2009 Jaguar XF Test Drives (Top Gear Video Link added)
12-14-07, 02:49 PM
#1
Speaks French in Russian
Thread Starter
2009 Jaguar XF Test Drives (Top Gear Video Link added)
http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...ries/07/1.html
So we're sitting in the back of the new Jag XF in the middle of nowhere and the three of us are talking about Jag's freshly rediscovered sense of confidence. "Everything changed after XK," says Richard Parry-Jones, retiring chief technical officer at Ford.
"That car's success, internally and externally, gave everyone the right to believe again. I think what you see inside here are designers enjoying themselves again."
Then he says, his passionate pistol-crack Welsh vowels hammering home the point, "There's a lovely sense of fun, even of irony in here..." As he does so, he lovingly fingers the little blood-red starter button (which by now has started to pulse and to pump, to throb gently).
A slightly firmer push, and the 4.2-litre V8 engages and, as it does so, the fat circular **** that selects gears raises out of the console. Slowly, confidently, firmly. Parry-Jones pauses, smiles, hauls in breath as rapidly as he throws out words, "Well, maybe not quite irony yet..."
It doesn't matter whether you think the XF starting procedure is gently ironic or deeply symbolic (oh, come on, guys...), the fact is that people have had fun in here; the way the air vents spin around from their at-rest blank fascias when you switch on; or the messed-with Union Flag that preludes the still-best-in-class systems interface display; the touch-sensitive lights, with their pale-blue cocktail bar cast.
Hell, even the fact that there's more wood in here than ever before in a Jag (yes, apparently despite the omnipresence of all that alloy). It all doesn't matter. This is a great interior, delivered with great confidence.
Don't ask me how I know, but this a great car, delivered with great confidence. I'm blown away by it. And I wasn't at first.
We'll get to what I now know about the way the XF drives later. (It's good, it's good, it's really good, but since we don't get to really drive the car for a couple of months yet, I don't want to make too much of that just now, OK?). In the meantime, I want to talk about the way the car looks.
It is of course an 'Ian Callum car', the latest in a line from the official supplier of dreams for young boys' bedroom walls, whose previous hits include Astons DB7 and DB9, Vantage and Vanquish. Meanwhile, XF is Callum's second Jaguar - like his first, the XK, it doesn't grab you like the Astons. Not immediately anyhow.
But if you, like many others, didn't feel your jaw drop when you first saw the XK but now can't pass one by without turning your head, then the rest of your body, then find yourself stopping in your tracks to lech at its sensual body, then give the XF some time. It is just as good.
The key to seeing the Jaguar in the XF, and not the Lexus (as some unkind souls have suggested), is to look at the front and the rear of the car and, in particular, the extremities of the nose and tail.
It's not always apparent in pictures, but there's a quite profoundly classical crest over the two outside front lamps and a whole bunch of the XK's DNA in the rear shoulders. Frame your view of the F's aggressively modern lines through the doors, and there's the new Jag shape we've been waiting God-only-knows how many years to see.
It's one of those things that just clicks - a 'My God, Miss Jones, you are beautiful' moment. Mind you, I think those Golf GTI wheels are horrible.
But, anyhow, back to three men in a car. The other guy you see in the pictures in Mike Cross, a former Top Gear Man of the Year, and the reason why Jaguars and Land Rovers ride and handle better than anything else out there.
Cross and Parry-Jones are the Daddies at this kind of thing. Parry-Jones is retiring from Ford at the end of this year after 38 years - his touch can be felt in just about everything Ford builds and owns, from the Ka right the way up to the XK - but it's Cross whose special touch has allowed Jaguar and Land Rover to set benchmarks when it comes to moving. They're like Lewis and Alonso (sort of), only they do seem to get on rather better.
They both, of course, are veritable driving gods, and so, last month, when they felt happy enough about XF to give Top Gear a little taste, it was to north Wales we headed, where the roads are demanding enough to trick all but the most sorted of cars.
As a general rule, the further away from Jag's development home in the Midlands cars get, the more sorted they are, so by the time we got a feel for the XF it was more than 90 per cent there. RPJ and MC still have to sign off all the software that runs that lovely ZF six-speeder - the steering might feel a little different when the car's delivered, and the springs and dampers could go a little this way, a little that. But this is diamond polishing.
To be honest, it felt like 100 per cent there to me, but what do I know - these guys have done thousands of miles in the XF and in the XK. The XK is relevant here, because it was the benchmark for the XF. That's right, not the 5-Series or the E-Class or the Audi or even the Lexus... but the XK.
This is a sports saloon through and through - like a Jag should be - so what better to compare ride and handling with than world's best GT; the K might be lighter and shorter between the wheels, but these two are different sides of the same coin. Callum has found Jaguar's static identity; Cross and Parry-Jones, its dynamic one.
Hell, I could be wrong, but I reckon it wipes the floor with the three Germans and the J-car. Now I'm not an old man, but it would be fair to say that I've probably grown out of my lairy little hatch days. Like James May, I like a car that looks after me, and not just when I want to perfectly nail Milton Keynes's roundabouts. I don't want my £40,000 saloon to feel like a £14,000 hatch. Is that reasonable?
Not in Germany, it seems, where a devotion to 'sporty feel' and some misplaced faith in the compliance of run-flat tyres has steered some German saloons up a ride-handling path so singular they've made me car sick.
The XF meanwhile pulls away as quietly as a Rolls-Royce Phantom. As first impressions go, this is good. Sorting ride and handling is as much about the full sensory experience as the seat-of-the-pants experience.
RPJ and MC talk at length about the process of dialling out the noises that degrade the experience and dialling in those that enhance it. So while the XF has less tyre noise than the XK, in the 4.2-litre supercharged version I drove, it also has more engine noise.
Let's wait until we know a little bit more, but it's no secret Ford's big European V8, which sees service in Jags and Land Rovers and with a few tweaks in the V8 Aston too, is not state-of-the-art. There are some major developments coming, but no one is saying exactly when. So the XF is stuck with this hand-me-down, just as it's stuck with a lot of the structural and chassis stuff from the S-Type.
Not that the latter is a problem - by the end of its life, the S-Type had the best chassis in its class (RPJ and MC again). The engine? Well, I like it, but it's an iconoclast in a group that is poweredby high-revving Deutsch clones.
It has, however, unquestionably got character, the one thing the Five and the 'E' and the A6 and, God, the Lexus, so totally lack.
In fact, the XF oozes character, from the minute you first really see it in all its modern magnificence (it's a big car, the biggest in its class, yet it manages to look impressive, opulent, without ever looking overfed on its privileged background).
Slip inside, switch on and witness the whole 'Carry On Starting' ritual, and you're aware this isn't just a car with character, but one with a character you'll like. Getting over your bashfulness, you grab that big fat ****, turn it to drive and off you go, V8 burping like the Merlins they used to stuff in Spitfires on the same site where the XF is built. And then you bury it.
And, oh my... that's the bit you'll have to wait for, but let's just put it this way - it wasn't just the designers that had fun here. The two blokes in the front clearly had loads. And the bloke in the back enjoyed himself a whole lot too.
So we're sitting in the back of the new Jag XF in the middle of nowhere and the three of us are talking about Jag's freshly rediscovered sense of confidence. "Everything changed after XK," says Richard Parry-Jones, retiring chief technical officer at Ford.
