The Jaguar F-Pace, the latest aluminium-intensive Jaguar, has been put to the ultimate test ahead of it’s world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2015.
From the snow of Northern Sweden to the dust and heat of Dubai the F-Pace has been put through some of the most difficult conditions by the Jaguar team to display it’s durability across extreme measures including temperatures of -40°C to +50°C .
“We developed the F-PACE to offer the ride, handling and refinement demanded from a Jaguar, together with exceptional levels of ability and composure on all surfaces and in all weathers.” – Andrew Whyman, Vehicle Programme Director, Jaguar F-PACE .
Testing locations included Jaguar Land Rover’s test facility in Arjeplog, Northern Sweden where average winter temperatures rarely exceed -15°C and often plummet to -40°C. The 60km purpose-built handling tracks mountain climbs, inclines, split-friction straights and off-road areas provided the perfect ‘arena’ to optimise the calibration of the all-wheel drive system, Dynamic Stability Control and technologies such as Jaguar’s revolutionary All-Surface Progress Control. The work concluded that whether on asphalt, snow or ice, the F-PACE delivers the connected steering feel and agility fundamental to Jaguar dynamics DNA.
Whereas testing in Dubai where ambient temperatures can exceed 50°C in the shade and when left out in direct sunlight, cabin temperatures can soar to 70°C it took the F-Pace to another level. The Dubai sun provided the ambient conditions to ensure that everything from climate control systems to infotainment touchscreens function perfectly in extremes of heat and humidity.
Uniquely the F-Pace was also tested over gravelled mountain passes, the first time that a Jaguar test programme has included this environment, allowing every detail to be examined in Jaguar’s quest to set the benchmark for a performance crossover.
After it’s World Premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September the F-PACE will go on sale from 2016.