diff --git a/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/data_handling.py b/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/data_handling.py
index 9624c64839..95bc8b8369 100644
--- a/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/data_handling.py
+++ b/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/data_handling.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 # Please, refer to the LICENSE file in the root directory.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 
+import os
 import pathlib
 import tarfile
 
@@ -36,16 +37,24 @@ def download_and_extract(uri: str, dst: pathlib.Path, data_file: str = "download
     pathlib.Path(data_file).unlink(missing_ok=True)
 
 
-def download_test_data(dst: pathlib.Path, uri: str) -> None:
+# TODO(msimberg): Remove dst_subdir once archives don't contain a subdir with
+# special name.
+def download_test_data(dst_root: pathlib.Path, dst_subdir: pathlib.Path, uri: str) -> None:
+    dst = dst_root.joinpath(dst_subdir)
     if config.ENABLE_TESTDATA_DOWNLOAD:
-        # We create and lock the *parent* directory as we later check for existence of `dst`.
-        dst.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-        with locking.lock(dst.parent):
-            if not dst.exists():
-                download_and_extract(uri, dst)
+        dst.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        # Explicitly specify the lockfile name to make sure that os.listdir sees
+        # it if it's created in dst.
+        lockfile = "filelock.lock"
+        with locking.lock(dst, lockfile=lockfile):
+            files = os.listdir(dst)
+            if len(files) == 0 or (len(files) == 1 and files[0] == lockfile):
+                download_and_extract(uri, dst_root)
     else:
         # If test data download is disabled, we check if the directory exists
-        # without locking. We assume the location is managed by the user
+        # and isn't empty without locking. We assume the location is managed by the user
         # and avoid locking shared directories (e.g. on CI).
         if not dst.exists():
             raise RuntimeError(f"Test data {dst} does not exist, and downloading is disabled.")
+        elif not any(os.scandir(dst)):
+            raise RuntimeError(f"Test data {dst} exists but is empty, and downloading is disabled.")
diff --git a/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/datatest_utils.py b/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/datatest_utils.py
index e9cf03b23c..d0b42a35b9 100644
--- a/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/datatest_utils.py
+++ b/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/datatest_utils.py
@@ -52,11 +52,17 @@ def get_ranked_data_path(base_path: pathlib.Path, comm_size: int) -> pathlib.Pat
     return base_path.absolute().joinpath(f"mpitask{comm_size}")
 
 
+def get_datapath_subdir_for_experiment(
+    experiment: definitions.Experiment = definitions.Experiments.MCH_CH_R04B09,
+) -> pathlib.Path:
+    return pathlib.Path(f"{experiment.name}/ser_data")
+
+
 def get_datapath_for_experiment(
     ranked_base_path: pathlib.Path,
     experiment: definitions.Experiment = definitions.Experiments.MCH_CH_R04B09,
 ) -> pathlib.Path:
-    return ranked_base_path.joinpath(f"{experiment.name}/ser_data")
+    return ranked_base_path.joinpath(get_datapath_subdir_for_experiment(experiment))
 
 
 def create_icon_serial_data_provider(
diff --git a/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/fixtures/datatest.py b/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/fixtures/datatest.py
index c1d17332e9..0727c962ed 100644
--- a/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/fixtures/datatest.py
+++ b/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/fixtures/datatest.py
@@ -117,9 +117,9 @@ def _download_ser_data(
 ) -> None:
     # not a fixture to be able to use this function outside of pytest
     try:
-        destination_path = dt_utils.get_datapath_for_experiment(_ranked_data_path, _experiment)
+        subdir = dt_utils.get_datapath_subdir_for_experiment(_experiment)
         uri = _experiment.partitioned_data[comm_size]
-        data.download_test_data(destination_path, uri)
+        data.download_test_data(_ranked_data_path, subdir, uri)
     except KeyError as err:
         raise RuntimeError(
             f"No data for communicator of size {comm_size} exists, use 1, 2 or 4"
diff --git a/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/locking.py b/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/locking.py
index 89cdf842fb..ef96d25072 100644
--- a/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/locking.py
+++ b/model/testing/src/icon4py/model/testing/locking.py
@@ -17,11 +17,13 @@
 # Consider moving to common if this is needed outside of testing
 
 
-def lock(directory: pathlib.Path | str, suffix: str = ".lock") -> contextlib.AbstractContextManager:
+def lock(
+    directory: pathlib.Path | str, lockfile: str = "filelock.lock"
+) -> contextlib.AbstractContextManager:
     """Create a lock for the given path."""
     directory = pathlib.Path(directory)
     if not directory.is_dir():
         raise ValueError(f"Expected a directory, got: {directory}")
 
-    path = directory / f"filelock{suffix}"
+    path = directory / lockfile
     return filelock.FileLock(str(path))