We headed out to this retreat hidden amongst the trees and world-famous fynbos kingdom situated in the Table Mountain National Park. It was spectacular! And if you have ever driven along the coast that snakes between the ocean and the mountain down here in Cape Town, you will know just how special it is.
This weekend wasn’t all about the Jaguar E-Pace. It was about the experience. But of course you want to know more about the E-Pace, right? Well you might remember my review from way back in February when I hopped over to Corsica in France to attend the international launch. Or when I had it on test here in South Africa and made the most compelling video review for you? Either way, you need to click on those links to find out everything you need to know about this beautiful car. But let me give you three things I love about it as a bonus:
- The look! This car attracts attention wherever it goes and I felt fancy as f*** driving it. Bearing in mind that I am probably the target market, well in age, certainly not in income. This car is for the younger customer who might have once felt that they had no way of owning a Jaguar.
- The boot! It offers 577-litres of space. That is substantial. It can hold ALL OF my luggage as well as my husband’s backpack. Not to mention cases of wine, umbrellas, pillows, beach towels, 5-litre bottles of water…basically all the things we take with us on a weekend away.
- The badge! I mean come on, it’s a Jag for goodness sakes. It might be the brand’s first compact SUV, but they have managed to retain the essence of what makes driving a Jag so desirable. That is no easy task I must tell you.
There are a couple of niggles that might bother a few people. The ride is a bit firm, I struggled to find a comfortable driving position and the petrol engine under the bonnet of this P300 doesn’t quite carry the weight of this vehicle (which is almost 1.9 tonnes). With that said, you really are spoilt for choice and although something like the D240 might not feel as fancy pants, the extra torque will certainly be welcomed. You do, however, have a choice of a staggering 38 derivatives across five engine variants, I am confident you will find your perfect match!
La Colombe is as excessive in its offering. 11 courses of food over lunch is only for the brave. I had to take a break half way through, not so much because of the food consumption, but more due to the wine intake. This restaurant is placed in the 7th position in the world on Trip Advisor’s Top 10 Fine Dining Restaurants in the World list. It’s won so many more awards I can’t be bothered to even mention them all, but just know that it is as posh as they come. It is a dining experience like no other I have ever had the privilege of partaking in. It doesn’t come cheap though, one could just about fly to Thailand (return) for the same amount. The food is out of this word though and something, that if you have the means or the opportunity, you need to experience.
Go to my Facebook post to check out the food, your mind will be blown!
Here’s a sneak peak:
For current pricing of the Jaguar E-Pace check out Jaguar’s website and if you want to have your mind and tastebuds blown, check out La Colombe’s menu.
