2010 Jaguar XF 5.0 Premium

When the Jaguar XF first went on sale in the U.S. in 2008, it did so with two engines: a naturally aspirated, 300-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 and a 420-hp, supercharged version of the same unit. Just over a year after the car was launched, however, Jaguar has completely revamped the powertrain lineup and the range. The base XF retains its 4.2-liter engine, but the XF Premium model features a naturally aspirated, direct-injected, 5.0-liter V-8 making 385 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque. The XF Supercharged model adds a supercharger to the Premium’s direct-injected 5.0-liter, good for 470 hp, while the range-topping XFR gets a 510-hp version of the same engine.

The Premium model offers the best combination of performance and value in the XF range and carries a base price of $57,000, roughly $11,000 less than the XF Supercharged. The car comes well equipped, with standard 19-inch wheels, navigation, heated and cooled leather seats, blind-spot monitoring, front parking assist, a rear-view camera, bi-xenon headlights, a sunroof, and a power tilt/telescoping steering column.

The only available options are a premium sound system, a heated leather steering wheel—which was fitted to our tester and bumped the price up by $300—adaptive cruise control, and a power rear sunshade. Sybarites can also opt for the Portfolio package—which adds 20-inch wheels, a suede headliner, deep-pile carpeting, and contrasting stitching—for an extra $4000.

Less Power, Equal Performance
Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED: $57,300 (base price: $57,000)

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 305 cu in, 5000cc
Power (SAE net): 385 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 380 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 114.5 in Length: 195.3 in
Width: 73.9 in Height: 57.5 in
Curb weight: 4189 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 12.0 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 17.6 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 5.3 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.6 sec @ 106 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 123 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 157 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.85 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 16/23 mpg
C/D observed: 20 mpg

Like all XFs, the Premium model moves sweetly down the road, with a supple ride that’s married to good body control, accurate steering, and nicely balanced handling. The new engine is a sweetheart, with excellent mid-range response and a muted growl under hard acceleration. The six-speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly and has an excellent manual override, orchestrated via paddles on the steering wheel.

Compared with the old supercharged model, which had 35 more horsepower and only about 25 more pounds to lug around, we recorded remarkably similar acceleration times for the new 5.0. Zero to 60 mph took 5.1 seconds versus 5.0 for the forced-induction car, while the quarter-mile was dispatched in 13.6 seconds at 106 mph, compared with 13.5 at 107. In passing maneuvers, however, the new XF 5.0 was a tenth faster from 30 to 50 mph and from 50 to 70 mph, at 2.6 and 3.5 seconds, respectively. Braking performance was excellent, with the 70–0-mph stop taking 157 feet, just two feet longer than both a Porsche 911 Carrera S and Cayman S. The EPA gives the 5.0 city/highway fuel-economy figures of 16/23 mpg, while our lead feet managed 20 mpg overall, which was the same as our long-term 2009 XF Supercharged achieved over 40,000 miles.

Flawed Beauty, Nice Package

However, there are still some areas in the XF that need addressing. The infotainment/climate-control system is only accessible through submenus that are Byzantine at best and perverse at worst. Jaguar is supposedly going to add hard buttons for the seat heaters instead of the touch screen interface that currently exists, a move that can’t come soon enough. And while the unique pop-up rotary shift selector looks cool, it still seems gimmicky. Rear-seat headroom for taller occupants isn’t the best in class, either.

Despite its quirks, the XF is a solid luxury package overall. It looks terrific and distinctive, has a clean and modern interior, and has one of the best ride/handling balances in its class. At the price of our tester, it undercuts the less-powerful Audi A6 4.2 and BMW 550i by about $4000 and is a hair cheaper than the 382-hp 2010 Mercedes-Benz E550, which isn’t as well equipped as the Jag. But as far as the XF goes, it’s hard to see a reason to move up to either of the supercharged versions, especially considering their added cost.

2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged

What is it with Jaguar and electronics? Joseph Lucas, of Lucas electric infamy (still remembered as the Prince of Darkness for the electrical eccentricities of post-WWII Jaguars, among others), has been dead for more than 100 years. And Lucas Industries is not even on the list of suppliers for the XF, but for some reason here’s a contemporary Jag that still seems to be plagued by electrical problems and quirks, even though Jaguar has steadily moved up the J.D. Power quality charts—even climbing to the top in some surveys. Still, in the age of the microchip, quirks involving secondary controls and the nav system can take in quite a bit of territory, diminishing appreciation of otherwise compelling attributes such as knockout styling, a beautiful interior, robust power, and irreproachable dynamics.

In our most recent Jaguar long-term test [“Beautiful Cat, A Few Hairballs,” June 2008], we blithely dismissed that XK convertible’s electric eccentricities by asking, “What’s a Jaguar without perplexing electrical gremlins?” But the XF is pitched as a total break with the past, and since its arrival on the scene Jaguar has new ownership, though Tata Motors of India’s stewardship began long after the XF design was locked in and the production line was pumping out cars.

We were willing to love this car almost at first sight and certainly at first drive. Early praise in the logbook sounded like this: “Very entertaining on back roads—provides a reassuring sense of certainty and precision, fortified by excellent grip. This is the best new Jag sedan in my memory, and my memory happens to be one that goes back a long way.”

