THE HIGHLIGHTS
MSRP: $61,500 (base)
Motor: supercharged double overhead cam V6 3L
Horsepower: 340 hp
Torque: 332 lb-ft
Gearbox: 8-speed auto
Layout: 4-wheel drive
Fuel economy: 13.1 L/100 city, 7.7 L/100 highway
If there is one make that has garnered more attention than any other make of car in all the years of writing automotive it has been Jaguar. They seem to have a mystique about them that car people and even none car people just love.
By far the best-looking Jaguar I have ever tested has to be the XF. The car has an appealing style with its soft lines, but agg-ressive stance with the longer hood. In fact I would have to say it is far better looking in person than pictures make it out to be.
The XF in Canada comes as an All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) only configuration, which in most cases with the weather we have in this country, is really the only way to go. The engine in my test car was the supercharged double overhead cam V6 with about 340 hp and 332 lb.ft. of torque. This equates to swift acceleration of about 0 to 100 kph in about 6 seconds, which isn’t too bad for a car that weighs in at 1770 kg (3900 lb).
Moving the power to the wheels is an 8-speed automatic transmission that can be manually shifted with paddles on the back of the steering wheel. In my case, I let the computer do the shifting as it can think faster than me around corners and in long straights.
Even in the cold and wet weather I experienced, I found the Jaguar handles very well. The AWD seemed to sense the slippage and moved power around to the front. Since Jaguar is owned by Tata (India), which also owns Land Rover, fitting a reliable AWD system was not a problem for the Jaguar engineers.
The XF I was given to evaluate was completely loaded with all the amenities one could expect in a car in this class. Fit and finish of all the interior parts were second to none and the quality of materials used were excellent. I especially like the comfortable leather seats, which were nicely stitched and looked different than cars in that price range.
These seats are superior, in that they hold the driver in while sweeping curves on winding roads. One feature I found interesting was the revolving dash vents. When the car is started, the dash vents spin around and open, very hi-tech or something any “00” British agent might like.Where the car did suffer was in rear seat room. The average male would find the legroom a little lacking, something you might want to keep in mind when buying if rear passengers are a priority.
Something that I never did get use to was the knob in the centre dash to put the car in gear. It was something that you had to always look at or check when backing up and I just found I never got use to in the week I had the car.
As the XF is a sedan, truck space is an issue for most of us. Due to the styling of the car, the trunk is long and shallow so getting bulky things in the back might be an issue. But all is not lost; the back seats do fold down allowing you to place those longer items in when needed.
For all this driving excitement, the Jaguar XF will cost $61,500 to start plus a whole lot more depending on the options you desire. It seems like just about everything is optional on the car and it is easy to hit close to the $70,000 mark for a well-equipped car.
By Glen Konorowski