Long-term test review: Jaguar XF ~ station of gear

Long-term test review: Jaguar XF - first report header

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2 Nov, 2016 9:45am James Batchelor

First report: having waved goodbye to the XE, we welcome its big brother to our fleet

Mileage: 2,100
MPG: 46.3mpg

You can’t call my job ‘normal’. Driving the very latest cars, presenting videos and flying from country to country means a varied schedule from one week to the next; it’s fair to say it doesn’t involve the usual office hours or meetings, for instance.

However, I’m now getting a taste of what many business buyers might be used to on the road, as I’ve traded the Jaguar XE junior exec saloon we had on fleet for the brand’s larger, full-on executive XF model.

But it’s not because I’ve become a corporate high-flyer overnight. I don’t spend my evenings poring over company car lists, nor do I possess a deep-rooted wish to climb from a middle-management motor to an executive express. Instead, there are some important reasons why I found myself collecting our XF from Lookers Jaguar Land Rover West London this week.

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Long-term test review: Jaguar XF - first report close look

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Firstly, it’s do with needs. I clocked up more mileage in my XE than almost anyone else in the office, thanks to a regular 140-mile round trip to our central London base and many long-distance runs to filming locations. A comfortable car that’s preferably diesel powered is ideal for me, then.

Secondly, having already lived with an XE, I would like to think I can accurately analyse whether these two new volume-selling saloons have what it takes to make Jaguar’s future a successful one. Well... that’s what I told my boss anyway. Truth is I’m a massive Jag fan and wanted to see what a customer trading up from XE to XF might find.

• Best executive cars

You can imagine my excitement when I arrived at the impressive new Lookers showroom. The dealership has been a big distraction as I’ve driven past it on the A40 over the past 18 months during its construction. It towers over the neighbouring showrooms and even gives the cathedral-like West London Audi a run for its money in the style stakes.

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Long-term test review: Jaguar XF - first report dealer ipad

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It’s the first retailer to show off JLR’s new ‘global Arch’ design – and the word ‘retailer’ is a key one, as this is like no old-fashioned dealership. I was met on the forecourt and directed inside where everyone knew my name, and then I was shown upstairs to a smart coffee bar. On one side, there were around 25 Jaguars, and on the other, 20-odd Land Rovers, arranged like clothes rails in a Knightsbridge department store. The site cost £12m, has ‘Drive In’ service bays (where you drive your car in and a like-for-like courtesy vehicle is waiting for you) and a roof with space for over 100 cars. It’s like no other dealership I’ve ever been to.

It’s here where handover coordinator Anthony Cross reveals the new Auto Express Jag. In contrast to the racy R-Sport XE, the XF is more ‘traditional’. It’s in range-topping Portfolio spec, complete with lashings of chrome and leather seats.

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We’ve specified plenty of options, too – full-LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof, tinted windows, adaptive dampers, soft-close doors and much more. We’ve also gone for the £2,095 InControl infotainment system with a 10.2-inch widescreen and upgraded 825W Meridian surround sound system. Oh, and for a touch of extra glam, Italian Racing Red paintwork, costing £690.

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Long-term test review: Jaguar XF - first report interior

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We’ve stuck with the tried-and-tested – and also best-selling – combination of Jag’s 178bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel with the eight-speed automatic gearbox for the perfect comparison with the XE.

As I was talked round the car and the keys were handed over, I had a sense that running this Jaguar is not going to be a ‘normal’ experience. It’s going to be a special one.

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

Trading up from an XE to XF might seem selfish, but it’s what many Jag customers are expected to do. With a few tasty options, I’m looking forward to seeing how the more traditionally specced XF stacks up against the smaller but sportier XE over the next 12 months.

Model: Jaguar XF Portfolio 2.0d 180
On fleet since: October 2016
Price new: £39,050
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbodiesel
Power: 178bhp

CO2/tax: 114g/km/£30
Options: Italian Racing Red paint (£690), Adaptive LED lights (£1,250), InControl Touch Pro with Meridian Stereo (£2,095), Active Safety Pack (£840), Advance Parking Assist Pack (£1,655), Adaptive Dynamics (£1,020)
Insurance*: Group: 29, Quote £789
Mileage/mpg: 2,100/46.3mpg
Any problems?: None so far

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