JAGUAR

JAGUAR’S X-FACTOR The XF is a four-door Jaguar that successfully fuses the style and performance of a sports car with the refinement, space and sophistication of a luxury saloon. Jonathan Crouch reports

It was time for Jaguar to be bold. Those aren’t in fact our words: they’re Jaguar’s own. If the Coventry marque is to wrest sales from the German makes in the BMW, Audi and Mercedes-dominated Executive sector, it knows it has to do something different. Something, in fact, like the new XF.

This model’s predecessor, the S-Type, was bold of course, but in a rather apologetic, retro kind of way. The XF is very different. With its dramatic styling, powerful yet beautiful flowing lines and a distinctive face, this is like no other Jaguar saloon – and yet it could only be a Jaguar. As Design Director Ian Callum explains: "The XF is a stage in a personal journey for me. It has always been my career goal to return Jaguar to its rightful place as leader in automotive design. Cars like the original XJ6 left a lasting legacy and my ambition has been to create something as seminal. The XF is that car." You can excuse the hyperbole. This car really does represent a new era for Jaguar, a shift away from the old-style values embodied by cars like the X-TYPE and the S-TYPE and a move into the future. Or at least some of it is. The engines (3.0 and 4.2-litre petrol units, plus the familiar 2.7-litre V6 diesel) are carried over almost unchanged from the S-TYPE. Still, there has to be room for development and in any case, Jaguar had only so much access to Ford’s coffers when creating this car. Prices also had to be kept reasonable too (which means a starting price of around £34,000). This doesn’t appear to be the most spacious car in its sector but the coupe-like lines of the XF do belie the amount of space inside. There’s room for five adults in comfort, generous interior stowage and a boot capacity of up to 540 litres (plus the opportunity to fold the rear seats and add a further 420 litres). At 4961mm long and 1877mm wide, on a lengthy 2909mm wheelbase, the XF is 45mm longer and 25mm wider than its nearest 'dimensional' competitor, the Audi A6 – with even greater advantages over the BMW 5-Series, Lexus GS300 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

"This car really does represent a new era for Jaguar…."

