Jaguar’s upcoming performance crossover SUV, the F-Pace, has been subjected to one of the most demanding torture tests ever devised by the company.
The F-Pace spent a great deal of time at Jaguar Land Rover’s vehicle test facility in Northern Sweden – an area which rarely sees average winter temperatures above -15°C and often drop below -40°C. It is demanding conditions such as these that provide the ideal environment to optimise and calibrate the F-Pace’s all-wheel drive system, stability controls and Jaguar’s new All-Surface Progress Control.
The All Surface Progress Control (ASPC), first used in Jaguar’s new XE sedan, will give F-Pace drivers added confidence in slippery conditions, working as a sort of low-speed cruise control between 4km/h and 30km/h. While it was primarily designed for snow or icy conditions, the ASPC should be a useful feature when driving on slippery surfaces more commonly found in Australia, such as muddy tracks or wet grass, allowing drivers to concentrate purely on steering the vehicle.
The F-Pace was then taken from one extreme environment to another, Dubai. A place where summer temperatures can exceed 50°C in the shade, Dubai gave Jaguar a chance to test their climate control systems and infotainment touch screens in cabin temperatures which soared above 70°C at times.
The extremely hot and humid conditions also gave the F-Pace’s cooling systems a workout, operating in temperatures which most vehicles will never see, but it’s nice to know it can, right?
Andrew Whyman, vehicle programme director of Jaguar F-Pace, said: “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 in the engineering of every single component, we’ve exhaustively tested the vehicle in the most challenging conditions to ensure that it will exceed the expectations of our customers worldwide.”
Expect to see the Jaguar F-Pace on Australian shores mid-2016.