‘IF you don’t want to know the result look away now.’ You must have heard that phrase on the TV news, routinely trotted out before big-match coverage to follow.

Well, that was me with the Jaguar E Pace – making every effort to avoid finding out about the manufacturer’s latest SUV-crossover before it was due for road-test.

The reason? I wanted to fully savour the experience of the new model by having no fore-knowledge and thus no pre-conceptions.

I had enjoyed driving its larger sibling, the F Pace, so much and was looking forward to my week in the new car but wanted to get behind the wheel as fresh as possible.

And the ploy worked well.

The E Pace is one gorgeous-looking hunk of car, sharing the dynamic lines of its big bro’. Our car, sitting on diamond-turned 20in alloys and sporting a special body kit, was an SE R-Dynamic Automatic AWD (£50,710 OTR).

An absolute wealth of features included: LED headlights, auto high beam assist, auto-dimming, power fold, heated door mirrors with memory and approach lights, powered gesture tailgate, keyless entry, 18-way electric memory front seats, perforated Windsor leather seats with contrast stitching, and leather-trimmed steering wheel, posh satnav and connectivity suite, wi-fi hotspot, smartphone pack, Bluetooth, traffic sign recognition and adaptive speed limiter, park pack consisting of 360° parking aid, rear traffic monitor and park assist, drive pack consisting of adaptive cruise control, with queue assist, high-speed emergency braking, and blind spot assist

You will also find heated washer jets, heated windscreen, heated door mirrors, rain sensing windscreen wipers, automatic LED headlights, LED rear lights approach illumination (via remote) and follow me home lighting, tyre pressure monitoring system, dual-zone climate control, and rear-seat air vents.

Our car was four-wheel-drive, with an array of electronics to get the best out of the traction system.

The on-the-road experience is rewarding, the two-litre petrol engine laying down its power smoothly via an eight-speed automatic gearbox, giving 0 to 60mph time of 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 151mph, with a combined fuel consumption figure of 35.3mpg (manufacturer’s figures).

With its blend of style, comfort, technology and performance

the E Pace is a front-runner in its sector of the market, which includes the BMW X1, Audi Q3 and Volvo XC40, and sure to prove a hit.