Jaguar XF

Last chance saloon

Wheels Magazine
March, 2008

Please don't pass any style judgement on the XF until you've seen Jaguar's new sports sedan on the move. Only then - as it slides gracefully between less distinctive, less attractive metal - will you appreciate just how gorgeous and contemporary is the first truly modern-looking Jaguar sedan since the 1968 XJ.

Where the rival Mercedes-Benz CLS - another four-door coupe - is contrived and fussy, the simplicity of the XF, especially the flowing rear-three-quarter view, is breathtaking.

Even seeing a static XF in the metal fails to trigger the full impact of the Jag's dramatic beauty; it's only on the road that the new car's styling radiates sexiness. No complicated surfaces, no contrived edges and creases, no hard corners; the purity of the XF's exterior is spoiled only by the 'leaper badge' on the boot lid; this hood-ornament surrogate looks like a last-minute addition. And some may disagree, but we love the recessed trapezoid grille, the way the twin-lamp headlights meld into the gracefully sculptured bonnet, the short-overhang proportions that bring so much movement to the styling. Avant-garde styling is back as a Jaguar virtue.

That the XF drives as well as it looks is a massive bonus. Predictably, given the XK suspension underpinnings and drivetrain, the XF has the manners and dynamics of the Jaguar sports car. In normally-aspirated and supercharged V8 forms, the new sedan is closest to being a four-door XK. Nothing at all wrong with that, particularly when continued refinement means the XF steering and ride are superior to the XK.

Just days before Christmas, Wheels has joined 59 other global magazines for a first press drive of the new Jag outside Scottsdale, Arizona, three months before the launch proper in Monte Carlo. The American location dictates the V8-only engine line-up; the naturally-aspirated XF Premium Luxury V8 and the supercharged flagship, dubbed the SV8. Important as they are for Australia, both the carry-over 175kW 3.0-litre petrol V6 - expected to be the local best-seller when sales settle down after the May launch - and the 152kW, twin-turbo 2.7-litre diesel are ignored in the US.

Much as everybody at Jaguar treats the launch as business-as-usual, it's hard not to sympathise with the engineers and designers in the face of Ford's 'launch and abandon' philosophy. Finally, after two disastrous decades of retro-driven designs and close to $10 billion of the Blue Oval's cash reserves, Jaguar has a modern, no-excuses, no-compromises sports sedan that surely deserves to succeed, though it will be the new owner, not Ford, who ultimately benefits.

Originally, the XF was to follow the XJ and XK in being all-alloy. But it soon became clear that development of a new, higher volume sedan - around 50,000 a year - in aluminium would add a year to the process. Jaguar management understandably decided it was more important to get the XF on the road quickly.

Hence the decision to reskin the steel S-Type (XF and S-Type share just five percent of the body-in-white, mostly in the floor pan) while integrating the XK's aluminium suspension. Jaguar says 25 percent of the body is high-strength steel, though compared to the equivalent S-Type models the 1771kg base V6 XF weighs 9kg more, while the 1842kg blown V8 weighs an extra 47kg. If the body was all alloy, engineers estimate a reduction of around 100kg.

Step inside the big Cat and instead of Jag's traditional high cowl, a low, almost seamless dashboard sweeps from door to door in a smooth, consistent plane, highlighted by slightly imperfect double stitching that makes its handcrafted nature more obvious. Trace your fingers over the mostly leather and textured aluminium interior materials and the quality of fit and finish is superb, though the front seats are disappointingly flat.

It's then you notice the 'heartbeat', a pulsating red light in the starter button. Press this and you witness the Jaguar's 'handshake'. As the V8 comes alive, four concealed air vents in the dash open and the cast-zinc rotary shift knob, until now flush with the console, rises out of the transmission tunnel. A gimmick? Sure, but I'll wager owners enjoy the 'handshake' every time they enter the driver's seat. Lightly touch the switch hidden beneath the surface of the dash timber and the glovebox opens, finger the light in the roof and it illuminates. As glitzy as it is effective.

You can twist the rotary knob to D - Jag's first shift-by-wire transmission - and never need do any more than play with the throttle. But if you're an enthusiast driver, the SV8 allows plenty of choice. Drive-Sport holds gears longer and shifts down earlier. Or there are the steering wheel paddles which, when used, introduce an automated engine blip to down-changes and quicken up-shifts. This versatile arrangement soon becomes second nature and is a huge improvement over the old J-gate.

All models but the SV8 arrive on steel springs with non-switchable dampers. The SV8 gets Jag's 'CATS' electronically-adjustable dampers that are activated by pressing the chequered flag button behind the gear selector. Body control is now further tightened, without ruining the ride, even on the standard 20-inch alloys (the regular V8 gets 19s), throttle response is also sharpened and stability control switches to Track mode; allowing more lateral movement before intervening. If you want to play hero you can switch the whole system off and slide the Jag around like an MX-5, though the lack of any form of limited-slip differential is a hindrance to seriously fast driving, even on dry roads. But on both suspensions, the XF still glides over bumps that cause confusion for its BMW and Audi rivals, and even made a decent fist of masking the harsh joints in US roads.

The chassis, like the engine, is deceptively good and doesn't need to shout about its abilities. The more interesting the road, the better the XF behaves. The steering is quick (2.8 turns with a biggish 11.5-metre turning circle), light and sensitive, transmitting a linear build-up of forces in corners with brilliant accuracy. It's an impressively balanced machine for its size, far more nimble than many smaller cars, with huge reserves of grip and the ability to change direction quickly and faithfully without fuss. The XF drives the way you expect of a powerful rear-drive car with a wide stance, generating near-neutral handling that graduates to gentle understeer, flattering the driver in fast corners.

The mighty supercharged V8 produces the same 306kW/560Nm as the XKR, and provides vast, smooth thrust from low revs, whooshing the XF to 100km/h in a claimed 5.4sec, then on to a speed-limited 250km/h. Yet that responsiveness is betrayed by the whine of the supercharger, and the blown V8 becomes slightly coarse at the top end.

It's the slightly higher-revving, 219kW and 411Nm normally-aspirated V8 engine that better suits the refinement of the XF. Near silent at idle, it's more free-revving and possesses an inspirational exhaust note that is best heard from outside the car. Jaguar says zero to 100km/h takes 6.5sec - almost two seconds quicker than the petrol V6 - with 80-113km/h (50-70mph) in 3.3 seconds, 0.9sec slower than the SV8. Despite the threat of motorcycle cops, we learned that the SV8's natural cruising speed on sweeping mountain roads is between 175-190km/h, the speed only dampened by the small 69.5-litre fuel tank and a higher-than-class-average consumption of close to 18 litres per 100km (the combined figure is a more competitive 12.6L/100km).

We're mightily impressed by the XF and see it offering a credible and characterful alternative to its German rivals. It looks great, feels modern and drives with a precision and fluency that is at least as good (and probably better) than anything in the class. There is but one problem - Jaguar proudly points to the windscreen and rear window sharing the same rake as the XK, but the sleek coupe roofline brings a penalty. Rear-seat space is limited behind a six-foot driver, and comfort seriously compromised by a low cushion. The back-seat comfort of the XF may be better than the M-B CLS, but it's not as good as an E-Class or 5 Series. How important is rear-seat room in a sports sedan? That's for potential buyers to decide.

Prices will start at circa-$105,000 for the two V6s, with the V8 at around $130K and the SV8 $165K. Given the level of standard equipment, engine for engine that's aggressive pricing. If you are about to buy a competitor, don't. Wait until May when you've driven the XF. And seen the graceful Brit slink down the road.

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