Jaguar Says New F-Pace SUV Can Handle Extreme Temperatures [w

Its roofline will bare similarities with the Range Rover Evoque but the Jaguar F-Pace will be significantly larger.

Jaguar assessed the F-Pace in the scorching heat and dust of Dubai as well as on the ice and snow of Northern Sweden as it wanted to make sure every system functions as it should, even under the most extreme conditions.

‘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, ‘ explains Andrew Whyman, vehicle programme director on the F-Pace. The company took pre-production prototypes to Dubai, exposing the crossover to ambient temperatures exceeding 122°F and interior temperatures rising as high as 158°F in direct sunlight.

Jaguar have the F-Pace out at Arjeplog in Sweden – where temperatures drop to -40 deg C – with 60km of purpose-built tracks including climbs, split-traction straights and off-road areas to get the balance of the F-Pace’s four-wheel-drive just right, especially the All-Surface Progress Control.

Okay, so the images are still of the “we’re trying to hide the vehicle from you” prototype but you can glean a pretty good idea of what to expect, including the trademark Jaguar front end and a slightly Land Rover-esque rear end. Jaguar’s plan is to bill the F-Pace as a “family sports car” more than a rough-and-tough off-roader, but nonetheless, testing in both sweltering heat and frigid cold give us a sense of what the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace can handle.

The new Jaguar F-Pace will debut in Frankfurt and be on sale in the UK in early 2016. 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.