"That car's success, internally and externally, gave everyone the right to believe again. I think what you see inside here are designers enjoying themselves again."
Then he says, his passionate pistol-crack Welsh vowels hammering home the point, "There's a lovely sense of fun, even of irony in here..." As he does so, he lovingly fingers the little blood-red starter button (which by now has started to pulse and to pump, to throb gently).
A slightly firmer push, and the 4.2-litre V8 engages and, as it does so, the fat circular **** that selects gears raises out of the console. Slowly, confidently, firmly. Parry-Jones pauses, smiles, hauls in breath as rapidly as he throws out words, "Well, maybe not quite irony yet..."
It doesn't matter whether you think the XF starting procedure is gently ironic or deeply symbolic (oh, come on, guys...), the fact is that people have had fun in here; the way the air vents spin around from their at-rest blank fascias when you switch on; or the messed-with Union Flag that preludes the still-best-in-class systems interface display; the touch-sensitive lights, with their pale-blue cocktail bar cast.
Hell, even the fact that there's more wood in here than ever before in a Jag (yes, apparently despite the omnipresence of all that alloy). It all doesn't matter. This is a great interior, delivered with great confidence.
Don't ask me how I know, but this a great car, delivered with great confidence. I'm blown away by it. And I wasn't at first.
We'll get to what I now know about the way the XF drives later. (It's good, it's good, it's really good, but since we don't get to really drive the car for a couple of months yet, I don't want to make too much of that just now, OK?). In the meantime, I want to talk about the way the car looks.
It is of course an 'Ian Callum car', the latest in a line from the official supplier of dreams for young boys' bedroom walls, whose previous hits include Astons DB7 and DB9, Vantage and Vanquish. Meanwhile, XF is Callum's second Jaguar - like his first, the XK, it doesn't grab you like the Astons. Not immediately anyhow.
But if you, like many others, didn't feel your jaw drop when you first saw the XK but now can't pass one by without turning your head, then the rest of your body, then find yourself stopping in your tracks to lech at its sensual body, then give the XF some time. It is just as good.
The key to seeing the Jaguar in the XF, and not the Lexus (as some unkind souls have suggested), is to look at the front and the rear of the car and, in particular, the extremities of the nose and tail.
It's not always apparent in pictures, but there's a quite profoundly classical crest over the two outside front lamps and a whole bunch of the XK's DNA in the rear shoulders. Frame your view of the F's aggressively modern lines through the doors, and there's the new Jag shape we've been waiting God-only-knows how many years to see.
It's one of those things that just clicks - a 'My God, Miss Jones, you are beautiful' moment. Mind you, I think those Golf GTI wheels are horrible.
But, anyhow, back to three men in a car. The other guy you see in the pictures in Mike Cross, a former Top Gear Man of the Year, and the reason why Jaguars and Land Rovers ride and handle better than anything else out there.
Cross and Parry-Jones are the Daddies at this kind of thing. Parry-Jones is retiring from Ford at the end of this year after 38 years - his touch can be felt in just about everything Ford builds and owns, from the Ka right the way up to the XK - but it's Cross whose special touch has allowed Jaguar and Land Rover to set benchmarks when it comes to moving. They're like Lewis and Alonso (sort of), only they do seem to get on rather better.
They both, of course, are veritable driving gods, and so, last month, when they felt happy enough about XF to give Top Gear a little taste, it was to north Wales we headed, where the roads are demanding enough to trick all but the most sorted of cars.
As a general rule, the further away from Jag's development home in the Midlands cars get, the more sorted they are, so by the time we got a feel for the XF it was more than 90 per cent there. RPJ and MC still have to sign off all the software that runs that lovely ZF six-speeder - the steering might feel a little different when the car's delivered, and the springs and dampers could go a little this way, a little that. But this is diamond polishing.
To be honest, it felt like 100 per cent there to me, but what do I know - these guys have done thousands of miles in the XF and in the XK. The XK is relevant here, because it was the benchmark for the XF. That's right, not the 5-Series or the E-Class or the Audi or even the Lexus... but the XK.
This is a sports saloon through and through - like a Jag should be - so what better to compare ride and handling with than world's best GT; the K might be lighter and shorter between the wheels, but these two are different sides of the same coin. Callum has found Jaguar's static identity; Cross and Parry-Jones, its dynamic one.
Hell, I could be wrong, but I reckon it wipes the floor with the three Germans and the J-car. Now I'm not an old man, but it would be fair to say that I've probably grown out of my lairy little hatch days. Like James May, I like a car that looks after me, and not just when I want to perfectly nail Milton Keynes's roundabouts. I don't want my £40,000 saloon to feel like a £14,000 hatch. Is that reasonable?
Not in Germany, it seems, where a devotion to 'sporty feel' and some misplaced faith in the compliance of run-flat tyres has steered some German saloons up a ride-handling path so singular they've made me car sick.
The XF meanwhile pulls away as quietly as a Rolls-Royce Phantom. As first impressions go, this is good. Sorting ride and handling is as much about the full sensory experience as the seat-of-the-pants experience.
RPJ and MC talk at length about the process of dialling out the noises that degrade the experience and dialling in those that enhance it. So while the XF has less tyre noise than the XK, in the 4.2-litre supercharged version I drove, it also has more engine noise.
Let's wait until we know a little bit more, but it's no secret Ford's big European V8, which sees service in Jags and Land Rovers and with a few tweaks in the V8 Aston too, is not state-of-the-art. There are some major developments coming, but no one is saying exactly when. So the XF is stuck with this hand-me-down, just as it's stuck with a lot of the structural and chassis stuff from the S-Type.
Not that the latter is a problem - by the end of its life, the S-Type had the best chassis in its class (RPJ and MC again). The engine? Well, I like it, but it's an iconoclast in a group that is poweredby high-revving Deutsch clones.
It has, however, unquestionably got character, the one thing the Five and the 'E' and the A6 and, God, the Lexus, so totally lack.
In fact, the XF oozes character, from the minute you first really see it in all its modern magnificence (it's a big car, the biggest in its class, yet it manages to look impressive, opulent, without ever looking overfed on its privileged background).
Slip inside, switch on and witness the whole 'Carry On Starting' ritual, and you're aware this isn't just a car with character, but one with a character you'll like. Getting over your bashfulness, you grab that big fat ****, turn it to drive and off you go, V8 burping like the Merlins they used to stuff in Spitfires on the same site where the XF is built. And then you bury it.
And, oh my... that's the bit you'll have to wait for, but let's just put it this way - it wasn't just the designers that had fun here. The two blokes in the front clearly had loads. And the bloke in the back enjoyed himself a whole lot too.
12-14-07, 02:54 PM
#2
Speaks French in Russian
Thread Starter
Auto Express
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carrevi...jaguar_xf.html
It's the most eagerly anticipated car of the year - and we're first behind the wheel. We give our verdict on the Jaguar XF.
You’ve seen the spy shots, read the news stories and now the year’s most awaited car has finally come into our hands and hit the road. We went to Phoenix in Arizona to drive it and deliver the most eagerly anticipated verdict of the year.
This new Coventry Cat is not the sleek, feline shape we are used to. While it uses the old S-Type platform and the suspension from the XK coupe, the XF is a new direction for Jaguar.
