Many of us Saskatchewanians may feel that after a long cold Saskatchewan winter that it’s time to get out and explore all of the beauty that our province has to offer. And what better way to explore our diverse terrain than in a great ride that lends itself to optimal summer comforts and utility? We all know nothing is worse than a hot stuffy car in 30+ degree weather with no air conditioning, no leg space, and no extra room to stow away your summer accessories.
Why the Jaguar F-Pace Rules for the Prairie Summers
With summer around the corner in Saskatchewan, our team was wondering just how summer friendly the awarding winning Jaguar F-Pace is. Yes, the Jaguar F-Pace has won a bunch of awards including the 2017 World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year at the New York International Auto Show, but how does it stack up in our prairie summers? We took the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace S out for a little spin and put it to the test. Here’s what we found (in no particular order):
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Ample golf club storage
The Jaguar F-Pace has space for your golf clubs, dog toys, and more with plenty of room to spare! This F-Pace has been rated as one of the largest cargo holds in its class at 33.5 cubic feet (or 948 litres). There’s easily plenty of room in the trunk to store more goodies — whether you are wanting to haul your cooler, summer floaties, or whatever floats your boat. And, if you don’t want to get sand everywhere, or you are hauling in something especially dirty, there’s a reversible cargo panel that makes cleaning a breeze.
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Stowaway seating for even more storage
If you have even more things to haul this summer, let’s say a tent, fishing gear, kids toys, life jackets, sleeping bags, etc. and you need more room, the 40:20:40 split-folding rear seats have got you covered whatever configuration you need. These split-folding rear seats are easy to drop with the remote release levers fitted to the trunk. The middle seat can fold on its own, which comes in handy for holding waterskis, fishing rods and the like in place so they won’t slide around. When the folding rear seats are down, the F-Pace’s trunk load area is a whopping 61.4 cubic feet (or 1,740 litres).
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Say no to speeding tickets with Head-Up Display
The F-Pace has an advanced Head-Up Display (HUD) system that uses laser technology that projects a range of important information onto the windshield. This includes Intelligent Speed Limiter, that notifies the driver of the vehicle’s current speed and the speed limit. With this handy feature, you can be more aware and avoid those speeding tickets.
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Killer Meridian sound system and apps
What makes a summer road trip more enjoyable than your favourite music on a rocking sound system? The F-Pace comes with a Meridian 380W sound system with 11 speakers that include: one subwoofer, HD radio, voice control, dynamic volume control, front media interface for USB and iPod, as well as Bluetooth for cell phone and audio streaming. We had the tunes going on our excursion and were pretty impressed with this factory sound system.
The eight-inch touchscreen features InControl Apps that allows the use of third-party smartphone apps installed on a phone through the vehicle’s touchscreen. You can listen to your favourite Spotify playlist on here right through the touchscreen.
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Sunglasses storage
There’s a handy sunglasses storage cubby located in the vehicle so you don’t need to worry a good hiding spot for them. We won’t tell you because it’s well a concealed secret. Your sunglasses will thank us for not telling everyone where they are.
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Tons of legroom and comfy seats for road trips
If you want to bring your family or friends on your summer adventure, the F-Pace easily fits five passengers. There is room for tall passengers even with a tall driver at the wheel. No longer will the passengers in the back suffer from cramped legs!
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iPhone storage in console
With the intense heat in our Saskatchewan summers, leaving something in the vehicle can be dangerous as the heat can really do damage to any items left in the vehicle especially after a long time. What makes the F-Pace perfect for summer is that it features a refrigerated/cooled box in the glovebox, driver/passenger, and rear door bins so you don’t need to worry about your phone and other gadgets overheating.
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AWD for those gravel roads
The F-Pace has full-time all-wheel drive making it capable of tackling those gravel roads (of that we all know that Saskatchewan has aplenty) and trails that are on the lighter duty side. We didn’t take it out on the gravel roads to test it out, but man did the engine purr on the highway.
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Panoramic roof to let in the sun and fresh air
The panoramic roof is huge. Not only is it perfect for letting all that fresh air in the vehicle, but it is the perfect size for setting out under the stars with the roof open or closed and stargazing — depending on how bad the mosquitos are that night.
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Towing capabilities to haul your trailer or boat
The F-Pace has a maximum hauling capacity of 5,290 lbs, so if you need to haul a boat, small trailer, or camper trailer, the F-Pace has got the horsepower to haul it to the lake or your favourite camping spot.
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Front and back cooling seats
With front and back cooled seats, you and your passengers can truly ride in comfort in the sizzling Saskatchewan summer heat. Leather seats can get hot, so in the F-Pace you truly won’t burn your bottom.
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Dual Zone Air-Conditioning
The F-Pace features dual zone front automatic air-conditioning, so everyone can set their own heating and cooling preferences. Now back seat passengers can enjoy air-conditioning and not sweat it out.
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Go keyless with the activity key
If you want to go swimming, kayaking, running, or hanging out at the beach – any activity where you don’t want to carry your keys – the F-Pace has an activity key option that looks like a Fitbit. You can leave your keys in the F-Pace well out of sight, and lock it with the activity key. The activity key is a wearable, shockproof, waterproof, and battery-free band. Your car keys will be disabled until you return to your vehicle and tap the “J” on the rear hatch with activity key. Cool huh?
The Verdict: What the Jaguar F-Pace is Best For
With our shorter summer seasons in Saskatchewan, we like to make the most out of it that we can. And few can argue just how beautiful summer is here in Saskatchewan — with our beautiful lakes, living skies, and fantastic warm weather that truly make our summer season worth the wait.
So now the secret is out that the F-Pace rules for Saskatchewan summers. But, let’s be honest, that’s a pretty vague and bold statement. Everyone spends their summer differently. We found that the F-Pace is perfect for leisurely lake trips, going to the golf course, heading on some light trails, going on an epic summer road trip. If this sounds like the perfect Saskatchewan summer ride for you, come in and take a look our F-Pace models today and summer in Saskatchewan in comfort, performance, and style.