JAG OF ALL TRADES (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_jaguarxf_080210

By Steve Walker

Introductionword count: 138

Everything pointed to British executive car buyers harbouring a powerful and undying love for German cars. Camp out in the undergrowth bordering any golf club car park or blue chip company headquarters and you would see the cavalcade of Teutonic engineering ferrying the sales directors and area managers about. Better still, you could simply stay at home and look up the sales charts. They'd invariably look more German than leather shorts. But what if the British are not strangely predisposed towards German cars? What if our executives are just choosing them on merit and would really like to drive a something with a famous British badge? If that were the case, all Jaguar needed to do was build an executive saloon that was competitive against the German alternatives and buyers would come flocking. The XF was that car.

Modelsword count: 26

Models Covered: 4dr saloon: 3.0, 4.2, 4.2 Supercharged, 5.0 petrol, 2.7TD, 3.0TD diesel [Luxury, Premium Luxury, S Luxury, S Premium Luxury, S Portfolio, Portfolio, SV8, XFR]

Historyword count: 310

Toppling the might of the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6 has proven to be one of the motor industry's more thankless tasks. These executive expresses take few prisoners with the amount of technology and engineering excellence they manage to cram on board. Jaguar's S-Type was launched in 1999 and was a decent effort in many ways but ultimately one which failed to make much headway. It also outstayed its welcome by a good few years, continuing to serve as Jaguar's representative in the executive car market right up until 2008 by which point, it was creaking noticeably. The XF was the replacement for the long serving S-TYPE and it arrived at a time when Jaguar was giving signs that there might just be a resurgence in the offing. The XJ luxury saloon that launched in 2003 was an underrated car and the XK coupe that showed up in 2006 had gone down a storm. There was still the lingering whiff of the X-TYPE around Jaguar dealerships but confidence was high that the XF could be a real contender. The design was previewed by the C-XF concept car at the 2007 Detroit show and production car that looked reassuringly similar turned up at the Frankfurt show later that year. The first XFs were delivered in the UK during spring 2008, shortly after Jaguar and Land Rover were sold by Ford Motor Group and became wholly owned by TATA. Initially, there was a choice of 3.0-litre V6, 4.2-litre V8 or 4.2-litre supercharged V8 petrol engines with a 2.7-litre diesel. The XF really came into its own around a year later when a new generation of engines was introduced. The 5.0-litre V8 petrol and the 3.0-litre TD diesel gave the car the efficiency and performance to really have a crack at the German dominance in the British executive car market.

What You Getword count: 240

The XF didn't appear to be the most spacious car in its sector but the coupe-like lines do belie the amount of space inside. There's room for five adults in comfort, generous interior stowage and a boot capacity of up to 540 litres (plus the opportunity to fold the rear seats and add a further 420 litres). At 4961mm long and 1877mm wide, on a lengthy 2909mm wheelbase, the XF is a substantial car, larger than the BMW 5-Series, Lexus GS and Mercedes-Benz E-Class that were available at the time of its launch. So, get in and settle yourself behind the wheel. What's it like? Well, on entry to the XF, the start button pulses red, like a heartbeat (ignition keys are so 2007). Start the engine and the JaguarDrive Selector for controlling the automatic gearbox rises into the palm of the hand, while rotating air conditioning vents turn from their flush, 'parked' position to their functional open position. The intention was to make the XF feel special and it does. The XF offers three trim levels: Luxury, Premium Luxury and Portfolio as well as the range-topping R derivative which replaced the SV8 that was offered from launch. Externally, with the exception of the pumped-up R, all cars look similar. All come with leather trim, electric seat adjustment, sat nav with colour screen, Bluetooth 'phone connectivity, a 6-disc in-dash CD autochanger, rear parking sensors, 17-inch alloy wheels and cruise control.

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