Short body overhangs, sharp creases and a raked, sporty roof give the executive saloon a lot of quick-glance appeal, but some of the detailing is less attractive. The rear of the car is good looking, but the front, particularly the gaping grille is not. You need to select your body colour carefully as in silver grey it isn’t pretty; darker colours, particularly British Racing Green, are much better.
If the exterior is contentious, the interior is lovely. Designers have lowered the height of the dashboard and reduced the seats’ bulk to create an impression of space and air. Wood and dotted aluminium-alloy sweeps attractively across the facia and then there are the toys, like the rotary gear selector, which rises out of the centre console and the starter button which flashes and pulses when you climb into the car. Standard equipment includes cruise control, climate-control, heated seats and satellite navigation.
Accommodation is generous up front, with lots of useful storage space and comfortable and supportive seats. There’s less space in the back, although six-footers have space between their head and the roof and their knees and the front seat backs. The 500-litre boot is enormous and the rear seats fold 60/40 to allow for long loads.
Safety starts with the high-strength steel body frame and there are two-stage driver and passenger airbags, together with side and curtain bags, anti-whiplash head restraints and belt pretensioners. The XF uses Jaguar’s dynamic stability control and the anti-lock brakes have a new pre-priming system which prepares the car for an emergency stop if you lift off the throttle quickly.
The XF goes on sale on March 1 and the model line up will consist of two 4.2-litre V8 models with and without a supercharger, which will occupy between them less than five per cent of British sales. There will be a 3.0-litre V6 available from £33,900 and a 2.7-litre V6 turbodiesel for £33,900.
The top model has the same charismatic, supercharged V8 as the XK coupe. With 410bhp and loads of torque, it makes the 1.9-tonne XF blisteringly quick. Standing start acceleration is only restricted by the grip of the tyres and if you keep your foot down, the charge only slows perceptibly well into motorway speeds. Top speed is limited to 155mph and the Jag gets there terrifyingly quickly, never feeling strained or short on power. From inside the engine noise is muted, from outside, however, this top cat roars like someone just stood on its paw.
The ZF six-speed gearbox blurs the line between a manual and an automatic. Changes are sharp, and the steering-wheel paddles twirl with the wheel rim to ease gear selection. In sports mode the gearbox will even rev between each down shift.
On a twisting, desert route, the XF really showed off its classy chassis. The body control is superb coping with anything the road throws at it, but with a great ride as well. The steering is not quite as razor sharp as some German rivals, but it’s well weighted and accurate, allowing you to easily place the car in bends. The turn in is sharp and while the nose eventually slides wide, it is well controlled.
On one-inch smaller wheels and tyres, the naturally-aspirated car has a slightly better ride and handling balance, which bodes well for the forthcoming diesel model.
Rival: BMW 550i M Sport
At this end of the price range most buyers prefer the image of a big German saloon. The 5-Series is handsome and well made, with a hi-tech engine, but the cabin is beginning to show its age.
It's the most eagerly anticipated car of the year - and we're first behind the wheel. We give our verdict on the Jaguar XF.
You’ve seen the spy shots, read the news stories and now the year’s most awaited car has finally come into our hands and hit the road. We went to Phoenix in Arizona to drive it and deliver the most eagerly anticipated verdict of the year.
This new Coventry Cat is not the sleek, feline shape we are used to. While it uses the old S-Type platform and the suspension from the XK coupe, the XF is a new direction for Jaguar.
Short body overhangs, sharp creases and a raked, sporty roof give the executive saloon a lot of quick-glance appeal, but some of the detailing is less attractive. The rear of the car is good looking, but the front, particularly the gaping grille is not. You need to select your body colour carefully as in silver grey it isn’t pretty; darker colours, particularly British Racing Green, are much better.
If the exterior is contentious, the interior is lovely. Designers have lowered the height of the dashboard and reduced the seats’ bulk to create an impression of space and air. Wood and dotted aluminium-alloy sweeps attractively across the facia and then there are the toys, like the rotary gear selector, which rises out of the centre console and the starter button which flashes and pulses when you climb into the car. Standard equipment includes cruise control, climate-control, heated seats and satellite navigation.
Accommodation is generous up front, with lots of useful storage space and comfortable and supportive seats. There’s less space in the back, although six-footers have space between their head and the roof and their knees and the front seat backs. The 500-litre boot is enormous and the rear seats fold 60/40 to allow for long loads.
Safety starts with the high-strength steel body frame and there are two-stage driver and passenger airbags, together with side and curtain bags, anti-whiplash head restraints and belt pretensioners. The XF uses Jaguar’s dynamic stability control and the anti-lock brakes have a new pre-priming system which prepares the car for an emergency stop if you lift off the throttle quickly.
The XF goes on sale on March 1 and the model line up will consist of two 4.2-litre V8 models with and without a supercharger, which will occupy between them less than five per cent of British sales. There will be a 3.0-litre V6 available from £33,900 and a 2.7-litre V6 turbodiesel for £33,900.
The top model has the same charismatic, supercharged V8 as the XK coupe. With 410bhp and loads of torque, it makes the 1.9-tonne XF blisteringly quick. Standing start acceleration is only restricted by the grip of the tyres and if you keep your foot down, the charge only slows perceptibly well into motorway speeds. Top speed is limited to 155mph and the Jag gets there terrifyingly quickly, never feeling strained or short on power. From inside the engine noise is muted, from outside, however, this top cat roars like someone just stood on its paw.
The ZF six-speed gearbox blurs the line between a manual and an automatic. Changes are sharp, and the steering-wheel paddles twirl with the wheel rim to ease gear selection. In sports mode the gearbox will even rev between each down shift.
On a twisting, desert route, the XF really showed off its classy chassis. The body control is superb coping with anything the road throws at it, but with a great ride as well. The steering is not quite as razor sharp as some German rivals, but it’s well weighted and accurate, allowing you to easily place the car in bends. The turn in is sharp and while the nose eventually slides wide, it is well controlled.
On one-inch smaller wheels and tyres, the naturally-aspirated car has a slightly better ride and handling balance, which bodes well for the forthcoming diesel model.
Rival: BMW 550i M Sport
At this end of the price range most buyers prefer the image of a big German saloon. The 5-Series is handsome and well made, with a hi-tech engine, but the cabin is beginning to show its age.
12-14-07, 02:58 PM
#3
Speaks French in Russian
Thread Starter
http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/...ed-SV8/229638/
What is it?
It’s Jaguar’s new design hero – the S-type is dead, long live the XF. But does it drive like it looks?
The XF’s all-new shape has successfully jumped a couple of design generations to re-establish modernity as a core value at Jaguar for the first time since Sir William Lyons was in charge.
And the first question I had was answered before we left the car park: this car is as fine to behold in the real world as it was on the motor show stand. Better looking even. As our test car stood in the parking area of Jaguar’s Paradise Valley test base in Arizona, where we were provided with our first drive in the car, the delicacy of its graceful shape made the cars around it look coarse and ordinary.
The ante, then, had been upped before we’d even set out. Can the XF’s behind-the-wheel experience match its incredible fusion of beauty, grace and visual endeavour?
What’s it like?
"Drive", they said. So I did. In the 4.2-litre, 420bhp, supercharged V8 version of the Jaguar XF — called SV8 — with the 0-60 mph time of 5.1 seconds and governed top speed of 155 mph. It’s due on sale in March at the competitive starting price of £54,900, and orders are already building.