The XF’s visual emphasis is intended to be sporty, muscular and dynamic – a character defined by a sweeping silhouette inspired by the XK sportscar with a powerful grille, dramatic side window graphics and strong trademark Jaguar ‘shoulders’. The look, however, could not be allowed to come at the expense of efficient packaging. The XF’s waistline rises to meet the roof rather than the roof coming down to meet the waist, which improves interior space. This rising waistline gives the XF a higher tail than any previous Jaguar, providing the twin benefits of much improved aerodynamic performance, together with that substantial luggage volume. Relax inside the XF and it really does feel special. The craftsmanship, materials and attention to detail all impress. Jaguar’s designers have sought to find more interesting ways to say ‘luxury’ and largely, their efforts have worked. The lines are clean and pure, the materials are familiar, but with a very modern flavour - from soft-grained leathers to real wood veneers with a bold, contemporary spin. Even the phosphor blue interior lighting has its own mood. On the ecologically unfriendly subject of using real timber inside cars, there’s more of it on offer here than in any Jaguar since the iconic MkII saloon in the 1960s, with veneers including Satin American Walnut, Burr Walnut and a very modern, straight-grained Rich Oak that works particularly well with textured aluminium highlights that are used in every XF to enhance the contemporary, technical feel. And refreshingly, true to Jaguar’s core values, what looks like wood really is wood. So, get in and settle yourself behind the wheel. What’s it like? Well, on entry to the XF, the start button pulses red, like a heartbeat (ignition keys – what are they?). Start the engine and the JaguarDrive Selector gearchange lever rises into the palm of the hand, while rotating air conditioning vents turn from their flush, 'parked' position to their functional open position. Four engines, are available, all featuring Jaguar's Sequential Shift six-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted 'paddles' for manual gear selection. You can understand the company not bothering to try and take on BMW and offer a conventional manual gearbox option (manual S-TYPEs had a history of staying rooted to the showroom floors) but it’s disappointing that Jaguar lags so far behind its Germans rivals when it comes to the provision of a powerful diesel engine. Only the 207bhp 2.7-litre V6 is available (priced the same as the 240bhp petrol V6). Still, the performance figures (rest to sixty in 7.7s on the way to 143mph) should be competitive enough for most. The top 4.2-litre V8 petrol units offer either a 300bhp normally aspirated engine good for sixty in 6.2s or a supercharged version of the same powerplant which covers the same increment in 5.1s but, just as importantly, provides a wonderful soundtrack wail to accompany the experience. Both cars are limited to a maximum of 155mph, though given that manufacturers like Porsche now increasingly ignore this German-imposed limit, you wonder why Jaguar subjects itself to it. The XF’s drag coefficient is predictably slippery at just 0.29 and the front-to-rear lift balance is precisely zero. This aerodynamic performance contributes to impressively low wind noise, aids fuel consumption and strong high-speed stability and is vital in ensuring ideal handling balance through optimising drag and lift forces. In fact there’s plenty to help out on the handling front. Key driving aids on the XF include Electronic Brake Assist, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, the usual Anti-lock Braking System, Dynamic Stability Control, Cornering Brake Control, and Engine Drag Torque Control. And, for the first time in a Jaguar, Understeer Control Logic which decelerates the car and helps to restore grip to the front wheels when required. Every XF also comes with two-stage driver and front passenger airbags, side and curtain airbags and seat occupant sensing systems to help ensure the airbags work precisely and only as needed in every circumstance. Front-seat occupants also have the added protection of an anti-whiplash system and ‘soft-landing’ technology in the seat-belt retractors to soften contact with the front airbags. In a first for a Jaguar saloon, the XF also has the marque’s new Pedestrian Contact Sensing System. This can mitigate pedestrian injury by firing actuators that deploy the bonnet, resulting in a cushioned space between the bonnet and engine hardpoints. Prices start from £33,900, a sum which secures either the 2.7-litre V6 diesel or the 3.0-litre V6 petrol model. The 4.2-litre V8 models are priced from £44,500. The XF offers three trim levels: Luxury, Premium Luxury and SV8. Externally, with the exception of wheel styles and a badge on the SV8, all cars will look the same. As Jaguar point out, a customer is buying an XF, rather than an XF in a particular trim level. All come with leather trim, Sat nav with colour screen, Bluetooth ‘phone connectivity, a 6-disc in-dash CD autochanger, rear parking sensors, 17-inch alloy wheels and cruise control. Running costs of course will be crucial for likely business buyers. Residual value experts CAP and EurotaxGlass’s have both put the XF under the microscope and both will be quoting a residual value after 36 months / 36,000 miles of 50% of original value for the 2.7-litre diesel Luxury model most will buy. These figures from both experts mean that this variant is best-in-class against rivals BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Audi. In comparison, CAP has concluded that the nearest rival, the BMW 525d SE will retain 45.3% of its original value over the same period. The XF is a car that is overdue for Jaguar, whose sales had previously slowed to a trickle in the Executive sector the marque once dominated on these shores. It’s desirable, practical and makes sense on the balance sheet. With a wider range of diesel engines, it would be almost unbeatable. As it is, it’s safe to say that for the majority of people who will love the styling, the car is an unqualified success.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Jaguar XF range PRICES: £33,900-£54,900 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 16-18 [est] CO2 EMISSIONS: 199g/km [2.7 V6 diesel] PERFORMANCE: [2.7 V6 diesel] 0-60mph 7.7s / Max Speed 143 mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.7 V6 diesel] (urban) 27.1mpg /(extra urban) 48.5mpg / (combined) 37.6mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: twin front/side/window airbags, ABS WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height 4961/2053/1460mm