Jaguar XF: combining heritage and modernity

What's with the sudden, inexplicable tendency of car companies to equate sedans with coupes?

Jaguar's doing it now, stating that the new XF "has the visual excitement of a coupe" -- which is a debatable point for a car with four doors!

Nonetheless, we sort of know what they're saying. It's a slinky looking car (more here), although not everyone is smitten by the frontal styling. In silhouette, the XF seems the very embodiment of the company's 'leaper' mascot.

According to Jaguar, XF is the "first expression" of the company's new corporate styling theme, so better get used to it if you're a Jaguar fan.

Ian Callum, Jaguar's Design Director, saw the XF as an opportunity to "return Jaguar to its rightful place as leader in automotive design."

The original XJ6 was the car that inspired him -- not so much by its styling, but by being smaller than its modern namesake and sitting at the forefront of automotive design in the late sixties.

Three levels of trim and four engines define the XF as a model range. The three grades are Luxury, Premium Luxury and SV8. Only the badging and style of wheel distinguish the three externally.

The engine line-up starts with a 2.7-litre turbodiesel V6, a 3.0-litre petrol V6, 4.2-litre V8 and 4.2-litre supercharged V8. Of these, the first two are available in the Luxury grade, the naturally aspirated V8 is fitted to the Premium Luxury model and the supercharged V8 model is fitted as standard to the SV8.

Complying with Euro IV emissions regs, the common-rail turbodiesel is a DOHC V6 with a variable vane geometry turbocharger feeding each bank of cylinders. Peak power output measures 152kW and the torque figure is 435Nm. Jaguar claims that it is the lightest diesel engine of its type and the XF equipped with this engine will reach 229km/h top speed, with a 0-100km/h run of 8.2 seconds.

Variable valve timing and all-alloy construction are two key features of the 3.0-litre DOHC petrol V6, which develops 175kW of power and 293Nm of torque. Jaguar advises that up to 80 per cent of peak torque occurs in the rev range between 1500 and 6800rpm. Top speed is 237km/h and acceleration to 100km/h from a standing start takes 8.3 seconds.

The V8 produces 219kW of power and 411Nm of torque without the supercharger, or 306kW and 560Nm with the supercharger. As for the petrol V6, it features an all-alloy construction. As much as 86 per cent of torque is on tap from as low as 2000rpm, right through to redline. Both V8 engines will reach a top speed of 250km/h, electronically limited. The naturally aspirated V8 can propel the XF Premium Luxury to 100km/h from a standing start in 6.5 seconds and the supercharged SV8 will accelerate to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds.

All four engines drive through a six-speed automatic transmission which adapts to driver input and operates through a 'drive-by-wire' system. In the SV8 application, the transmission will operate in three modes, 'Normal, 'Winter' and 'Dynamic'.

For other variants, the transmission works in just 'Normal' and 'Winter' modes. There's no manual transmission option available for any variant of the XF, but the auto offers a manual sequential shift facility.

Putting the stoppers on the XF are ventilated front discs and solid rears. Steering is via a variable ratio rack and pinion set-up.

Jaguar has styled the XF to reflect the dynamism that goes with these mechanicals.

The XF's aerodynamic properties were established using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) before wind tunnel testing began. A coefficient of drag measuring 0.29Cd is the best figure Jaguar has ever achieved from any production car and close to that of the XJ220. Front lift is "precisely zero."

A high boot is an intentional by-product of the XF's rising waistline and facilitates increased storage capacity as well as the reduced aerodynamic drag. Jaguar claims the boot will hold a volume of up to 500 litres. Fold the rear seat down and there's a further 420 litres available.

All wheel and tyre combinations are specified to meet the same rolling radius, ensuring that no variant will look 'under-tyred'.

The car's exterior styling fits hand-in-glove with the interior design. In spite of Jaguar's 'coupe style' aspirations for the XF, it is definitely a five-place car and will accommodate 193cm adults, in Jaguar's estimation.

Interior designers sought an 'invisible until needed' ideal in the XF's layout and aimed to avoid the sort of cabin that is dominated by conspicuous comfort and convenience features.

A new touch screen interface reduces design clutter and such buttons that remain are there to provide one-step operation of the audio and HVAC systems.

On the subject of the audio system, the XF will be sold with a portable audio interface which resides in the centre console. As well as this feature, the centre console also houses an auxiliary power outlet, two storage compartments with wood-veneer lids, two larger cupholders and two standard-sized cupholders. Cupholders -- a major feature in the eyes of some -- are also located in the rear centre armrest.

Making access easier was a priority for designers, so the seats are physically smaller than the norm, to consume less space in the cabin.

With the XF, Jaguar is introducing a new innovation in the gear selection process, the JaguarDrive Selector. This item is effectively a retracting shift lever that moves into the operating position once the driver has pushed the 'start' button. Gear changes are effected by finger-tip, twisting operation. In the example given by Jaguar, the sport mode is selected by pushing and turning the knob. Detentes are spring-loaded.

At the same time as the JaguarDrive Selector moves into position from start-up, the satellite navigation system loads the home page on screen and the HVAC vents rotate open from the flush-fitting 'park' position.

An 'ambient' feature of the XF's interior is the blue lighting for instruments and switchgear, including the start button bezel and the electrically-operated parking brake.

Chrome highlights co-ordinate with the 'tungsten' finish of the controls.

Leather is standard for all three levels of trim, but the base 'Luxury' variants come with 'Bond Grain' leather without perforation, whilst the other two grades use a combination 'Softgrain' leather in perforated (for the seats, to assist with heating/cooling) and unperforated finishes.

Standard Bluetooth connectivity and multiple audio system and TV options are available across all three grades of the XF.  Touch and proximity sensors allow the user to operate overhead lights and the glovebox release without actually touching the controls. This eases the difficulty of opening the glovebox or finding the light controls in the dark.

Safety options for the XF include front parking sensors, an adaptive cruise control system and -- from Volvo? -- a blind spot monitoring system.

The car's styling and interior design complement the new-found inner strength and engineered safety features. High-carbon, hot-formed boron, dual-phase DP600 and bake-hardened steels are employed in the production of the XF, all of them providing added torsional rigidity, lightness and improved corrosion resistance. Through the use of these steels, the XF makes do with narrower roof pillars for a better field of vision.

Jaguar has not revealed pricing for Australia, but the XF is available to order and deliveries will commence from June next year.

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