Jaguar's first SUV torture-tested

Jaguar's build-up to the world debut of its first SUV rolls on ahead of its world debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September and its Australian release in mid-2016 with this teaser video showing the F-PACE undergoing extreme weather testing.

Most recently, a 'prototype' version of the F-PACE was enlisted as the support vehicle for the victorious Team Sky cycling team in last weekend's Tour de France, and pre-production models have also been teased in an official video and spied numerous times.

Now this video and series of images shows yet another camouflaged F-PACE undergoing cold-weather testing in Scandinavia and hot-weather testing in the Middle East.

Clearly, the latest video is designed to reassure potential customers of the capability, reliability and durability of its first SUV, which it prefers to call a "performance crossover", ahead of its global release next year.

The British car-maker says it's one of the most demanding test programs the company has ever devised and the first time a Jaguar test program has included gravel mountain passes.

"It is this attention to detail that will help to make Jaguar's first performance crossover the benchmark in its segment," it said.

The video shows the F-PACE being subjected to temperatures as low as -40°C at Jaguar Land Rover's dedicated test facility at Arjeplog in northern Sweden, and in desert heat as high as +50°C in Dubai.

In Sweden, JLR has 60km of purpose-built handling tracks, mountain climbs, inclines, split-friction straights and off-road areas designed to optimise the calibration of all-wheel drive and stability control systems, as well as Jaguar's 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," said Jaguar.

Hot-weather validation testing was carried out in Dubai, where ambient temperatures can exceed 50°C in the shade and cabin temperatures can exceed 70°C in direct sunlight – "exactly what's needed to ensure that everything from climate control systems to infotainment touch-screens function perfectly in extremes of heat and humidity", says Jag.

"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," said Jaguar's F-PACE program director, Andrew Whyman.

"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."

To be produced at Solihull in the UK alongside the new mid-size XE sedan, with which it shares its aluminium-intensive platform, the AWD five-door wagon will be powered by JLR’s new range of ‘Ingenium’ 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. A hybrid version should follow, along with a top-shelf SVR performance flagship fitted with a supercharged 3.0-litre V6.

Due on sale in Australia by next July, the F-PACE will follow a series of new Jaguars to arrive here, including the XE in August, the facelifted XJ limousine in November and the new XF large sedan next March.