The length and confidence of the long lines that define its coupe-like body (the front and rear screen rake angles are almost identical to the XK coupe’s) make the car seem low, but it isn’t. You slip as easily behind the wheel as you do in any other modern car.
The driver’s bucket seat looks a little meagre and uninviting, but luckily it’s the only unprepossessing feature of the entire interior. In any case, it’s quite comfortable in a class-average sort of way. Cabin space turns out to be class average, too. I can sit comfortably behind a driver's seat set for myself, but it’s a snug fit for four full-sized adults.
Press the SV8’s starter button and two things happen. The engine fires and settles to a smoothly distant V8 beat, and the transmission’s rotary switch, until now flush with the console top, grows upward. Twist it to D, and the car creeps off the mark like any big-engined auto. If all you want is a smooth power delivery, that is all you need ever do.
But if you’re a keen driver, the SV8’s transmission offers plenty of options. One is to twist the transmission to “Drive-Sport”, which holds gears longer and provides better engine braking. Beyond that, you can start using the paddle-shifts manually. Work them at any time, either to hold gears, or just to hear the F1-style automated engine blip.
On top of that, the SV8 has a Dynamic Mode which reconfigures the transmission for quicker shifts and yet sportier use of the engine. The DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) is also altered to a special Track setting that allows you to play the hero by allowing a whiff of on-limit sliding in corners before intervening.
The mighty V8 is the car’s focal point, of course, providing copious amounts of smooth thrust almost in silence at low revs, but with a satisfying rumble when bigger demands are made.
Our test route was dogged by the threat of motorcycle cops, but it was still fun to soar along sinuous, smooth-surfaced canyon roads with the engine turning between 3500rpm and the 6250 redline, millimetre movements of the fingertips dictating which gear you’d use. This will prove, we believe, to be one of the XF’s defining features.
Handling? The supercharged XF feels just like an XK8, which is no wonder because it has the same suspension components, maybe re-rated for saloon duty, but just as good as the sports car.
It drives like a powerful and wide-tracked rear-drive car, with fundamentally neutral handling that graduates to a small amount of stabilising understeer in the fastest corners. The SV8 will tail-slide in a stable and predictable way under full power in 50-60 mph corners, but only on deliberate command. There’s a precision and a faithfulness about this car’s controls that belies its size and weight, and makes it feel as agile as a small car.
The steering, especially, is brilliant, weighted nicely with a delicious helping of feel just beside the straight-ahead. It flatters your judgement by cornering perfectly on the line you chose going in. Predictability can be an unflattering term, but applied to the XF it’s a synonym for precision.
So it handles, but what about the ride? Jaguar meant to build a sports saloon in the spirit of the Mk2, and has followed through. What is impressive is the way the car stays flat, how it absorbs ripples, how its primary ride preserves body control, and how it never allows ruts to get through to the occupants, despite its firmness.
Should I buy one?
On first acquaintance, the XF comes across as a remarkably good car. It comes in a well-priced, simple-to-understand echelon of models — four engines, three trim levels — with a luxurious entry spec and a deep inventory of gadgets to suit every taste.
Of course, the XF still has much to prove. It will meet a German rival for a bit of preliminary sparring in the 2 January issue of Autocar, and pretty soon we’ll drive it on home turf. Then we’ll really know if it’s a title contender.
What of the “drives like it looks” claim? On evidence so far gathered I’d offer a slogan of my own. Looks great, drives even better.
What is it?
It’s Jaguar’s new design hero – the S-type is dead, long live the XF. But does it drive like it looks?
The XF’s all-new shape has successfully jumped a couple of design generations to re-establish modernity as a core value at Jaguar for the first time since Sir William Lyons was in charge.
And the first question I had was answered before we left the car park: this car is as fine to behold in the real world as it was on the motor show stand. Better looking even. As our test car stood in the parking area of Jaguar’s Paradise Valley test base in Arizona, where we were provided with our first drive in the car, the delicacy of its graceful shape made the cars around it look coarse and ordinary.
The ante, then, had been upped before we’d even set out. Can the XF’s behind-the-wheel experience match its incredible fusion of beauty, grace and visual endeavour?
What’s it like?
"Drive", they said. So I did. In the 4.2-litre, 420bhp, supercharged V8 version of the Jaguar XF — called SV8 — with the 0-60 mph time of 5.1 seconds and governed top speed of 155 mph. It’s due on sale in March at the competitive starting price of £54,900, and orders are already building.
The length and confidence of the long lines that define its coupe-like body (the front and rear screen rake angles are almost identical to the XK coupe’s) make the car seem low, but it isn’t. You slip as easily behind the wheel as you do in any other modern car.
The driver’s bucket seat looks a little meagre and uninviting, but luckily it’s the only unprepossessing feature of the entire interior. In any case, it’s quite comfortable in a class-average sort of way. Cabin space turns out to be class average, too. I can sit comfortably behind a driver's seat set for myself, but it’s a snug fit for four full-sized adults.
Press the SV8’s starter button and two things happen. The engine fires and settles to a smoothly distant V8 beat, and the transmission’s rotary switch, until now flush with the console top, grows upward. Twist it to D, and the car creeps off the mark like any big-engined auto. If all you want is a smooth power delivery, that is all you need ever do.
But if you’re a keen driver, the SV8’s transmission offers plenty of options. One is to twist the transmission to “Drive-Sport”, which holds gears longer and provides better engine braking. Beyond that, you can start using the paddle-shifts manually. Work them at any time, either to hold gears, or just to hear the F1-style automated engine blip.
On top of that, the SV8 has a Dynamic Mode which reconfigures the transmission for quicker shifts and yet sportier use of the engine. The DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) is also altered to a special Track setting that allows you to play the hero by allowing a whiff of on-limit sliding in corners before intervening.
The mighty V8 is the car’s focal point, of course, providing copious amounts of smooth thrust almost in silence at low revs, but with a satisfying rumble when bigger demands are made.
Our test route was dogged by the threat of motorcycle cops, but it was still fun to soar along sinuous, smooth-surfaced canyon roads with the engine turning between 3500rpm and the 6250 redline, millimetre movements of the fingertips dictating which gear you’d use. This will prove, we believe, to be one of the XF’s defining features.
Handling? The supercharged XF feels just like an XK8, which is no wonder because it has the same suspension components, maybe re-rated for saloon duty, but just as good as the sports car.
It drives like a powerful and wide-tracked rear-drive car, with fundamentally neutral handling that graduates to a small amount of stabilising understeer in the fastest corners. The SV8 will tail-slide in a stable and predictable way under full power in 50-60 mph corners, but only on deliberate command. There’s a precision and a faithfulness about this car’s controls that belies its size and weight, and makes it feel as agile as a small car.
The steering, especially, is brilliant, weighted nicely with a delicious helping of feel just beside the straight-ahead. It flatters your judgement by cornering perfectly on the line you chose going in. Predictability can be an unflattering term, but applied to the XF it’s a synonym for precision.
So it handles, but what about the ride? Jaguar meant to build a sports saloon in the spirit of the Mk2, and has followed through. What is impressive is the way the car stays flat, how it absorbs ripples, how its primary ride preserves body control, and how it never allows ruts to get through to the occupants, despite its firmness.
Should I buy one?
On first acquaintance, the XF comes across as a remarkably good car. It comes in a well-priced, simple-to-understand echelon of models — four engines, three trim levels — with a luxurious entry spec and a deep inventory of gadgets to suit every taste.
