One of CAR magazine’s favourite saloons, the Jaguar XF, was recently refreshed and also received an economical new turbodiesel option. CAR’s Juliet McGuire got to drive it a few days before the vehicle’s official reveal at the Johannesburg International Motor Show.
It has to be said upfront that the XF has always been one of the prettiest cars in its segment. Facelifting it must have been quite a challenge, but Jaguar has been very successful with this task. The front-end now features headlamps that are more in tune with the original C-XF concept, and these give the revised XF significantly more presence. The taillamps have been entirely revised, too.
The interior is similarly enhanced, with new surfacing on the facia controls and a revised info-tainment screen. Overall, the cabin feels spacious (in front, anyway – rear space is still behind the class leaders) and the sensation of quality is evident.
We set off from Lanseria International Airport and made our way to Legends Golf Course in Limpopo. The drive was made even longer with extended routes and all-in-all we completed about 330 km in the new Jag. It was a more than comfortable drive, and the air-conditioner was on full-blast from beginning to end, as the temperatures soared to over 30 Celcius outside. We were to find out later that this was the reason our car’s stop/start function didn’t kick in.
We tried everything; stopping with our foot hard on the brake, stopping with a light touch on the brake pedal, slowing to a stop, stopping suddenly … the only thing we didn’t do was turn the air-conditioning down. It turns out we were not the only drivers to not experience the stop/start funtion, in fact, just about all the journalists complained about not being able to get it to work. That said, it would’ve been a similar story for any other stop/start-equipped car operating in these temperatures. It does show, however, that these smart fuel-saving measures aren’t always going to be available to you.
We had lots of reason to exploit the dynamics of the car as we had many potholes to avoid. The ride is smooth and, refinement is so good, that one can easily find oneself over the speed limit without trying. While the XF 2,2 turbodiesel is by no means a sporstcar, its 0-100 km/h time of 8,5 seconds is nothing to sniff at. But it’s an impressive cruiser, one for the open road, where you can also best make use of the Land Rover Freelander-derived 2,2-litre turbodiesel engine’s frugality. The engine produces 140 kW and 450 N.m of torque, and CO2 emissions are at an impressive 149 g/km.
The 2,2 Diesel is available in two trim levels, Luxury and Premium Luxury. Premium Luxury offers 18-inch alloy wheels as opposed to the Luxury’s 17-inchers. It also features keyless entry, a heated steering wheel and seats as well as a front and rear park aids among other things. The Luxury model is available at R452 480, while the Premium Luxury retails at R522 480.
For technical specifications you can download the spec sheet by clicking on the documents tab in the top right hand corner of the image block.