Jaguar XF : Luxury cruiser with pinup power
KATHY RENWALD FOR THE TORONTO STAR
The Jaguar XF's exterior is an electric duet of restraint and grand gestures with museum-quality lines.
The pinup power of the Jaguar XF is so strong it transforms the slag piles of Hamilton's steel mills into a Baja landscape.
With its polar ice paint job, the XF looks shockingly pretty against Hamilton harbour's jagged industrial shoreline. This is likely what designers at Jaguar were aiming for: a car with museum-quality lines capable of being an urban blight fighter, then happy to morph into a country squire for fall touring.
It's a joy to photograph. The soft-core literature describes the XF's strong shoulders, rising waistline and high tail.
Is it a car or a centrefold? What it is is a four-door luxury sedan that creates the illusion of a coupe.
I tested the XF Premium Luxury. A base price of $65,800 gets porked up to $72,395 with additions such as a heated windshield, ventilated and cooled front seats, rear sun blind and blind-spot monitor. Eliminate just the adaptive cruise control and you can save $3,200.
From the side and rear, the XF is a wind-tunnel wonder with its fluid, unbroken line. You could quibble that the front view with its bulbous intake grille is the only misstep.
Where the exterior is an electric duet of restraint and grand gestures, the interior is a swank cocoon that turns into a Vegas saloon at the push of the starter button. With the jungle juice flowing and all systems engaged, the blind-spot monitor, rear-parking aid, adaptive cruise control and forward alert set the warning lights a-blinkin' and buzzers a-beepin' like a slot machine at Casino Rama.
It isn't enough, I guess, to look beautiful and drive well. Today's midsize luxury consumers must want animation and interaction in their cars. So Jaguar cranks up the entertainment quotient with air conditioning vents that open and rotate 180 degrees when the car is started.
As the vents gyrate, Jaguar's new rotary gear selector rises presidentially from the centre console: spin the dial to select a gear. Is it a gimmick or a breakthrough? Jaguar says it saves space, and it does contribute to a clutter-free console, like more counter space in the kitchen.
JaguarSense is another techno trinket that allows Houdini-like operation of the glove box and overhead console lights. In theory, when you move your finger close to a sensor the glove box opens. In my experience it opened one out of every five tries; the lights turned on more predictably.
Setting aside all the innovations that will appeal to people with ADD, sitting inside the XF soothes the soul. The cooled and heated seats, the calming colours, wood veneers, sensual switches and sense of space surround the occupants in Architectural Digest luxury. Throw in the "cubbies," as Jaguar calls them, and you can hide anything that crosses the line of good taste.
The refinements and amusements of the interior almost distract from the experience of driving the six-speed automatic XF.
A 4.2-litre V8 puts 300 hp at your command (a supercharged version harnesses 420 hp).
The log-splitting torque of 310 lb.-ft., firm body parts, wide tire tracks and no-nonsense suspension – like riding on jujubes – make the XF fast on the straights and buttoned-down on the curves; the adaptive style steering seems well matched to vehicle dynamics.
Fun, lovely, luxurious: those adjectives apply to the XF. It's so capable it's hard to find a road that demands enough of the overachieving sedan.
Jaguar protocol dictates that engine/exhaust sounds remain unobtrusive. Only under hard acceleration can you hear the V8. It's a soulful sound and I wish it could be heard more often. In most driving modes, inside the car is as quiet as a library.
The shush can be punctured, though, when various driving aids are active. There seems to be an inordinate hullabaloo when the car is put in reverse. The warning sounds are paired with a hawkeyed backup camera that projects a sharp image on the video screen.
A long list of piloting aids must be calculated to keep a driver from catastrophe (see sidebar). Some sound impressive, but they're not foolproof. I suspect, though, we'll be seeing more such technological interventions, not fewer.
The Jaguar XF swims in the pool with the 5 Series BMW, various E- and CL-class Mercedes, the Audi A6 and Lexus GS450. But its cool interior, eager-to-please performance and body beautiful make it distinctive.
Even in the shadow of the slag piles, driving it is time well spent.
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