Of course, the XF still has much to prove. It will meet a German rival for a bit of preliminary sparring in the 2 January issue of Autocar, and pretty soon we’ll drive it on home turf. Then we’ll really know if it’s a title contender.
What of the “drives like it looks” claim? On evidence so far gathered I’d offer a slogan of my own. Looks great, drives even better.
12-14-07, 03:11 PM
#4
Speaks French in Russian
Thread Starter
The Modern Jaguar
Even in the stark light of the Arizona desert, the skin of the 2009 Jaguar XF shimmers with a life that seems almost liquid. Next to it, any other sport sedan looks as cold and abstract as a lump of coal.
It always seems like the typical sport sedan is wagging its finger in your face, lecturing you about some sort of technology. Instead, the Jaguar XF isn't afraid to be simply beautiful, even pretty. And then it backs up its modern good looks with a 420-horsepower supercharged V8 that Jag says will get you to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds.
The 2009 Jaguar XF will completely reinvent the way you think about Jaguar. Of course, it does so by going back to the classic values that have always given Jaguar a lasting place in the imagination, the special magic that Audi, BMW, Cadillac and Lexus still shamelessly envy.
Why Not Be Beautiful?
The XF's chief designer Ian Callum first applied for a job in Jaguar design at age 12 as a kid in Dumfries, Scotland, and has longed for an opportunity to remake the brand ever since. And it looks as if he's successfully done so here, combining inspiration from the big book of historic Jaguar design cues (especially the 1959 Jaguar Mk. II) with current enthusiasm for a sedan adapted to a coupe roof line.
You can see the Jaguar XF's modernity in its profile, the way the front overhang has been pulled back, the wheelbase lengthened and then the arc of the roof adapted to very fast angles for the windshield and backlight (identical angles to those of the Jaguar XK coupe, in fact).
There's something of the Lexus GS in the XF's overall graphic, but the Jaguar's detailing makes the difference between beauty and abstraction, and you can see it in the modeling of the hood, the chrome surround for side windows, and even the use of the traditional Jaguar badges, the Growler and the Leaper. The XF has been a little juiced up for effect, but, really, this has been the Jaguar way since the original 1935 SS sports car.
The XF sits on a long 114.5-inch wheelbase, and the track measures 61.4 inches in front and a significantly wider 63.2 inches in the rear. At 195.3 inches long, 80.8 inches wide and 57.5 inches tall, the XF is a little larger than an Audi A6. The use of a wide range of high-strength steels helps deliver a very rigid body shell, and the suspension pieces come from the XK.
Power With Control
A sport sedan usually expresses itself with only its engine and tires, but the Jaguar XF sends us an entirely different message as we hurtle across the spare, high-desert landscape of Arizona. It is the chassis that tells the story here; light-footed and supple in the Jaguar fashion, yet with a greater degree of body control than you might expect from a Jaguar. The thick rim of the steering wheel fills your hands and the XF instinctively vectors down the highway.
There are two different versions of the XF, one with the normally aspirated Jaguar V8 and one with the supercharged version of the same power plant. In normally aspirated form, the DOHC 4.2-liter V8 develops 300 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 310 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm, and it works through a six-speed automatic transmission that Jaguar claims gets you to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds and then does the quarter-mile in 14.9 seconds.
Once the V8 is fitted with a Roots-type supercharger, power climbs to 420 hp at 6,250 rpm and 413 lb-ft of torque at 3,500 rpm, and Jaguar says it takes the car to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and though the quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds.
The same ZF-built six-speed transmission that does business in the Jaguar XK also is in place here. There's a mode for normal driving, a mode for sporting driving and a mode for the use of the shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel which blips the throttle on downshifts.
The most important thing here is the connection that's apparent between the engine and the transmission, a real change from the days not long ago when every Jaguar was cursed with a sloppy torque converter that seemed designed only to whip hydraulic fluid into a froth.
To Serve Man (and Woman, Too)
Jaguar interior designer Alister Whelan has rejected the cockpit-type conventions of sport sedans for an environment that envelops you in leather, aluminum and wood (more wood than in any other Jaguar ever built, in fact). The driver seat comes up to support you like a fine armchair, right down to the high, softly upholstered armrests. Yet the cowl ahead of you is very low to foster both a sense of interior spaciousness and the kind of down-the-road visibility you need in a car capable of an electronically limited 155 mph.
It's the fit between the human software and the machine-made hardware that makes the Jaguar XF so unique. The XF invites you to be a part of the experience. You see this in the much-discussed start button on the center console that pulses red in the lub-dub rhythm of a heartbeat when you enter the car, and then the way the unique rotary dial that controls the transmission rises out of the center console once the engine comes to life.
There's a touchscreen interface for the audio, climate and navigation system, so no console mouse is required. The buttons and switches for such things as the glovebox operate with proximity sensors. And despite the low coupe roof line, the rear doors are wide for good access and there's 37.6 inches of rear headroom (though only 36.6 inches of rear legroom).
The Jaguar XF has been designed in the spirit of modern product design, with a sense of ergonomic correctness that's enhanced by a sure sense of style. At the same time, there are also flashes of pure wit, like the blue lighting for the instrumentation that is meant to recall some vodka bar (and as the blue light's fuzzy contrast with the silver instrument faces proves, not very many smart decisions have been made in places where vodka is consumed).
Driving in the Jaguar Manner
When you roll out of the driveway in the XF, there's no telling where you'll decide to go. This car has the composure you expect from a Jaguar, the lively refinement that can take you 300 miles and deliver you still feeling fresh after your journey. And yet there's a stronger connection with the mechanical soul of the car than ever before, even compared to the Jaguar XK.
When you turn the steering wheel into a corner, the XF commits itself and you can feel the tires nibbling at the pavement. This is particularly true of the 20-inch Pirelli P Zero tires fitted to the supercharged XF, 255/35ZR20s in front and massive 285/30ZR20s in the rear. Yet even the standard XF's 245/40VR19 Dunlop SP Sport 01s offer reassuring steering response.
Once you select the transmission's Sport setting, you can rely on the automatic to give you sure throttle control, as it kicks down a gear so swiftly and intuitively that rarely do you feel obligated to use the steering wheel paddles. And when you get into the brakes (the supercharged model has larger front rotors), there's enough anti-dive dialed into the front suspension geometry that the car makes the transition into a corner in a coordinated, intuitive sweep to the apex.
Though you might not believe it, this car will carry a slide if that's what you're after. After all, it has been tuned by a team led by the legendary Mike Cross, Jaguar's longtime development chief. Justifiably famous for driving with the enthusiasm his name suggests, Cross recently entered his first drift competition and apparently was a little nonplussed to have finished only 3rd. Perhaps the judges were a little taken aback by Cross' choice for the competition, the luxurious long-wheelbase version of the Jaguar XJ sedan.
Saving Jaguar
The Jaguar XF makes different choices than most sport sedans, balancing response with smoothness, agility with comfort and reward with refinement. The XF has a kind of beautiful modernity, and it makes other sport sedans seem like crude, one-dimensional imitations of the real thing.
When the 2009 Jaguar XF appears in dealerships in March 2008, Ford will have concluded the sale of Jaguar to either an automotive company from India or a private equity company. It is the XF's task to save Jaguar, and it seems to be up to the task. In terms of pricing, there's value apparent in the three trim levels: the $49,975 XF Luxury, the $55,975 XF Premium Luxury and the fully equipped $62,975 Supercharged.
