CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG!
New Jaguar XF
Price: from £32,300 to £49,945
GOOD
JAGUAR is leaping ahead with new products and the latest to land elegantly on the road is the new second-generation XF sports saloon. With its taut styling, bold grille and aggressively streamlined coupe-like looks, it’s unmistakably a British-built Jaguar fit to take on larger German rivals BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
I PUT a selection of the new XF models through their paces along the twisting roads of northern Spain — and on an F1 test track in Navarre — to see how the new cat performed. Does the XF have the X factor?
THE original XF, launched in 2007, remains Jaguar’s biggest-selling and most awarded car. Eight years on, the new Jaguar XF was first revealed in March during a dramatic highwire crossing over the Royal Dock in Canary Wharf, London, before having its global unveiling in New York by Mad Men actress Christina Hendricks.
THE new car’s proportions have been tweaked. So although slightly shorter (7 mm) and lower (3 mm) than the original, it has a wheelbase that is 2 in (51 mm) longer. That means more interior space for rear passengers, including more legroom (15 mm), knee-room (24 mm) and headroom (up to 27 mm). Comfortable, cossetting seats up front.
PRICES from £32,300 for the frugal diesel XF 2.0d 163 bhp Prestige which, thanks to the new generation of Ingenium engines built at the new engine factory in Wolverhampton, averages 70.6 mpg and has CO2 emissions of just 104g/km.
THIS is the model for those who want a Jaguar that won’t break the bank. Top speed is 132 mph, with acceleration from rest to 60 mph in 8.2 seconds. This engine can be linked to either an eightspeed automatic gearbox or a six-speed manual. It’s a nice drive, but doesn’t set the pulses racing.
FOR extra buzz, turn to the XF 3-litre TDV6 turbocharged diesel linked to the eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox (with paddles for manual override) whose top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph. But it accelerates from rest to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds.
THERE are four trim levels: Prestige, R-Sport, Portfolio and ‘S’. It is being built at Jaguar Land Rover’s Castle Bromwich factory in Birmingham alongside the allaluminium F-Type sports car and top-of-the-range XJ limousine.
THE new InControl Touch Pro system features a 10.2 in touchscreen that simultaneously allows the driver to see information, while the front-seat passenger watches TV or a DVD.
THERE’S also a 825W Meridian digital surround sound system with 17 speakers.
DESPITE its potential speed, this Jaguar might also help you keep your driving licence. Jaguar has added a smart new feature that not only ‘reads’ the speed limit on roadside signs, it also then automatically reduces the speed of the car to comply with it. The new system works by combining traffic sign recognition technology and satellite navigation with cruise control. And it works both ways, so when the speed limit increases, the system allows the car to speed up, too.
JAGUAR says the new XF has its own internal wifi hot-spot that will allow up to eight devices to operate online. And many of the car’s controls can be accessed remotely via a smartphone.
BAD
THE more frugal versions may appeal to the cost-conscious business driver, but they don’t have the fun-filled pizzazz of the TDV6 turbo diesel.
THE satnav threw a few wobblies along the way, but recovered.
IT’S up against some seriously stiff competition. BMW and the like will fight back aggressively. It’s a good job that Jaguar’s chief executive Ralf Speth is an old BMW hand.