Carmakers generally like to keep the testing of new models on the DL, but in the age of the Internet testing can provide a handy way to remind the public of models that may have dropped off people’s radar screens during a lengthy development period.
The Jaguar F-Pace will debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but in the meantime, Jag wanted to show what its first SUV could do in climatic extremes.
The F-Pace was sent to Jaguar Land Rover’s testing facility in Arjeplog, Sweden, where temperatures can plummet to a chilly -40 degrees Fahrenheit, and rarely reach above 5 degrees. It also spent some time in Dubai, where it was exposed to temperatures of 122 degrees Fahrenheit (in the shade, Jag says), and where direct sunlight can bake interiors with 158-degree heat.
Images released of the F-Pace so far show a vehicle that remains pretty close to the C-X17 concept that debuted at Frankfurt in 2013 as the first preview of Jaguar’s first utility vehicle. Hopefully the production version will be a little less ungainly once the camouflage is stripped off.
Under the skin, the F-Pace will feature all-wheel drive, Jaguar’s All-Surface Progress Control low-speed cruise control, as well as a range of engines shared with other Jaguar and Land Rover models. That’s likely to include turbocharged four-cylinder engines from the new Ingenium line, and the company’s trusty 3.0-liter supercharged V6.
The F-Pace will likely be a smallish crossover, competing with the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3/X4, Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, and Porsche Macan. It will probably prioritize sporty on-road handling over off-road ability. That’s what Jaguar sibling brand Land Rover is for, after all.
The name F-Pace, incidentally, is a reference to “Grace, Pace, and Space,” a Jaguar ad tagline from the 1950s and ’60s. This crossover should offer plenty of space, but we’ll just have to wait and see about the “grace” and “pace.”
