When the account of Jaguar is written , its liberation from Ford will be noted as the moment when Britain ’s mutation - luxuriousness brand develop its channel back .
When the history of Jaguar is written , its discharge from the Ford Motor Company in 2008 will be note as the polar moment when Britain ’s variation - luxury brand bewilder its vallecula back . At the time , multitude inquire out loud what the Indian - based Tata Group would do with Jag , and the answer seems to be that they “ countenance Jaguar be Jaguar . ” That was smart , because Jag is rocking the world these days , and the all - new 2016 XF sport - luxury sedan is sure part of that .
The XF was originally launched for the 2008 role model twelvemonth , replacing the aging Jaguar S - Type sedan . Where the atomic number 16 - character had retro styling , the XF was a modern , forward - looking design , suit the era . Yet the XF was still a Cartesian product of Ford ’s Premier Automotive Group , and share a substantial amount of DNA with the S - type and some Ford manakin . A facelift for the 2011 model year consecrate us a clue of what Jaguar had in mind , but the full prime of the XF had to waitress for this year to blossom .
Coming of Age
Jaguar has been on a roll with new car over the retiring few geezerhood , with the F - Type providing the halo and the excogitation language that ’s rolling through the blade . In addition to the all - new XF , we ’re go to see the little XE sedan and the beautiful F - Pace crosswalk link the line in 2016 . Jaguar expects to nearly treble its worldwide sales volume principally on the metier of these three related models . So it ’s fair to take a deep look at the XF to see what Jag is bringing to food market .
It starts with the novel physical body . Like all automaker , Jaguar needs to keep things light-colored to contact increasingly tight fuel economy standards and the performance demands of its client base of operations . With the launching of the newfangled XF , Jaguar ’s total line is now made primarily of aluminum . There ’s still some high - strength blade in there , but only where it needs to be to provide a strict chassis . That ’s in the rearward longitudinal chassis support member and the B - pillar rollover structure .
The bulk of the unibody chassis is made from Al metal stampings mated to extrude or die - throw chunks of Al and magnesium . These are welded , focus , and sealed together to result in a complete construction that is 28 percent stiffer than the outgoing XF . Getting back to lightsomeness , the one - piece side skin panels weigh just 13.2 pounds to each one . The result is a mid - large sumptuosity sedan that weighs in at 3,770 pounds , where the last generation XF often weighed in at over 4,000 Egyptian pound .
The Heart of a Jag
advance atomic number 13 chassis and bodywork is groovy , but you’re able to get that in a pick-me-up truck these twenty-four hour period . The real beating heart of a Jaguar has always been , and always should be , the engine . Jag is moving with the times , dropping both the incoming - level four - cylinder and the sure-enough 5.0 - cubic decimetre supercharged V8 in favour of a couplet of 3.0 - liter supercharged V6 engine share with the F - Type . The basic XF engine now delivers 340 HP and 332 dog pound - feet of torque , while the upgrade XF S engine boost you to 380 horsepower and the same 332 pound - foot of torque .
Jaguar needed to keep thing wanton to meet progressively stringent fuel economy standards .
Uh , say that again ?
If there was one real head - scratcher about the new XF , this is it . Why rile create an upgrade engine that is n’t really much of an raise ? The al-Qaida rear - thrust XF father you from 0 to 60 mph in a quick 5.2 second , and the XF S engine shaves only 0.1 seconds off that time . The AWD XF is a slight better , with the alkali engine doing the 0 to 60 trial at 5.1 second and the XF S railway locomotive attain 5.0 seconds . But 0 to 62 metre are very across all the modeling at 5.3 seconds . Top speed is also the same , governed to 155 mph .
You get the same eight - speed automatic transmitting in all XF modelling , and the same fuel economy of 20 mpg in the metropolis and 30 mpg on the highway for the rearward - drive model . AWD fuel economy has not yet been rated .
Let ’s be exonerated – the engine in the XF is marvellous . It ’s a great unit with all kind of get - up - and - go . You ’ve got power off the stock , power to occur , and plenty of great railway locomotive vocalize . It ’s just that the XF S locomotive does n’t give you appreciably more than the base unit . So why would anyone select the more expensive XF S ? It ’s a $ 10,000 premium over the base simulation XF , and still a $ 2,000 premium over the top R - Sport trim . The XF S provide only a few benefits over the R - Sport , in the main the Adaptive Dynamics active ride control shock absorbers and some trim pieces . The R - Sport become you LED headlights , blind spot monitoring , lane keep assistance , machine driver condition monitor solution , and reverse dealings monitoring . So there are a spate of great feature of speech to be had , but the surplus exponent of the XF S railway locomotive is n’t really one of them .
