Jaguar XF takes centre stage

STEP inside Jaguar’s super saloon the XF to experience an act of automotive theatre – you can both feel and see the car’s heart begin to beat as the start button pulses red.

Press to fire up the engine and the alloy JaguarDrive gearshift rises smoothly into the palm of your hand.

At the same time the colour touchscreen at the centre of the dash bursts into life and the rotating air vents appear as if by alchemy from the fascia.

Then there are the proximity sensors on the interior lights that activate with a wave of your hand and, for night time, blue mood lighting reminiscent of a trendy bar or restaurant.

Even the glovebox features a tiny bullseye sensor that reacts at the softest touch.

Jaguar XF in action

And that’s without taking into account the likes of voice control for everything from sounds and TV to sat-nav, telephone, climate control and memory.

The XF comes with a choice of powerful diesel and petrol engines – a pair of 2.2-litre diesels with 163 or 200PS, two 3.0-litre V6 diesels producing 240 or 275PS, a 3.0-litre petrol variant with 340PS and a 5.0-litre V8 petrol unit with 510PS in the XFR model and a whopping 550PS in the XFR-S.

The tested Diesel S model featured the more powerful of the 3.0 diesels and is a magnificent unit – quiet, refined and wickedly powerful, yet capable of an official 47mpg average. The eight-speed automatic gearbox is also silky smooth.

As for ride and handling, well the XF has one of the stiffest bodyshells in its class so control is precise, the steering is extremely responsive and there are technologies like computer controlled damping.

In its slower paces through the suburbs it soaks up bumps and cradles the driver and passengers in time-honoured Jaguar fashion.

Jaguar XF Diesel S

Open up on the faster roads and you witness terrific pace plus a feeling of being glued to the road through fast bends.

Despite those coupe-like lines there’s bags of room inside, sufficient to carry four adults – five at a push – in comfort with some decent interior stowage and a useful 540 litres of boot space too.

Leather upholstery is standard, so too is an eight-speaker sound system, automatic speed limiter and top line sound system with i-Pod connector while extra cost options vary from a Blind Spot Monitor at £450 to an Adaptive Dynamics pack at £1,250.

All that’s without taking into account the likes of voice control for everything from sounds and TV to sat-nav, telephone, climate control and memory.

It all adds up to a compelling package – and one that continues to put one over on the premium German marques.

Jaguar XF Diesel S Portfolio