[singlepic id=12257 w=540 h=375 float=center]
Ride, Handling and Braking – Jaguar has tweaked the suspension for India, raising it slightly to cope up with the uneven roads. The XF has also been softened to offer a better ride and that is something which differentiates it from the German rivals. The XF absorbs everything you throw at it, without transferring any to the passengers. Ride quality is supreme and highly comfortable with no sort of stiffness. Even the NVH levels are extremely good and you never feel the speeds in the XF. High speed stability is very good but a little bit of uneasiness creeps in at high speeds. The XF doesn’t feel as composed the BMW 5-Series, which is firmly planted to the road at any given speed.
[singlepic id=12266 w=540 h=375 float=center]
The Jaguar XF doesn’t feel sharp and the steering wheel is to blame. It lacks feel and there is a fair bit of body roll. You can’t push the Jaguar the way you push the 5-Series and the XF doesn’t inspire the confidence which the Bimmer does. The XF does have a few systems to ensure the car is always pointing in the right direction. There is the Dynamics Stability Control (DSC), which cuts down power much before the XF would let go. The DSC also has a Trac mode which is a little late in cutting the power but again it does it much before then the driver would want it to. The braking performance is extremely good and the XF stops dead in its tracks every time you step on the brake pedal.
[singlepic id=12288 w=540 h=375 float=center]
Performance – Powering the Jaguar XF diesel is a a 3.0-litre V6, twin-turbo engine which produces a peak power output of 275 PS at 4000 RPM and a massive head spinning torque output of 600 Nm at 2000 RPM (that is almost as much as what the top of the line XFR produces, which uses a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine). As expected performance is absolutely insane and the XF diesel is brutally quick. Jaguar claims a 0 – 100 km/h time of only 6.4 seconds while the top speed is limited to 250 km/h. There is a slight bit of turbo lag below 2000 RPM but once the turbo starts singing, the way the XF accelerates is truly phenomenal. Performance is very strong and the engine is very refined all the way to its 5000 RPM redline.
[singlepic id=12271 w=540 h=375 float=center]
This 3000cc engine is mated to a 6-speed ZF automatic gearbox, which gives the XF very quick shifts. There is no lag between gears and even in D mode, the XF’s transmission is super quick in finding the right gear. The car has been programmed in such a way that it never hesitates in going to high revvs when you manually downshift the vehicle. The best part about the XF’s gearbox is it doesn’t upshift in S mode with the driver actually controlling the shifts. Getting into dynamic mode (a button marked with a chequered flag) with the XF in S mode, the Jag will roar all the way to the redline and stay there till you want it to. Do the same thing with its German rivals and they upshift without a second thought, which makes paddle shifts pointless in those cars.
[singlepic id=12267 w=540 h=375 float=center]
Head over to the next page to read our conclusion on the Jaguar XF.