Luxury is as Luxury Does
Here ’s another great true statement : Jag vendee want it all . Engine ability is a give for all mod luxury railroad car , but Jag owners demand peachy manipulation as well as an one interior experience . The XF delivers on all counts , but peradventure a second too much for some luxuriousness shoppers . true , I like dial the transmission over into summercater mode and punching the slight button with a chequer masthead on it to put the XF into its most aggressive mode , but dialing everything down into soft mode still yields a sports car driving experience that might be too steady for a discerning luxury car buyer . But if the XF is too jazzy for you , there ’s always the full - size XJ line .
Inside the new XF , Jaguar has done their homework . The cabin and controls are modern – but not draw from some sci - fi conception . You get plenty of real buttons along with a well - designed touchscreen user interface in the heart stack , and literal calibre for tach and speed smother a small information exhibit . You get a brain - up video display on the windshield , though if you ’re wear polarize sunglasses you ’re likely to miss that feature until night falls .
One characteristic I like is real controller for the climate system . We ’ve all experience automatic mood control that never quite gives you what you want . Sometimes you want more than just a static 68 degrees – you require a good flow of air of warm or cool atmosphere flop now . The XF gives you a full band of controls that allow for you to tailor not only the temperature , but how and where the system give it to you . You also get heated up and cooled front seats , which is a little bit of heaven .
The front hindquarters are totally power - adjustable – eight ways , in fact . The bolster might be a small tight for larger soul , but they ’re adjustable to fit the all-embracing potential range of American size . The matter to detect about the XF ’s DoI is that it manages to backpack the features in while remaining clean and uncluttered . The 8 - inch criterion touch screen offer eight utile buttons that get you most of the way to the controls you want to use for the stereo , navigation , and telephone military service . The 10.2 - column inch upgrade touchscreen has no buttons – it ’s all on the screen .
The touchscreen and its systems are cognize as Jaguar InControl Touch , and that system is what Jaguar is offer rather of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto , at least for now . It ’s make voice control condition , and will read your text messages out loud to you . The screen also supports stock tablet gestures like pinch - to - zoom and swipes , and you may take what app icon are displayed . There ’s even a phone app that allows you some distant ascendency over the railcar . you could pre - condition the XF to a temperature , check fuel level , get alarm warnings , and it will even use Global Positioning System to precede you back to where you parked your car .
On the route the XF is quiet , but not too quiet . This is no Rolls Royce you ’re drive , so you want some locomotive noise , and the Jag drive home that when you romp on the gas . But it ’s not so loud that you ca n’t hold a genteel conversation , or enjoy the really excellent Meridian strait arrangement .
Conclusion
The 2016 Jaguar XF starts at $ 52,895 , include terminus fees . For that money you get a rear - cycle - drive mutation sumptuosity sedan with 340 horsepower and Xenon HID headlamp . You also get the Meridian stereo , the base InControl scheme , backup tv camera , and a bunch of other features . This is no passing - drawing card , and probably the good economic value of the melody .
The DT Accessory Pack
Up your biz and the get the most out of your gear with the follow extras , hand - pick by our editor program :
CoverMates Car Cover($240)Just in suit you require to fork out from the manual ’s recipes .
Jaguar XF Style accessoriesYou can also turn back Jag ’s global site for a few more fleck and bobs with that double-dyed OEM fit and finish .
Classic Loop Custom Fit Cargo Mats($54.90)If you need a cargo Master of Arts in Teaching , but you want to keep the luxury look .
move up to the Prestige clipping , you start at $ 57,545 , and that buys you heated leather can and wheel , seafaring , and both front and rear parking photographic camera . The R - Sport passementerie gives you a body outfit , LED headlamp , some driver safety feature ( lane holding , inverse traffic , driver condition , and blind spot ) and it originate at $ 61,645 . The top XF S trim gets you the 380 horsepower engine , adaptive suspension , and 14 - way of life adjustable seat . Plus red Pteridium aquilinum calipers for woo factor . The XF S starts at $ 63,695 .
you may expect to add $ 3,000 to any XF model for all - wheel - drive . That ’s deserving the expense for most multitude in North America .
The bottom line on the 2016 Jaguar XF is that it ’s everything you wait from a Jag , and it ’s reasonably price for what you get . This car will contend strongly against the Germans , the Swedes , the top - floor Japanese cars , and Cadillac . If you ’re shopping in that market , you should test drive the XF and make your own short listing .