More important, the 2009 Jaguar XF also has a kind of value in the way it goes about its business. A Jaguar has always meant something more than simple mobility, and the XF is much the same. It is more luxury car than sport sedan, yet it holds all cars in this price range to a higher standard when it comes to dynamic poise and even utility as well as style. It's the kind of Jaguar you can believe in.
Even in the stark light of the Arizona desert, the skin of the 2009 Jaguar XF shimmers with a life that seems almost liquid. Next to it, any other sport sedan looks as cold and abstract as a lump of coal.
It always seems like the typical sport sedan is wagging its finger in your face, lecturing you about some sort of technology. Instead, the Jaguar XF isn't afraid to be simply beautiful, even pretty. And then it backs up its modern good looks with a 420-horsepower supercharged V8 that Jag says will get you to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds.
The 2009 Jaguar XF will completely reinvent the way you think about Jaguar. Of course, it does so by going back to the classic values that have always given Jaguar a lasting place in the imagination, the special magic that Audi, BMW, Cadillac and Lexus still shamelessly envy.
Why Not Be Beautiful?
The XF's chief designer Ian Callum first applied for a job in Jaguar design at age 12 as a kid in Dumfries, Scotland, and has longed for an opportunity to remake the brand ever since. And it looks as if he's successfully done so here, combining inspiration from the big book of historic Jaguar design cues (especially the 1959 Jaguar Mk. II) with current enthusiasm for a sedan adapted to a coupe roof line.
You can see the Jaguar XF's modernity in its profile, the way the front overhang has been pulled back, the wheelbase lengthened and then the arc of the roof adapted to very fast angles for the windshield and backlight (identical angles to those of the Jaguar XK coupe, in fact).
There's something of the Lexus GS in the XF's overall graphic, but the Jaguar's detailing makes the difference between beauty and abstraction, and you can see it in the modeling of the hood, the chrome surround for side windows, and even the use of the traditional Jaguar badges, the Growler and the Leaper. The XF has been a little juiced up for effect, but, really, this has been the Jaguar way since the original 1935 SS sports car.
The XF sits on a long 114.5-inch wheelbase, and the track measures 61.4 inches in front and a significantly wider 63.2 inches in the rear. At 195.3 inches long, 80.8 inches wide and 57.5 inches tall, the XF is a little larger than an Audi A6. The use of a wide range of high-strength steels helps deliver a very rigid body shell, and the suspension pieces come from the XK.
Power With Control
A sport sedan usually expresses itself with only its engine and tires, but the Jaguar XF sends us an entirely different message as we hurtle across the spare, high-desert landscape of Arizona. It is the chassis that tells the story here; light-footed and supple in the Jaguar fashion, yet with a greater degree of body control than you might expect from a Jaguar. The thick rim of the steering wheel fills your hands and the XF instinctively vectors down the highway.
There are two different versions of the XF, one with the normally aspirated Jaguar V8 and one with the supercharged version of the same power plant. In normally aspirated form, the DOHC 4.2-liter V8 develops 300 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 310 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm, and it works through a six-speed automatic transmission that Jaguar claims gets you to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds and then does the quarter-mile in 14.9 seconds.
Once the V8 is fitted with a Roots-type supercharger, power climbs to 420 hp at 6,250 rpm and 413 lb-ft of torque at 3,500 rpm, and Jaguar says it takes the car to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and though the quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds.
The same ZF-built six-speed transmission that does business in the Jaguar XK also is in place here. There's a mode for normal driving, a mode for sporting driving and a mode for the use of the shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel which blips the throttle on downshifts.
The most important thing here is the connection that's apparent between the engine and the transmission, a real change from the days not long ago when every Jaguar was cursed with a sloppy torque converter that seemed designed only to whip hydraulic fluid into a froth.
To Serve Man (and Woman, Too)
Jaguar interior designer Alister Whelan has rejected the cockpit-type conventions of sport sedans for an environment that envelops you in leather, aluminum and wood (more wood than in any other Jaguar ever built, in fact). The driver seat comes up to support you like a fine armchair, right down to the high, softly upholstered armrests. Yet the cowl ahead of you is very low to foster both a sense of interior spaciousness and the kind of down-the-road visibility you need in a car capable of an electronically limited 155 mph.
It's the fit between the human software and the machine-made hardware that makes the Jaguar XF so unique. The XF invites you to be a part of the experience. You see this in the much-discussed start button on the center console that pulses red in the lub-dub rhythm of a heartbeat when you enter the car, and then the way the unique rotary dial that controls the transmission rises out of the center console once the engine comes to life.
There's a touchscreen interface for the audio, climate and navigation system, so no console mouse is required. The buttons and switches for such things as the glovebox operate with proximity sensors. And despite the low coupe roof line, the rear doors are wide for good access and there's 37.6 inches of rear headroom (though only 36.6 inches of rear legroom).
The Jaguar XF has been designed in the spirit of modern product design, with a sense of ergonomic correctness that's enhanced by a sure sense of style. At the same time, there are also flashes of pure wit, like the blue lighting for the instrumentation that is meant to recall some vodka bar (and as the blue light's fuzzy contrast with the silver instrument faces proves, not very many smart decisions have been made in places where vodka is consumed).
Driving in the Jaguar Manner
When you roll out of the driveway in the XF, there's no telling where you'll decide to go. This car has the composure you expect from a Jaguar, the lively refinement that can take you 300 miles and deliver you still feeling fresh after your journey. And yet there's a stronger connection with the mechanical soul of the car than ever before, even compared to the Jaguar XK.
When you turn the steering wheel into a corner, the XF commits itself and you can feel the tires nibbling at the pavement. This is particularly true of the 20-inch Pirelli P Zero tires fitted to the supercharged XF, 255/35ZR20s in front and massive 285/30ZR20s in the rear. Yet even the standard XF's 245/40VR19 Dunlop SP Sport 01s offer reassuring steering response.
Once you select the transmission's Sport setting, you can rely on the automatic to give you sure throttle control, as it kicks down a gear so swiftly and intuitively that rarely do you feel obligated to use the steering wheel paddles. And when you get into the brakes (the supercharged model has larger front rotors), there's enough anti-dive dialed into the front suspension geometry that the car makes the transition into a corner in a coordinated, intuitive sweep to the apex.
Though you might not believe it, this car will carry a slide if that's what you're after. After all, it has been tuned by a team led by the legendary Mike Cross, Jaguar's longtime development chief. Justifiably famous for driving with the enthusiasm his name suggests, Cross recently entered his first drift competition and apparently was a little nonplussed to have finished only 3rd. Perhaps the judges were a little taken aback by Cross' choice for the competition, the luxurious long-wheelbase version of the Jaguar XJ sedan.
Saving Jaguar
The Jaguar XF makes different choices than most sport sedans, balancing response with smoothness, agility with comfort and reward with refinement. The XF has a kind of beautiful modernity, and it makes other sport sedans seem like crude, one-dimensional imitations of the real thing.
When the 2009 Jaguar XF appears in dealerships in March 2008, Ford will have concluded the sale of Jaguar to either an automotive company from India or a private equity company. It is the XF's task to save Jaguar, and it seems to be up to the task. In terms of pricing, there's value apparent in the three trim levels: the $49,975 XF Luxury, the $55,975 XF Premium Luxury and the fully equipped $62,975 Supercharged.
