2009 Jaguar XF Review

If Jaguar made its reputation with fast, luxurious, and beautiful sports cars exemplified by the XK series from the original XK 120 of 1949 through today's XK, it has also built some fine sedans to broaden its lineup. The best-known and most influential was the mid-sized Mark 2, produced from the late 1950s through the 1960s, is a classic today, was successfully raced, and inspired the S-Type of 1998 through 2008. The large XJ sedans, in all their various guises over the years since the nameplate debuted in 1968, have also cemented the company's reputation for distinctive styling.

Jaguar is known for its sumptuous old-English interiors, with leather and burled wood aplenty. That's the XJ, the XF, while incorporating both materials, also features textured aluminum trim for a sportier and more contemporary look. It works. There is plenty of electronic trickery - get in, press the start button, and the air vents in the dash rotate from their closed positions while the JaguarDrive Rotary Gear Selector knob rises from its flush storage position in the console - but that is appropriate for a modern luxury car. There is also plenty of room, as the high sides disguise a roof that is higher than it may appear, and moving the wheels to the car's corners produces ample interior space. Leather is used for the seats, instrument panel top, steering wheel rim, and door trim, with wood and aluminum across the dash and on the console. Plastic is notable by its absence, and what little is used looks much like the aluminum. The navigation system, standard in the Premium Luxury model, has a simple touch-screen interface, which also serves for the audio and climate control systems and trip computer.

With 300 horsepower (at 6000 rpm) and 310 lb-ft of torque (at 4100 rpm), the naturally-aspirated XF engine is by no means deficient. It's capable of moving the car from a standstill to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, and makes wonderful music while doing so. The six-speed automatic transmission helps both acceleration and economy, and I found 25 mpg or better easily attainable at normal highway speeds. Jaguars are known as high-speed, long-distance touring machines, and the XF will shine in that role.

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2009 Jaguar XF V6 Diesel Review

Actually, there are a few things. But why don't we start at the beginning? Remember the retro-styled Jaguar S type sedan? Not a bad car, but there were aspects that never were quite right. It seemed … old. But the new XF is the first Jaguar in a very long time that doesn't look like your dad's car. It's modern—hip even.

Under the hood is the carry-over twin-turbo 60-degree V6 diesel from the S-Type. It's actually a Peugeot/Citroen design—now four years old and built in Dagenham, Essex at a plant belonging to Jaguar's former owner, Ford. The compacted graphite iron block, aluminium-alloy head engine has twin camshafts per bank, four valves per cylinder and weighs just 445 pounds.
In other words it's modern, clever and lightweight.

It's also powerful, delivering 204 hp and 320 lb.-ft. of torque though a six speed automatic and on to the rear wheels. And that's enough to sprint to 60 mph in 7.7 seconds and manage a top speed of 143 mph. But this big cat also delivers a friendly European Combined cycle economy of 31.3 mpg, hough we could only average 29.4 mpg in our tenure of mixed driving, including a couple of 100-mi. journeys.

If the S-type had a glaring fault it was that cheap interior. It looked a bit as if it had been won at the Minnesota State Fair. The XF has changed all that. And now Jaguar's mid-size sedan surpasses nearly all the opposition including BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Made with the traditional materials of wood, leather and aluminium, the XF's design brings the whole equation up to date with wit and charm. The rotary gear selector that rises out of the center console, the air vents that blink open like an Owl's sleepy glare when the car is started—they all work well and never once feel contrived. Even the RAF roundel sticker on the dash, which hides a proximity switch that opens the glove box is clever and original. Not everyone likes the front seats, but we found them supportive and accommodating. The rears are suitable to anyone up to six feet in height and the trunk is generous, even though access is a little restricted and the floor isn't completely level.

Jaguar XF can smooth out a backwoods road without floating or pitching, and still match a BMW 5-Series when it comes to all-guns-blazing, flat-top cornering. The steering system gives the driver huge confidence when the fires are lit and the hammer is down—it's so accurate and makes this machine very easy to place. Likewise the brakes are linear and powerful with an easilly judged pedal effort. Around town, the 3,904-pound XF will cruise like a stretch, button-back chesterfield, its occupants perhaps slightly more aware of the road surface that in an old S-Type, but also more comfortable in the way the car handles the bumps and pot holes.

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Jaguar XF-R Spied - Video

The coming Jaguar XF-R has been caught in the valley of death. It was accompanied by a Jaguar XJ mule and shepherded by a fleet of Land Rovers charged with blocking the all-seeing eye of someone's Sony Handycam. Fortunately for us, they failed. The driver of this particular prototype XF-R couldn't keep his foot off the throttle, as at different points in the video you hear the growl of a big displacement V8 and the accompanying scream of a supercharger. Other than vents in the hood to let that 5-liter V8 breathe, the body modifications look to be exceptionally tame. With 500 horsepower, however, its acceleration should be quite the opposite.



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2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged by Inside Line

Bruised and bloodied, Jaguar's fate now rests in the hands of Indian automaker Tata. The only certainty of its future is that it is uncertain.



