From the scorching heat and dust of Dubai to the frosting ice and snow of Northern Sweden, Jaguar‘s new F-PACE has been tested to the limit in some of the most inhospitable environments imaginable on earth.
Jaguar’s performance crossover offers an unrivaled blend of performance, design and practicality. To ensure that every system functions perfectly even under the most extreme conditions, the new F-PACE has been subjected to one of the most arduous test programmes the company has ever devised.
Talking about the intense performance tests carried out on the F-Pace, Andrew Whyman, Vehicle Programme Director, commented: “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.
“Just as we paid obsessive attention to detail over the engineering of every single component, we’ve exhaustively tested the F-PACE in the most challenging conditions to ensure that it will exceed the expectations of our customers around the world.”
At Jaguar Land Rover’s test facility in Arjeplog, Northern Sweden, the average winter temperatures hover around -15°C and often plummet to a staggering -40°C. The 60 km of purpose-built handling tracks, mountain climbs, inclines, split-friction straights and off-road areas are ideal for optimizing the calibration of the all-wheel drive system, Dynamic Stability Control and technologies such as Jaguar’s revolutionary All-Surface Progress Control. The work done here makes sure that, whether on asphalt, snow or ice, the F-PACE delivers the connected steering feel and agility fundamental to Jaguar dynamics DNA.
In Dubai, ambient temperatures can exceed 50°C in the shade. When vehicles are left out in direct sunlight, cabin temperatures can soar to 70°C – exactly what’s needed to ensure that everything from climate control systems to infotainment touchscreens function perfectly in extremes of heat and humidity.
And while the test engineers can relax in air-conditioned comfort as they drive in city traffic, this part of the test cycle is designed to place the cooling systems under very high load through a combination of high ambient temperatures and low airflow.
The F-PACE has also been driven over graveled mountain passes. This is the first time that a Jaguar test programme has included this uniquely challenging environment, and it is this attention to detail that will help to make Jaguar’s first performance crossover the benchmark in its segment.
Manufactured in Solihull, UK, this latest aluminium-intensive Jaguar is set to make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and will be available on sale from 2016.