World Cars Motor Show

‘Gravie skelets furnerals used’. I recently saw this rather cryptic phrase on eBay and discovered that it was yet another example of the great unwashed being lost for words. Well, the right words, anyway. It turns out that the vendor was selling a rather macabre collection of used postcards, all depicting some aspect of the inhumation trade.

Such gobbledegook is commonly found on eBay, as punters struggle to correctly form words from the 26 letters available - which in my experience are usually sufficient. However, anyone who has driven the new Jaguar XF might wish for more than 26, as the English alphabet scarcely contains enough letters to do it justice.

But even with just 26 letters on tap, I doubt if any of my colleagues will be lost for words, or superlatives, at least. In place of the rather stodgy S-Type comes a car that redefines the Jaguar ethos. Fast, agile and elegant, the new XF is as far removed from the car it replaces as a MacBook is from an Amstrad. The two cars are in a different league.

Whereas the S-Type had acquired a kind of ‘auntie’ mantle, which it inherited from the late-but-seldom-lamented Rover 75, the new Jaguar is like next-year’s calendar - well ahead of the game. Admittedly, I got to drive the range-topping SV8 model, but I have no reason to suppose that its junior siblings will be any less impressive. Indeed, the company execs who even now are lining up for the 2.7 diesel model can look forward to a step change in Jaguar’s mid-range muscle.

It is unsurprising that the XF has already picked up a number of prestigious awards, but perhaps the greatest - and clearly most significant - response has come not from the motoring press but from the motoring public. With forward orders already exceeding 3000 cars, and the prospect of new ownership, Jaguar’s future is now looking rosier than at any time in the last decade; and it is appropriate that the new car is a celebration of Jaguar tradition encompassed in best-practice design and technology.

The SV8 test car was powered by a supercharged version of the company’s AJ-V8 engine. With a displacement of 4.2 litres, an output of 420 bhp, and a peak torque of 560 Newton-metres, the SV8 is good for a 0-62 time of 5.4 seconds, and a regulated top speed of 155 mph. This places the five-seater XF in the same performance envelope as the XKR coupe - only 200 milliseconds separate the 0-62 times.

But the performance is prefaced by what Jaguar describes as a ’surprise and delight’ experience. And that, in turn, is prefaced by a head-scratching experience. Sit behind the wheel of the XF for the first time and try as you might you won’t find a gear lever. But as long as you have the smart key about your person, or somewhere in the cabin, you will notice an occulting button on the centre tunnel - pulsing red and inviting you to ‘Start’. Press it and into the palm of your hand rises a squat turret - like an ice hockey puck but apparently machined-turned out of solid aluminium. (Plastic has come a long way.) That is the gear lever - or more precisely, the JaguarDrive Selector. Simply rotate it to select P R N D or S.

In D (or S if you have Sport in mind) the transmission complies with all your expectations of a modern six-speed auto’ shift. But if you want to rise above the role of steering-wheel attendant, simply flick either of the steering-wheel paddles - which rotate with the wheel - and you can swap cogs at will. Downward changes are even accompanied by an automatic blip of the throttle, so it sounds as if you are double de-clutching even if you don’t know what that means.

In fact, with a finely tuned right foot, gear transition is smoother using the paddles than it is in auto’ mode, especially during heavy acceleration.

But before we take off down the road let’s go back to the moment you climb into the car. As well as raising the JaguarDrive turret, and firing up the engine, the ‘Start’ button also opens the face-level climate-control vents, which at rest hibernate out of sight, revealing only smooth, curved panels that lay flush with the fascia.

“Show me again,” said my neighbour, more fascinated by the rotating vents than the hundred and one other features that will fuel barstool fables for months to come. For example, the touch-screen pictograms that control the cabin climate, or the sixteen motors that power every conceivable means of adjusting the SV8 driver’s seat, or JaguarSense that provides proximity control for the interior lights and glove-box opening, or the JaguarVoice control of umpteen functions, or the blind-spot monitor, or the…. The list goes on, and on. In short, the XF, and in particular the SV8, is a technophile’s dream machine.

But if your aspirations are confined to a stick and a wheel - and you can live without paddles and a puck - the SV8 will ’surprise and delight’ the moment the 20-inch alloys start to turn. The supercharged XF is not so much a saloon as a five-seater Tornado.