More important, the 2009 Jaguar XF also has a kind of value in the way it goes about its business. A Jaguar has always meant something more than simple mobility, and the XF is much the same. It is more luxury car than sport sedan, yet it holds all cars in this price range to a higher standard when it comes to dynamic poise and even utility as well as style. It's the kind of Jaguar you can believe in.
Last edited by GFerg; 12-14-07 at 03:39 PM.
12-14-07, 03:54 PM
#6
Speaks French in Russian
Thread Starter
MotorTrend Test Drive
You'll notice the heartbeat every time you enter the driver's seat of the new 2009 Jaguar XF sedan. Not just your ticker -- the car's, too.
Slide into the cockpit, and immediately your eyes are drawn to the keyless start/stop button on the center console: It's beating a rhythmic red, as if the XF is coming alive. Press it, and the supercharged 4.2-liter V-8 twists into a muted whir, concealed air vents in the dash glide open, an innovative rotary shift **** -- the so-called JaguarDrive Selector -- rises out of the transmission tunnel. You've just witnessed "the Jaguar handshake," the first of several servings of pizzazz that differentiate this striking new four-door from such classmates as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series.
"You may recognize the grille as being inspired by the original 1968 Jag XJ," says Ian Callum, director of Jaguar design. Then his voice grows almost stern. "But the XF is not a retro car." Quite the opposite, in fact. "We need to attract buyers in their 30s and 40s," admits Mike O'Driscoll, Jaguar's managing director. "The XF is an overtly expressive automobile; it's designed to make you smile. And its success is critical to the future of Jaguar Cars."
Make no styling judgments until you've seen the XF in person. Distinctive as it may look in photos, in the metal the XF radiates a modernity and sexiness that simply don't translate to the printed page. The current XJ8 -- admittedly a considerably larger and more traditional sedan -- appears positively baroque in comparison.
The design flair continues inside. Watch out, Audi: The XF will have your celebrated cockpit stylists grumbling with professional jealousy and admiration. A low, nearly seamless dash sweeps from door to door in a smooth, even plane. Flawless twin-needle stitching finishes the edges. A band of textured aluminum frames the air vents, central seven-inch touchscreen (standard on all XFs), and the console's audio and HVAC controls. Also evident is more hand-rubbed tree than in any Jag in decades; buyers will have a choice of American Walnut, Burl Walnut, or Rich Oak. Like its namesake cat, at night this Jaguar shines: Phosphor blue lighting illuminates the instruments and the edges of the controls (much like the Motorola Razr cell phone, which inspired the look). Prepare to make the jump to hyperspace: You're at the glowing helm of your own Millennium Falcon.
Inside the center console lies an available adapter that allows you to operate your iPod or iPhone (music only) via the central touchscreen. The overhead cabin lights activate not with a button but with "JaguarSense" tap -- as does the glovebox (simply press a small target icon on the dash; Jaguar says the shape was inspired by The Who's "Quadrophenia" album cover). While the lights respond perfectly, the glovebox touch-target requires a carefully pointed finger to work (engineers say such precision was necessary to prevent accidental openings). Options include a DVD-based navigation system, a rear parking camera, radar-based blind-spot monitors, and a 440-watt, 13-speaker Bowers and Wilkins audio system with Dolby surround sound (all the aforementioned are standard on the XF Supercharged).
Although other markets will also offer a twin-turbo 2.7-liter diesel V-6 and a 3.0-liter gas six, the U.S. will get only the premium V-8s: a 4.2-liter naturally aspirated version making 300 horsepower and a supercharged-and-intercooled variant good for 420 horses. Both mate to a ZF six-speed automatic controlled by that unique rotary shift ****. A fully "drive by wire" system-no mechanical connections between shifter and transmission-the JaguarDrive Selector (the company should've called it something more fabulous, like "Twirl-N-Go") is intuitive, easy to use, and frees up console space for those oh-so-important Big Gulps. Simply rotate the **** to Drive, and you're off. An additional Sport setting quickens the transmission's responsiveness. Or simply pull one of the wheel-mounted shift paddles and you're changing gears manually (holding the upshift paddle for two seconds sends the system back to standard Drive). Particularly in full manual mode, shifts are brilliantly quick-10 percent faster, Jaguar says, than in the XK coupe.
As for the reliability of an electronically controlled shift **** that has to perform its rising and falling act multiple times every day, know this: Jaguar ran the rotary Selector through 68,000 test cycles and also subjected it to the "two-liter Coke test," dumping more than a Big Gulp's worth of Atlanta's world-famous brew onto the console and then ensuring that the Selector continued to function (professional driver on closed course: do not attempt).
The XF's variable-ratio power steering is magnificent, rich with feedback, arcing through its orbit smoothly, and transmitting a linear build-up of forces in corners. The ride impresses, too; the XF Supercharged gets Jaguar's CATS adaptive-damping system, which neatly balances body control with suspension plushness. Rough-road impacts are well absorbed, aided by a body structure (made of 25 grades of steel plus aluminum and magnesium) that Jaguar claims is the stiffest in the class. A composite undertray and a secondary bulkhead contribute to a cabin that transmits almost no wind noise and only a hint of road rumble.
Kick the throttle hard and the supercharged V-8 kicks back with plenty of thrust; Jaguar claims a 0-to-60-mph time of just 5.1 seconds (the normally aspirated XF is said to make the same run in 6.2 seconds). Not bad for a sedan that checks in at more than two tons. Top speed is limited to 155 mph. Perhaps most important, the V-8 makes sounds that will have your own heart flickering like that fancy starter button.
While the XF offers nearly 18 cubic feet of trunk space (and the ability to fold down the rear seats for even more cargo room), its rear compartment is not its strong suit. With a six-footer comfortably situated in the driver's seat, a similarly sized adult sitting behind will be squeezed (things are better on the passenger side, where the front-seater can more easily scoot up a bit). True, the XF's rear bench is considerably more accommodating than the all-but-unuseable rear buckets in the two-door XK, but overall the XF feels more like a roomy four-door coupe than a true five-passenger sedan.
When the XF goes on sale in March, Jaguar will offer three versions: normally aspirated Luxury (base price: $49,975), normally aspirated Premium Luxury ($55,975, with such added standard features as 19-inch alloy wheels-versus the base 18s-heated front seats, premium soft-grain leather, and navigation), and the topline XF Supercharged ($62,975), which comes standard with 20-inch alloys and every feature but an optional heated steering wheel and radar-guided adaptive cruise control. Jaguar expects the Supercharged edition to account for about 15 percent of the XF mix, but given the blown car's content and 120 additional ponies, it's likely the actual percentage will be far higher.
For sure, the XF has the performance and panache to stand out in the premium midsize segment-and attract those younger buyers Jaguar is so keen on. We'll need a comparison test to confirm how the XF stands up against its impressive competition, but a car with a heart is going to be tough to beat.
Slide into the cockpit, and immediately your eyes are drawn to the keyless start/stop button on the center console: It's beating a rhythmic red, as if the XF is coming alive. Press it, and the supercharged 4.2-liter V-8 twists into a muted whir, concealed air vents in the dash glide open, an innovative rotary shift **** -- the so-called JaguarDrive Selector -- rises out of the transmission tunnel. You've just witnessed "the Jaguar handshake," the first of several servings of pizzazz that differentiate this striking new four-door from such classmates as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series.