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2008 Jaguar XF lands in Australia

CarAdvice has just attended the Australian launch of the all new Jaguar XF. Radical styling and handling characteristics to rival its competitors place the Jaguar XF as a major contender in the luxury car market.

The entry level 3-litre V6 petrol, and 2.7-litre twin turbo diesel kick off the range, at the starting price of $105,500. The 4.2-litre petrol powered V8 is next up at $130,500, leaving the supercharged 4.2-litre V8 to round out the XF stable at $166,700.

So far, the XF has been claiming awards overseas. It has bagged the What Car 2008 “Car of the Year” Award, in addition to the “Car of the Year” from the Sun newspaper and the “Interior of the Year” from Car magazine.

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Jaguar XF 3.0 V6

The 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine is as compatible with the Jaguar XF as Hillary Clinton is with Barack Obama. Hoping they'll work together for the common good is simply folly. The 238bhp V6 is underpowered and overstressed, and has the unhappy knack of making the car feel heavy and slovenly which, in both its diesel and V8 guises, it surely isn't. Choose wisely.

But like most drivers, my first XF experience is centred around the interior packaging, which has been touted (and in places lauded) as a modern, sassy lurch away from Jaguar's fusty wood veneers towards the alloy modernity so beloved of BMW and Audi customers.

Sorry, but I fear it is mostly trinketry. The automatically folding air vents, strange self-raising gear-selector knob and disappointingly flat mouldings of aluminium-coloured plastic do little to mask a fairly ordinary feeling inside. The XF is no more special than a Mondeo - maybe less so.

I recognise that the gaudy central control screen (backed up by manual buttons because it's too complicated to be used without crashing) and the lack of an ignition key (which means you need a big fat warning light to remind you the engine's running when you park up) are only as useless and annoying as those of the Jag's rivals.

But the optional 'blind spot monitor' - which is basically a form of parking radar offering randomly flashing orange lights in your wing mirrors - is my nomination for the most pointless gadget of the year. It is utterly without merit, plunging us yet further into a world where the driver doesn't have to bother to stay alert.

I really fancied the XF, but I think it's fair to say we've had a fairly disastrous first date. It was the automotive equivalent of not being asked in for coffee. I hope when we meet again she'll at least be wearing her best engine.

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Galpinized Jaguar XF

It's been argued that the Jaguar XF lost a lot of the edge that it's conceptual predecessor displayed on the show stand. The end result was less than thrilling, but the available powerplants and sumptuous interior may have made up for the exterior's shortcomings.

Galpin Jaguar, the largest volume Jag dealership in the States, has decided to pull an Emeril on the XF and kick it up a notch through a custom, two-tone paint scheme, 22-inch, color-matched Forgiato wheels, smoked tail lamps and "blacked-out" window trim. Thankfully, Galpin has left most of the interior intact, save the wood trim and matching black and burgundy leather seats. Overall, the effect ranges from cruel to unusual, and as such, we're considering a call to the Haig.

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2009 Jaguar XF Road Test

We humans tend to anthropomorphize the things that surround us, from kittens to computers, and of course, our cars. Who hasn't given a name to their favorite sedan or cajoled their SUV to eke out a few more miles on an empty tank of gas?

With the new Jaguar XF, you may have real reason to think it can come to life. Slip inside and you'll notice the heartbeat red of its Start button. As the engine fires up, all sorts of things seem to happen around you - concealed vents rotating into view, while the hidden gearshift knob rises to meet your hand.

A disastrous decade
Next came the remake of the classic XJ sedan. Despite its new aluminum body and chassis, Jaguar's redesigned flagship looked all too much like the old one, and also has languished in the market. Until now, the remade XK coupe and convertible offered the only hope that there was life left in the old brand. While the sports car has its minor flaws, it is a credible competitor in a tough segment. But finally, with the launch of the XF - the desperately needed successor to the S-Type - Jaguar has a no-excuses, no-compromise contender that gives long-suffering Jaguaristas reason to believe.

First, some basics. There'll be three versions of the sedan coming to the States: the Luxury XF, reasonably well-equipped at $49,975; the Premium Luxury XF, which adds such things as onboard navigation, for $55,975; and the top-line Supercharged XF, at $62,975.

The base and mid-line models share Jaguar's naturally aspirated, 4.2-liter V-8. It makes 300 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, launching from 0-60 in a respectable 6.2 seconds. As its name implies, the Supercharged XF features a blown version of the 4.2-liter V-8 that ups the output to a healthy 420 hp, and 413 lb-ft, and cuts the time from naught - as the Brits say - to 60 down to an impressive 5.1 seconds. The Supercharged has a limited top speed of 155 mph, the other models 121 mph.The transmission is a new six-speed automatic that can be driven in fully automatic, sport or manual mode, the latter using the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
Some folks will look at the primary Jaguar Sequential Shifter as a gimmick, and perhaps it is, but as mentioned, it's a big improvement over the outdated J-gate automatic, and to our eyes - and hands - much preferable to the mini-stalk approach taken by both BMW and Mercedes-Benz. After a few minutes, it feels natural and looks great.

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