Quite apart from the straight-line performance, funded by the flexible, torque-rich engine, the XF boasts an agility that would put many roadsters to shame. The CATS active suspension is reassuringly firm and infuses the Jaguar with the kind of tactile reflexes I would associate with an M-Sport Beema. An SV8 driver could tell you more about the road beneath the wheels than could a keen-eyed surveyor on his hands and knees.

Earnest drivers may occasionally encounter one of the Jaguar’s many mechatronic nannies. Latest in the growing active-safety repertoire is Understeer Control Logic, which does what you would expect. There is also Engine Drag Torque Control, which prevents wheel lock-up on sudden throttle lift. And among the many other gadgets there is the Kudos Button, which lowers the driver’s window so that Lesser Mortals can get a better view of the More Fortunate.

Much of the Jaguar’s dynamic prowess can be attributed to the body’s high levels of torsional stiffness - ‘highest in class’, says the company. The ultra-rigid body not only delivers excellent handling - the suspension geometry is not compromised by the body’s acting as a second spring - but also a refined ride. Coupled with high levels of noise and vibration attenuation, the XF’s rigid body ensures a ride quality that impresses with its smoothness and serenity to the degree that it can be considered very nearly equal to that of the XJ series.

And the cabin specification, too, has much in common with Jaguar’s premium marque. As standard, the XF SV8 is equipped with DVD navigation, heated and cooled front seats, tree-wood trim, leather upholstery, and cascade interior lighting - over the door switches as well as the console. I wasn’t keen on the turquoise back-lighting, however: a bit too Canvey Island for my taste.

Not content with delivering one of the most impressive cars I have tested since Otto perfected his cycle, Jaguar sought to woo me further by piling on the extras, to the extent that the car on my driveway would have cost you ??60,360 - enough to pay for an XJR and a tankful of petrol. And SV8 owners will need plenty of that: just 15 miles around town will separate you from the thick end of a fiver, and the ‘official’ combined fuel consumption of 22.4 mpg equates to a CO2 rating of 299 g/km, for which read ??300 a year, and before long, twenty five quid every time you visit central London..

If you want to save some loot but still look the part, the 2.7-litre diesel XF is good for a combined figure of 37.6 mpg and 199 g/km, which is band F at ??205 per annum. Jaguar expects that 70 per cent of XF customers will choose the oil-burner option.

And when it comes to pragmatic virtues, all XF owners will no doubt applaud the huge boot, which is large enough to accommodate a small Nissan, as I almost proved when I braked sharply in front of a distracted Micra driver. For the record, the boot volume is 19 cubic feet, a figure that easily can be doubled if the rear seat backs are folded forward. But it’s not just luggage that gets plenty of space. The rear legroom is notably generous, and as our tall camera-man pointed out, there is more rear headroom in the new Jaguar than in the much larger Lexus LS 600h.

But unlike the Lexus, which uses advanced hybrid technology to entice the great and wonderful, the Jaguar relies on style, panache and performance - all of which have equal billing. The style reflects the future face of Jaguar; the panache is derived from a thoughtful and seamless integration of tradition and technology; and the performance speaks for itself.

And so does the value. Indians are fond of precious stones, and should Tata eventually acquire Jaguar - as all in the know expect will happen - I hope the company realises what a gem it has on its hands. Indeed, the XF is almost too good for words.? 

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Jaguar design director Ian Callum believes concept cars are often better at clearing out entrenched corporate design ideas than they are at setting new standards. He didn??™t say so, but the obvious exception must be his own department??™s C-XF show car that debuted in January at the Detroit show.
Although that vehicle used some creative license in its evocation of the latest Jaguar design language, it was not a million miles from what we see in this ??™08 XF, which will replace the dated S-type early next year. However, Callum reminds us that there were 25 or 30 iterations of the C-XF design study before the evolution was complete, so perhaps that??™s where the old fixations were purged.