"You may recognize the grille as being inspired by the original 1968 Jag XJ," says Ian Callum, director of Jaguar design. Then his voice grows almost stern. "But the XF is not a retro car." Quite the opposite, in fact. "We need to attract buyers in their 30s and 40s," admits Mike O'Driscoll, Jaguar's managing director. "The XF is an overtly expressive automobile; it's designed to make you smile. And its success is critical to the future of Jaguar Cars."
Make no styling judgments until you've seen the XF in person. Distinctive as it may look in photos, in the metal the XF radiates a modernity and sexiness that simply don't translate to the printed page. The current XJ8 -- admittedly a considerably larger and more traditional sedan -- appears positively baroque in comparison.
The design flair continues inside. Watch out, Audi: The XF will have your celebrated cockpit stylists grumbling with professional jealousy and admiration. A low, nearly seamless dash sweeps from door to door in a smooth, even plane. Flawless twin-needle stitching finishes the edges. A band of textured aluminum frames the air vents, central seven-inch touchscreen (standard on all XFs), and the console's audio and HVAC controls. Also evident is more hand-rubbed tree than in any Jag in decades; buyers will have a choice of American Walnut, Burl Walnut, or Rich Oak. Like its namesake cat, at night this Jaguar shines: Phosphor blue lighting illuminates the instruments and the edges of the controls (much like the Motorola Razr cell phone, which inspired the look). Prepare to make the jump to hyperspace: You're at the glowing helm of your own Millennium Falcon.
Inside the center console lies an available adapter that allows you to operate your iPod or iPhone (music only) via the central touchscreen. The overhead cabin lights activate not with a button but with "JaguarSense" tap -- as does the glovebox (simply press a small target icon on the dash; Jaguar says the shape was inspired by The Who's "Quadrophenia" album cover). While the lights respond perfectly, the glovebox touch-target requires a carefully pointed finger to work (engineers say such precision was necessary to prevent accidental openings). Options include a DVD-based navigation system, a rear parking camera, radar-based blind-spot monitors, and a 440-watt, 13-speaker Bowers and Wilkins audio system with Dolby surround sound (all the aforementioned are standard on the XF Supercharged).
Although other markets will also offer a twin-turbo 2.7-liter diesel V-6 and a 3.0-liter gas six, the U.S. will get only the premium V-8s: a 4.2-liter naturally aspirated version making 300 horsepower and a supercharged-and-intercooled variant good for 420 horses. Both mate to a ZF six-speed automatic controlled by that unique rotary shift ****. A fully "drive by wire" system-no mechanical connections between shifter and transmission-the JaguarDrive Selector (the company should've called it something more fabulous, like "Twirl-N-Go") is intuitive, easy to use, and frees up console space for those oh-so-important Big Gulps. Simply rotate the **** to Drive, and you're off. An additional Sport setting quickens the transmission's responsiveness. Or simply pull one of the wheel-mounted shift paddles and you're changing gears manually (holding the upshift paddle for two seconds sends the system back to standard Drive). Particularly in full manual mode, shifts are brilliantly quick-10 percent faster, Jaguar says, than in the XK coupe.
As for the reliability of an electronically controlled shift **** that has to perform its rising and falling act multiple times every day, know this: Jaguar ran the rotary Selector through 68,000 test cycles and also subjected it to the "two-liter Coke test," dumping more than a Big Gulp's worth of Atlanta's world-famous brew onto the console and then ensuring that the Selector continued to function (professional driver on closed course: do not attempt).
The XF's variable-ratio power steering is magnificent, rich with feedback, arcing through its orbit smoothly, and transmitting a linear build-up of forces in corners. The ride impresses, too; the XF Supercharged gets Jaguar's CATS adaptive-damping system, which neatly balances body control with suspension plushness. Rough-road impacts are well absorbed, aided by a body structure (made of 25 grades of steel plus aluminum and magnesium) that Jaguar claims is the stiffest in the class. A composite undertray and a secondary bulkhead contribute to a cabin that transmits almost no wind noise and only a hint of road rumble.
Kick the throttle hard and the supercharged V-8 kicks back with plenty of thrust; Jaguar claims a 0-to-60-mph time of just 5.1 seconds (the normally aspirated XF is said to make the same run in 6.2 seconds). Not bad for a sedan that checks in at more than two tons. Top speed is limited to 155 mph. Perhaps most important, the V-8 makes sounds that will have your own heart flickering like that fancy starter button.
While the XF offers nearly 18 cubic feet of trunk space (and the ability to fold down the rear seats for even more cargo room), its rear compartment is not its strong suit. With a six-footer comfortably situated in the driver's seat, a similarly sized adult sitting behind will be squeezed (things are better on the passenger side, where the front-seater can more easily scoot up a bit). True, the XF's rear bench is considerably more accommodating than the all-but-unuseable rear buckets in the two-door XK, but overall the XF feels more like a roomy four-door coupe than a true five-passenger sedan.
When the XF goes on sale in March, Jaguar will offer three versions: normally aspirated Luxury (base price: $49,975), normally aspirated Premium Luxury ($55,975, with such added standard features as 19-inch alloy wheels-versus the base 18s-heated front seats, premium soft-grain leather, and navigation), and the topline XF Supercharged ($62,975), which comes standard with 20-inch alloys and every feature but an optional heated steering wheel and radar-guided adaptive cruise control. Jaguar expects the Supercharged edition to account for about 15 percent of the XF mix, but given the blown car's content and 120 additional ponies, it's likely the actual percentage will be far higher.
For sure, the XF has the performance and panache to stand out in the premium midsize segment-and attract those younger buyers Jaguar is so keen on. We'll need a comparison test to confirm how the XF stands up against its impressive competition, but a car with a heart is going to be tough to beat.
12-14-07, 03:56 PM
#7
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After seeing this car at the SFO Auto Show, if there were three of them in the back seat in that first review, at least one of them was a worm from Men in Black. The reviews have been in the British press for at least a month and they have even been just reprinted in some US mags. Just like the CTS, it will take more than initial reviews to make them a player again in this range.
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12-14-07, 05:16 PM
#8
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THe styling kills it for me. Its a GS with a weird front, Aston tails and fender vents. Interior is cute with the lights and pop up **** but the design leaves me cold.
Great reviews on the handling, I hope the public doesn't overlook this car like the XK and its handling prowess.
Great reviews on the handling, I hope the public doesn't overlook this car like the XK and its handling prowess.
12-14-07, 05:57 PM
#9
It's a beautiful car. I love the styling. The pricing is awesome; very competitive.
Yet, I just can't place my bet on Jaguar yet.
I want Jaguar to evolve so much more. I'm gonna keep looking and supporting, but it will be a while until I will consider buying one...
Yet, I just can't place my bet on Jaguar yet.
I want Jaguar to evolve so much more. I'm gonna keep looking and supporting, but it will be a while until I will consider buying one...
12-14-07, 06:36 PM
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What surprised me seeing it in the flesh is the front just does not work for me. The rest of the exterior, especially the tail light and rear end treatment, is quite nice. Might be worth looking at in four or five years if the rest of the package and the build quality are there.
12-14-07, 06:38 PM
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