Those words were written by your humble narrator who, like just about everyone else who hustled this car through a set of S-bends or switchbacks, regarded the XF as the dynamic equal of anything in the German mid-size, premium-sports-sedan class. This Jag has unflappable poise, mongoose reflexes, ample supercharged power with no waiting, and surprisingly supple ride quality for a car with firm suspension tuning and low-profile (255/35-20 front, 285/30-20 rear) Pirelli P Zero performance tires.

But familiarity bred irritation. For every performance plaudit in the logbook, there was at least one peevish entry about some function related to the car’s electronics. Worst under this heading was the occasional refusal to start. Push the start button and . . . nothing. This happened to several drivers, and we never were sure why. The system would always eventually spring to life after a little fooling around—hitting the lock and unlock buttons on the key fob, for example, or walking far enough from the car so its sensors could no longer detect the presence of the fob, or both. But a new car that won’t start immediately, first try every time, has trouble making and keeping friends.

There were other complaints, lesser in magnitude, but irritating nonetheless. The touch-screen secondary controls, for example, were tricky to understand, and it was also difficult to operate its many menus when the car was in motion. Programming the nav system was always a challenge, and the backup-camera display continued to show what was going on astern for several seconds after the transmission was back in D, something we’ve noticed in other rearview systems. This function also reduced the audio volume when it was operating, apparently to accentuate the radar pings of the parking sensors.

The touch-sensitive glove-box release worked readily for some, but it defied others and provoked plenty of invective. The chrome parking-brake switch on the center console got too hot to touch after long drives. Some found the instrument markings hard to read in daylight operation. Most disliked the overly assertive adaptive cruise control. The dial-a-gear JaguarDrive shifter, which rises slowly out of the center console when the driver starts the car, had few defenders.

And what would modern Jaguar tradition be without some electronic diagnostic hysteria? “Check engine” light-ups were frequent, enhanced from time to time by a “transmission fault” notice.

Those alleged problems were confined largely to the Jag’s electronic imagination, but a couple of others were real. One was minor: The rear sunshade (the, uh, electric-powered rear sunshade) stopped responding to its on-off switch. The other was a bit more serious. At the 10,000-mile maintenance stop, the dealer (Jaguar of Troy, Michigan) service crew discovered a leak in the rear diff, and the diff was replaced under warranty.Continued...

2009 Jaguar XF

Introduction The 2009 Jaguar XF is a new model, replacing the aging S-Type in Jaguar's lineup. This mid-sized, rear-wheel-drive sedan offers a fresh, engaging alternative to luxury imports such as the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class, and Lexus GS. After a 300-mile test drive, we'd rank the Jaguar XF near the top of its class. The Jaguar XF delivers everything you'd expect in a contemporary luxury sedan, and then some. The big news with XF is styling, interior design and features, though the hardware underneath is anything but ordinary. A lot of it, including the suspension design, is borrowed from the Jaguar XK. Factor in a well-engineered body structure, and the XF is exactly what it should be: smooth, quiet and responsive. It feels lighter and more agile than some of its competitors, and it bears up like a sport sedan when driven aggressively.

Review Sections • Introduction • Lineup • Walkaround • Interior • Driving Impressions • Summary & Specs Get Your Free Quote on a Jaguar XF

The XF comes with a choice of two V8 engines. The base engine is Jag's familiar 4.2-liter V8, delivering 300 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. The upgrade is a supercharged version of the 4.2, generating 420 hp and 408 lb-ft and surpassing nearly all competitors in output. Both V8s come with Jaguar's six-speed ZF automatic transmission, which is one of the best automatics money can buy. The XF will be offered in three trim levels, starting with the normally aspirated Luxury, which is better equipped than most base models in this category. The Premium Luxury adds even more stuff, including double-stitched, soft-grain leather on the dash and door panels. The SC (for supercharged) comes with just about everything Jaguar offers, including CATS automatic suspension control and 20-inch wheels. Then there's the racy new look. The XF marks a new direction for Jaguar, but it also continues some of the styling themes that have identified Jaguars for decades. The roofline and the shape of the side glass are intended to create the impression of a sporty, two-door coupe more than a four-door sedan, and to a considerable extent it works. The XF presents one of the more interesting designs in a category full of handsome automobiles. If you're intrigued by the photographs, you'll like it better in real life. The same applies inside. We really like the XF cabin, for both its look and overall function. Slide into this sedan, and an interactive greeting that Jaguar calls the handshake welcomes the driver and reminds him or her that driving is an active process. The wood, wool and leather create the feel and scent of a British club room, yet the design is light, airy and almost Scandinavian. The XF interior is more minimalist than its German competitors, but also more charming and easier to get familiar with. Of course, the swoopy styling has its drawbacks. By nearly every exterior dimension, the XF is slightly larger than all competitors, but the flow of its roofline and the rake of its rear glass mean rear headroom is tight. In general, the rear seat feels more confining than that in a Mercedes E-Class or Audi A6. On the upside, the XF's trunk is larger than any competitor's, and a folding rear seat further expands capacity. The importance of these packaging issues will depend on the buyer's priorities. In our estimation, the XF debuts as one of the most appealing cars in its class. Before the XF, well-heeled buyers seeking an option to the dense-pack switches, multi-layered interfaces and alphabet-soup of electronics in most imported luxo/sport sedans probably had to think about a brand with less cachet or dynamic capability. No more. With steady improvement in Jaguar's resale values and customer-satisfaction ratings the last several years, the new XF offers an excellent alternative. The 2009 XF replaces the 2008 S-Type in Jaguar's line-up, though the two cars will sell concurrently during calendar year 2008. Next Page