If we could award the Jaguar F-Pace six out of five for towing, we probably would. It really is an exceptionally able tow car.

All of our drivers had the Jag at the top of the ‘1700-1899kg’ weight class, some by a large margin.

Most importantly, the F-Pace is stable. Very stable. Even travelling 10mph over the motorway limit the Jaguar was firmly in control of the caravan, and felt comfortable in crosswinds which had lesser tow cars wandering.

When slowing from speed, the caravan’s Al-Ko ATC sensors can sometimes detect slight movements which are barely noticeable to the driver, but there was no sign of any swaying when backing off the throttle in the Jaguar.

Car and caravan recovered quickly from any sudden and sharp steering inputs, with no tugging at the back of the car from the tourer.

The Jag is a very quick tow car as well as a secure one, with gutsy acceleration even with a big, heavy caravan in tow.

Accelerating from 30-60mph took just 7.7 seconds, making the Jaguar one of the fastest cars in this year’s tests.

It handled the hill-start test with ease, too. The electronic parking brake held car and caravan still on the 1-in-6 slope, and with so much torque (516lb ft), four-wheel drive and a smooth automatic gearbox, we had no trouble driving over the top of the hill.

In fact, the only black mark against the F-Pace as a tow car was the so-so stopping distance of 11.7m from 30mph, a surprise when the brakes felt powerful and easy to control in normal towing.

The F-Pace is great to drive solo, too. The S comes with Adaptive Dynamics, which allows the driver to adjust the suspension, and Jaguar Drive Control, which does the same for the throttle, gearbox and steering.

With the sportiest settings selected the Jag is really rewarding to drive. Go for a more comfortable set-up and the ride is still firm, but considerably more supple.

There’s plenty of space inside, with noticeably more rear legroom than in some sporty SUVs like the Porsche Macan. The boot is a healthy size, too, with room for all but one item from our test load of holiday luggage.

The Jaguar has a price tag of over £50,000 and discounts are hard to come by, but resale values are strong.