Jaguar XF: Welcome to the new age

INSIDE, the XF is all high-tech.

SINCE Tata bought out the Jaguar-Land Rover Group, the British firm has seen massive progress, impressive success, and a very rapid growth.

Though Land Rover has continually outsold Jaguar three times to one, that hasn’t stopped Jaguar from releasing winner after winner. With the new XF, things are looking brighter than ever for the leaping cat.

Jaguar flew us to Pamplona in northern Spain to enjoy the beautiful winding roads, cool nippy weather and some manic driving on the Circuito de Navarra.

We’ll get to the manic driving in a bit and first look at Jaguar’s new medium-sized cat, the XF.

While the all-new, recently introduced entry-level XE is touted to be Jaguar’s volume-seller into the premium segment, and the XJ is the flagship sedan, the XF, like BMW’s 5-Series, Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class and Audi’s A6, represent a significant chunk of the luxury brand’s profits and sales volume.

The midsize sedan segment has far better profit margins than the smaller, entry-level sedan, and outsells the flagship models significantly.

Thus you can see why the XF and its rivals are crucial to their respective car company’s success, profitability, growth and overall desirability in the long-term. This segment is all about balance of volume, growth and profitability.

The biggest differences in the all-new, second-generation XF are the aluminum-intensive chassis and suspension, and a new range of engines from the Jaguar-Land Rover Group called the Ingenium family of engines.

The new XF is actually a smidge shorter by 7 millimeters and lower by 3 mm, but the wheelbase has increased by a whopping 51 mm, increasing space inside for the occupants, and improving high-speed stability and dynamic responsiveness.

The aluminum has also afforded a massive weight savings of up to 190 kilograms from its predecessor. And the chassis is also stiffer by 28 percent from the outgoing model.

ATTRACTIVE Start/Stop button

Drag coefficient has lowered from 0.29 cd to an even more impressive 0.26 cd, not only helping fuel efficiency but also reducing wind noise.

The engines range from a modest 2.0 CRDi diesel engine delivering 163 horsepower to a supercharged V6 gasoline engine giving 380 HP.

A high-performance V8 supercharged petrol engine will probably find its way soon plus AWD for an R variant in the future.

A choice of 18-, 19- and 20-inch gorgeous aluminum-alloy wheels are available with maximum-performance, all-season tires.

The front suspension is an aluminum double-wishbone design, while the rear utilizes the group’s integral-link multilink suspension.

It has the handling benefits of a traditional multilink design, but thanks to a patented design, frees up the space required for the suspension design, improving both trunk space and rear seat accommodations.

The integral link was first used in the Land Rover Discovery Sport in late 2014.

EVEN WITH 700 Nm of torque, the engine feels composed, cool and confident.

The first engine, and arguably my favorite engine in the all-new XF range, is the 3.0 turbocharged V6 diesel engine which serves an amazing 300 HP, and crucially, 700 Newton-meters of torque through an eight-speed automatic-transmission driving the rear wheels.

On winding Spanish roads in and around Navarra and Pamplona, where the infamous bull run is held between the 14th and 16th of July each year, the XF feels willing and ready.

The engine doesn’t feel manic, like it can barely contain the 700 Nm of torque just raring to explode—it feels composed, cool and confident.

Perhaps the new engine is still tight, or the chassis is just so capable, it keeps things under control easily? But doubt not, for the speeds just climbing nonstop.

We had been warned that the Spanish police have been alerted to our presence, and any high-speed shenanigans will not be tolerated, but it felt wrong not to cruise between 140-180 kilometers per hour.

Off to the Circuito de Navarra, and the XF’s chassis really shines beautifully.

Electric power steering is new, as is configurable dynamics, which allows the driver to tailor-made the steering effort, the active dynamics damper stiffness, transmission and engine responsiveness to the driver’s preferences.

YOU GET a big 8-inch LCD touch screen that displays the XF’s multimedia system.

It’s here that the XF’s supercharged V6 gasoline variant, now in 380 HP, with its snarling, wailing exhaust note and configurable dynamics set one notch below full-off, and with the guidance of a driving instructor, saw me literally driving the XF tail out, drifting it through all but the fastest of corners.

Torque vectoring is present, which can really pop your eyes out driving and cornering flat out, but it brings the XF closer to sliding, more than ever.

Add in an equally enthusiastic and energetic instructor telling you to floor the throttle at the least appropriate time (all in good fun and in the interest of testing the XF’s limits, mind you), and the XF kicks its tail out gracefully, beautifully, like a graceful ballerina, with the proper agility of Jaguars of yore.

Finally, it is a proper cat that doesn’t act like a big oaf on the move. At times, the steering— light as with most electrically assisted systems—can feel a bit overly sensitive and alert, but it’s a welcome change to previous Jaguars, which felt limp and lifeless.

Once the XF starts sliding, it’s quite easy to regain control. And with judicious countersteering and throttle modulation, you can really hold a slide through two esses or quickly shuffle through a chicane.

Yes, even I was surprised by the level of controllability that the XF has, even for a more or less average driver as me.

Inside, the XF is all high-tech: You get a big 8-inch LCD touch screen that displays the XF’s multimedia system. Beside the screen are two parallel rows of switches.

THE JAGUAR sequential shift offers lightning-fast gearshift.

Some markets get SatNav, although it’s unclear yet if we will get this system in the Philippines, but we hope we do as BMW, Audi and Lexus already have a built-in SatNav system integrated into the OEM multimedia system.

Jaguar also offers its own InControl app, which allows drivers and users to sync their mobile phones with the Jaguar’s electronics, allowing the synced mobile phone to see vehicle information and vitals, fuel level, service intervals, etc.

Your phone syncs seamlessly; the standard audio system is quite impressive as Jaguar had an iPhone synced with some driving and music playing. A Meridien sound system is also available as an option.

If you need space, the Jaguar offers a class-leading 540 liters of cargo space in the trunk. Drop the 40:20:40 split-folding seats and you’ll get a massive 963 liters of cargo space—all thanks to the space savings made by the advanced integral-link rear suspension for this massive interior space, as well as class-leading width in the rear seats.

While it’s too soon to pass on a verdict on the all-new XF until I try it on local roads, my initial impression of the midsize cat is glowing indeed.

Lighter, faster, more efficient and roomier, not to mention more dynamically engaging, the all-new XF is Jaguar’s latest two-finger salute to the German luxury establishment.

The XF, like the smaller XE launched before it, is a break from Jaguar tradition—futuristic, sophisticated, forward-looking and finally, dynamic and engaging to drive.

This is not your typical Jaguar of an era past. This is the Jaguar from the future.