He says the car follows an original edict of founder Sir William Lyons that Jaguars should be beautiful. Callum believes it??™s a matter of proportion, surface purity, and detailing. We??™d hasten to add that a dab of originality doesn??™t hurt, because that??™s where this car scores over the designs of previous Jaguar sedans. The XF abandons the old long-and-low rear-deck profile seen on most of the sedans in the Jag lineup, adopting instead a high rear decklid almost like that of a Lexus GS.

Except that the XF has a marked coupelike profile, with a steeply raked backlight. Impressive then, that the rear seat in this car offers as much leg- and headroom as it does. The front is roomy, too, in a huge departure from the old S-type??™s interior, in which tall people found no comfort in either row. Callum admits it was hard work maintaining that profile in a five-seater.

Giving the car a 114.5-inch wheelbase under a 195.3-inch-long body certainly helped. In fact, the shadow cast by the XF is larger than that of the Audi A6, BMW 5-series, Mercedes E-class, and Lexus GS. With this six-foot-five scribbler ensconced comfortably in the rear seat, it feels like it. The trunk capacity is pretty good as well, offering 18 cubic feet before the rear seatbacks are folded to provide a further 15 cubic feet of cargo space.
The XF goes on sale March 1 in the U.S. powered by a naturally aspirated 300-hp, 4.2-liter V-8 starting at $50,000, or a 420-hp supercharged version of same for $63,000, both pedaling through a six-speed automatic transmission. Jaguar??™s 0-to-60 targets are 6.3 and 5.2 seconds, respectively, with quarter-mile times forecast at 14.9 and 13.8 seconds.

With suspension components based on those of the XK coupe, the XF??™s handling ought to be representative. But the emphasis here is on luxury, and the car??™s interior has all the hallmarks of the market segment, plus a few surprises. Mick Mohan, the XF??™s chief program engineer, likes to demonstrate the Jaguar ???handshake,??? which consists of revolving air vents that roll open when the driver touches the start button.

The button itself pulses with red backlighting when the driver enters the car, and a novel rotary gear selector rises from its well in the center console when the engine starts. The switch rotates through the usual park, reverse, and drive positions and then is depressed to pass a detent into sport mode, enabling the steering-wheel paddles for manumatic actuation.

Clearly, this is a lot more car than the old S-type and a definite sign that Jaguar has moved into a new era. We can??™t wait to drive the XF.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

BASE PRICE: $50,000??“$63,000

ENGINES: DOHC 32-valve 4.2-liter V-8, 300 hp, 310 lb-ft; supercharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve 4.2-liter V-8, 420 hp, 408 lb-ft

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 114.5 in
Length: 195.3 in
Width: 73.9 in
Height: 57.5 in
Curb weight: 4100??“4200 lb

PERFORMANCE (MFR??™S EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 5.2??“6.3 sec
Standing ??-mile: 13.8??“14.9 sec
Top speed (governor limited): 155 mph

PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city driving: 15??“16 mpg
EPA highway driving: 21??“24 mpg

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Jaguar??™s flagship XJ has been slowly sinking for some time now as sales of this sedan with decades-old styling slip further behind its competitors??™. Jaguar is hoping to inject enough temporary buoyancy into the model to keep it visible until a more modern replacement arrives in 2010.

To sustain the XJ until then, Jaguar has taken what are becoming two of the most ubiquitous styling elements in recent years??”fender vents and a huge trapezoidal grille??”and applied them to its big sedan. Fender vents are appearing on everything from Ford??™s 2008 Focus and Super Duty F-series to the BMW M5 and now, the Jaguar XJ. At least the vertical vents on the XJ ape Jaguar??™s own XK and make the fender a sort of family identifier.

Depending on how clear the viewer??™s eyesight is and how easily distracted he or she is by shiny things such as the chrome trim ring on the upper grille, the XJ??™s new lower valance looks like something from an over-the-top in-house tuner such as BMW??™s M, or the Audi-esque split trapezoidal grille that threatens to abolish the front bumper altogether and morph the front of every car it touches into one big grille.

The 4.2-liter V-8 will still be naturally aspirated with 300 horsepower or supercharged with 400, so a slim rear-deck spoiler and new wheel designs are the only other changes to the 2008 Jaguar XJ. Other than those trifling alterations, the XJ retains the same dated design as the 2007 model, a basic shape the car has worn since LBJ was in the White House.

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