2017 Jaguar XF Test Drive Review

Interiors – The interiors of this wild cat are quite inviting and action-packed too! Hit the button to fire the engine and the rotary gear knob selector pops up in the centre console along with the side AC vents. It comes with a layered dashboard having metallic textured finish in the middle sandwiched between leather trims. The 3-spoke steering wheel feels good to hold and looks sporty. The all-digital instrument cluster displays detailed info, it looks neat and changes colour theme according to the driving mode.

Interiors are loaded with tech, could have got more space though

The Jaguar XF comes with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment with Meridien sound system that churns out fantastic acoustics. The touch quality is excellent and the interface is easy to use. The huge screen also doubles up as a parking camera display that offers a 360-degree view along with the regular reverse and frontal camera views. The park assist helps you with auto steering assist while parking.

The fit, finish and quality feels top notch. Jaguar uses pure leather upholstery in the XF’s cabin and you can immediately smell luxury once you get inside. The seats offer good support having 14-way power adjustable front seats. The rear seats are quite comfortable too having decent legroom but not the best in class. The boot space is huge though and can accommodate quite a lot of luggage.

Performance – The petrol engine is a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder unit that has a peak power of 240 HP and torque of 340 Nm which are best in class figures. 0-100 km/hr comes up in a notch above 7.5 seconds and power is sent to the rear wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission. The engine is a bit noisy but feels power-packed and punchy. Power delivery is very linear right from lower RPMs and the motor doesn’t feel like it’s running out of breath. It redlines freely at 6500 RPM and sounds good too. In Sports mode, it doesn’t upshift automatically and holds revs. The gearbox is a bit slow in its operations and hesitates a bit to change gears.

The petrol engine would be our pick of the two powerplants

The diesel engine powering the Jaguar XF is the 2.0-litre Ingenium mill that sees a step-up in NVH over the outgoing 2.2-litre unit. Not only does the new oil burner feel more refined, it is also a lot quieter under normal driving conditions because when you whack open the throttle, it does tend to sound coarse near its 4900 RPM redline. The mid-range is where this motor excels as there is a strong surge post 2000 RPM, sustained till 4000 RPM after which progress dulls drastically. 0-100 km/hr takes 9 odd seconds which makes it the slowest car in its segment but it doesn’t feel so when you drive the vehicle. The 8-speed gearbox is eager to shift cogs and you can also manually take hold of things using the steering mounted paddles.