Jaguar XF 3.0D S 2010 Review

Jaguar XF 3.0D S

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When Jaguar's XF was released in 2008, things weren't looking too flash for the iconic British brand. Global sales of the retro S Type had proved disappointing, long-time parent company Ford was struggling amid the GFC and the British marque was up for sale. So it had plenty pinned on it -- a high-risk venture given its clean-sheet exterior design ditching all vestiges of its predecessor's retro aesthetic.

It worked. The XF, along with rescue by cashed-up Indian outfit Tata, helped the company turn the corner, generating a healthy 500 sales in Australia alone in its first year.

At the end of that first year, Jaguar wasn't resting on its laurels, and the XF came in for a major upgrade. There wasn't a lot in the way of exterior evidence, thankfully for a car almost universally deemed a beautiful thing. But big things went on under the skin -- the brakes got an upgrade, its already sound body was further stiffened up and active safety systems were improved. The ZF six-speed transmission received some minor shift-timing tweaks and the rear diff mounting was strengthened to help make the most of them.

Most important, however, was the new engine line-up. For which the 'Most Improved' award went to the diesel.

Jaguar had only been doing oilers for five years when the XF arrived in 2008 with a 2.7-litre V6 option alongside its V6 and V8 petrol burners. That engine met with much approval for the use it made of traditional diesel strengths of low-end torque and fuel economy. But the bouquets were offset by many a brickbat over its all too palpable turbo lag.

Thus for XF diesel Mark II, Jag's engineers worked the engine over. What emerged had swollen in capacity to 3.0 litres and gained a new sequential turbo package, a state-of-the-art common-rail injection system and overhauled exhaust gas recirculation.

The rewards showed up everywhere: improvements of around 10 per cent in combined-cycle fuel consumption (from 7.5 to 6.8L/100km) and CO2 emissions; while power rose 32 per cent to 202kW and torque a massive 60 per cent to 600Nm -- on tap from a low 2000rpm. The new engine also delivered a 1.8 second advantage in the 0-100 km/h sprint, putting the XF in BMW 330d territory with an impressive 6.4sec metric.

Perhaps more importantly, the changes translated to huge improvements on the road. In short: I can't believe it's an oiler. Save for the rear-end aroma, of which there's little, the 3.0 D dispenses with virtually all the normal telltale signs of dieseldom. No rattle and chug, just the pleasant woofly growl of a Euro petrol Vee.

Lag is a thing of the past. Put your foot down and you're met with an immediacy of response redolent of a good atmo petrol engine. Not the whack in the back that characterises Jag's supercharged R-spec V8s, but a silky, linear power surge from zero to eternity. For the record the D's only 0.7sec slower to 100km/h than its 4.2-litre V8 counterpart and a good couple of seconds quicker than the petrol V6.

Credit, too, to the benchmark ZF six-speed adaptive transmission. Opt for the paddles and it complies without fuss; leave it to its own devices and there are no clunks, no jerks or dodgy shift decisions. Throw at it what you might, it just doesn't put a foot wrong.

The XF's ride and handling mix befits a brand renowned for balancing out suppleness with agility. It rides more firmly than I remember the S doing, but it would be a sensitive soul indeed who took offence at it.

On the open road, the XF inspires confidence when the opportunity arises to push it. The responsive go-pedal and a precise, near neutral rack-and-pinion steering box make easy and enjoyable work of bends. If pushed we'd suggest the steering could do with a little more weight and feel dead ahead.

Inside, not much has changed. The XF remains a mix of understated good taste, novelty and pointless vanity. Combined with the height and reach-adjustable wheel, the seats are adjustable to sufficient degree through enough planes to ensure a comfortable drive for virtually everyone, and while it's no Caprice, rear seat legroom is adequate for grown-ups with six-footers seated up front.

The instruments tend to polarise opinion. A couple of our passengers found them a little plain-jane, by dint of the light blue and white motif for the gauges and the satnav screen.

This sits at odds with conceits like the air vents that rotate open and shut electrically on start-up and shut-down, and the feather-touch glovebox button. Some people love this kind of thing and expect it in a six-figure car like this, but I look pessimistically on things that add little but novelty when they're working and subtract big-time when they're not. By way of proof, the glovebox mechanism in our car was annoyingly unreliable. I'd be wary of keeping important medications and the like in there.

Other gimmicks carry less potential for trouble, like the pulsating red start button and the tidy rotary gear selection knob that rises out of the console like an old-time cinema organist. On the whole, the XF's cleanliness of line, ergonomics and ease of familiarisation are exemplary. The cruise control, set by thumbing a little roller-switch on the wheel, is terrific.

The standard split-fold rear seat is a useful inclusion for trips home from Bunnings, bumping up the normal 540 litres of boot space by a further 400.

To characterise the latest XF update as a 'makeover' is to sell it short. The changes are short on bling and long on substance. Their arrival so early in the XF's life suggests Jaguar will go to great lengths to present a growing number of buyers with an uncompromising alternative to the usual Teutonic and Japanese suspects.

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