By: IOL Motoring Staff
Pretoria - Jaguar's second-generation XF mid-sized sedan, released in South Africa this week, looks longer and sleeker than its predecessor - but it's actually 7mm shorter overall.
It is, however, significantly slinkier with a drag coefficient of 0.26, compared to 0.29 for the outgoing model, and considerably lighter - about 190kg less than the previous XF, thanks to ever more use of aluminium in the body shell.
But, perhaps most importantly from the customers' point of view, its wheelbase has been stretched 51mm while the front overhang has been shortened by 66mm, giving rear-seat passengers 15mm more legroom, 24mm more kneeroom and 27mm more headroom than before.
The all-new XF comes with a high-contrast laser head-up display and Jaguar's InControl Touch system - first seen on the XE in 2015 - that uses an eight inch touchscreen to monitor the car's systems as well as your smartphone via Bluetooth or USB hardwire, for music sharing and hands-free telephony.
Electric power steering replaces the hydraulic assistance of the previous XF. This not only provides a small but significant saving in fuel consumption but also makes possible driver aids such as camber compensation, lane-keeping assistance, driver condition monitoring and assisted parking - both parallel and end-on.
It's also the first Jaguar to offer adaptive full-LED headlights, with two banks of LEDs and reflectors - one for dipped, one for main beam. And if you specify the high-beam assist function, the stereo camera will detect other vehicles in the distance and dip the headlights automatically to avoid dazzling their drivers.
SMOOTH MOVER
One of the problems with sporty sedans such as the XF is that their suspension is usually harsh at very low speeds around town. To counter this Jaguar has borrowed some damper technology from the motorcycle world, in the shape of an extra valve that reduces damping forces at low speeds.
Once you get going, however, the adaptive dynamics system monitors body movement 100 times a second and wheel movement 500 times a second, continually resetting the damping in response to what's going on 'twixt tyre and tar.
An option on V6 models is configurable dynamics, which lets you tailor the settings of the engine, eight-speed auto transmission, and dampers individually.
All-surface progress control automatically manages the brakes and throttle for optimum traction in low-speed, slippery conditions. You set the target speed switchgear between 3.6 and 30km/h and the XF will pull away without fuss, up the set speed - all you have to do is steer.
SPOILED FOR CHOICE
The new XF is offered in South Africa in a range of seven variants spanning four engine choices - each driving the rear wheels via an eight-speed ZF auto transmission - and four levels of trim.
The entry-level Prestige comes with a two-litre Ingenium turbodiesel four rated for 132kW at 4000 revs and 430Nm from 1750-2500rpm. A 0-100km/h getaway takes 8.1seconds and Vmax is 229km/h, according to Jaguar, at a nominal laboratory fuel-consumption of 4.3 litres per 100km.
Next up is a two-litre turbopetrol four - in either Prestige or Portfolio trim - delivering a claimed 177kW at 5500 revs and 340Nm from 1750-4000rpm. 0-100 is disposed of in seven seconds flat, top end is 148km/h and nominal thirst is quoted at 7.5 litres per 100km.
The R-Sport trim is offered with either of the fours or a three-litre V6 turbopetrol wielding 250kW at 6500 revs and 450Nm at 4500rpm, good for 0-100 in 5.4 seconds and 250km/h flat out, with test-bed consumption of 8.3 litres per 100km.
And then there's the XF S, with a three-litre V6 tuned for 280kW, taking it from 0-100 a tenth quicker at 8.3s. Top speed is limited to the same 250km/h and nominal fuel consumption is unchanged at 8.3 litres per 100km.
PRICES
2.0 Prestige Diesel - R714 800
2.0 Prestige Petrol - R755 153
2.0 Portfolio Petrol - R856 253
2.0 R-Sport Diesel - R782 700
2.0 R-Sport Petrol - R822 953
3.0 R-Sport V6 250kW - R1 045 503