Turning circle diameter is listed as 37.7 feet, curb-to-curb. Passenger space is listed as 95.3 cubic feet trunk as 17.7. How big? XF is 195.3 inches long, 73.9 in. Supercharged is rated 420 hp at 6,250 rpm, 413 lbs.-ft. How potent? 4.2-liter V-8 in Luxury and Premium Luxury is rated 300 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 310 pounds-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm. Test cars: $56,950 Premium Luxury, $65,475 Supercharged. How much? Luxury starts at $49,975 including $775 destination. How? Underpinnings of the XK topped with sexy four-door body. Why? Gotta have something that sells well and makes money. What? Midsize, rear-drive, five-passenger, luxury sedan. In fact, it would seem less contrived, more honest.Īnd it would drive just as well, be just as quiet and composed, look just as good, and probably still be the marketplace home run that its early results suggest. Maybe you like the folderol, but XF could lose the heartbeat button, the eye-opening vents and the rising-and-rotating shifter without sacrificing serious appeal. Handy, but not as satisfying as a shift lever.
#2009 jaguar xf supercharged manual#
Manual shifting is by paddles on the steering wheel. You rotate it through the PRNDS sequence to pick your poison, "S" being the aggressive sport-shift mode that holds lower gears longer, boosting scoot but slicing mileage. The gearshift - it's a fat knob, not a lever, and saves space on the console - rises in greeting when you press the starter. Push the button and dashboard air vents swivel open. The beast is alive and awaits your command. The big start-stop button on the console begins to double blink when you enter holding the key, the visual equivalent, Jag says, of a thump-thump, thump-thump heartbeat. The Supercharged test car had that system and the sound delivered was OK, but not aurally ravishing as expected. High-end British audio purveyor Bowers & Wilkins supplies the top-level sound machine, its first time in an auto. The blind-spot monitor (orange icons that appear in the outside mirrors) worked just so and didn't annoy. Teched-out V-8 matches or beats fuel economy of rivals' six-cylinder motors. Options such as heated steering wheel and heated/cooled seats keep front folks happy. Don't count on fitting anybody big in the middle, though. Even when the front seat's far back, there's adult-size knee and legroom in back.
Honest wood trim in several choices is attractive, minimal and classy.Ĭomfort accompanies the pleasing appearance. In previous models, the leather was tightly fitted and buyers weren't recognizing it as lush material, not plastic. Jaguar has made the hides more pleasant to touch by, for example, putting a thin layer of foam under the dashboard leather to make the point it's a soft, organic fabric. The well-leathered interior beckons almost irresistibly.
Hey, rivals do the same things, Jag says.Īnd next time your kid says, "Everybody else does it," you'll accept that excuse, right? The rear fold-down armrest has only a cup holder, no storage for, say, a first-aid kit. There's no head restraint for the middle position of the rear seat. Better hope the sun doesn't move in the sky where you live.
Visors swivel to the side, but don't slide, and there are no auxiliary visors. The big grille and sloping nose have an unsettling similarity to the far less premium Chrysler 300M of the 1990s and early 2000s (that's the old front-drive 300 built on the LH architecture - not the big, buff, rear-drive 300 on sale now).Īlso, the chrome leaping Jaguar seems crowded on the trunk lip by the fat chrome strip beneath it. Some of the design details, however, are less inspirational. The sweep and swoop of the body holds the eye and caresses the mind. It comes equipped with an adaptive suspension that adjusts to conditions: soft on the boulevard, tight and firm in the twisties. The high-performance Supercharged actually had the smoother ride. Far from the cushy feel you might associate with Jaguar, the XF had the firm European ride beloved by driving enthusiasts and despised by those looking for a soft, gentle demeanor. The Supercharged delivered its punch with a wonderful growl.īoth engines deliver that substantial power smoothly, rather than suddenly. The 420-horsepower Supercharged was far more exciting than the 300-hp Premium Luxury model, but the latter's hardly sluggish or dull.
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