Test drive Jaguar XF
Test Drive

Test drive Jaguar XF

In the first part of a long XF R-Sport test drive, things we really care about and a couple of jokes from the manufacturer…

Remember this famous trade-in ad from Aston Martin, which showed a girl with a great figure and a minimum of clothes, and the slogan read: “You know that you are not the first. But do you really care? " I experienced similar feelings when I got behind the wheel of the Jaguar XF R-Sport that we got for a long test.

This is not about the insanely fast XFR-S that tells you "Pay seven million at the box office and I'll show you acceleration in four and a half seconds," but the "regular" XF in R-Sport body kit, which will soon give way to a completely new generation, but still selling - and selling very well. Although what does “ordinary” mean? Four-wheel drive, 340-horsepower compressor "six", 6,4 seconds to 100 km / h and a corporate British accent - not a cockney with a boorish "Ouch!" upon meeting and further indiscriminate hodgepodge, but charming, with unthinkably correct sentences.

Test drive Jaguar XF



So, this copy costs $ 49. and there is no navigator in it. And also ventilation of the seats, control of blind spots, a projection display, a system of keeping in the lane, a pair of sockets, an iron, an umbrella and a Chizhevsky chandelier. But I really don't care. You don't even need to twist the transmission washer to the S position and press the button with the racing flag - and without switching the systems to sport mode, the XF responds to the gas pedal with a charismatic roar, leaving no doubt that it was created with an eye to gambling driving, be it at least three hundred times a large sedan.

Platform XF

 

The Jaguar XF is built on the upgraded DEW98 platform from the Jaguar S-Type. The front suspension uses a twin wishbone design, while the rear axle uses a multi-link design. Unlike its predecessor, most of the suspension parts are made of aluminum, which greatly facilitates the construction. In the sport version of R-Sport, the suspension is no different from the standard one.

Test drive Jaguar XF



In general, I was left without a wheel on the first day - a personal record. Delicate "duct tape" on 19 discs could not stand the pits near Moscow, and here joke # 1 from the manufacturer awaited me: the stowaway disc was completely painted red, to match the emblem on the radiator grill. It’s not enough that everyone is already looking back at him. This, by the way, surprised me a little. Yes, "sporty", as one of my provincial friends put it, the body kit goes very well with the "Xefu", and it is also the first sedan in my memory on which a spoiler looks appropriate. But I did not expect such a wow effect.

Joke number 2: at the beginning of the test drive, the on-board computer showed consumption in the region of 30 liters per 100 kilometers - a serious claim for the Esquire figure of the day. Then, however, he changed his mind, realized the concept of a mixed cycle and went into the range of 14-16 liters per hundred, depending on the driving style. A little more about manners: not many cars with similar dynamic characteristics are so harmonious in urban 60-80 km per hour. They provoke, knock, tease with a reserve of power under the pedal, unreasonably jerk forward at the slightest pressure, turn you into a tow truck driver who delivers a sports car to the track through traffic jams hot in Moscow summer. On the XF, on the other hand, you can drive quietly from traffic lights to traffic lights and it is absolutely not annoying.

Test drive Jaguar XF



At the same time, of course, it fully reveals itself, despite its impressive size and weight, on the winding suburban paths. I don’t know if it’s worth calling Jaguar Land Rover’s desire to instill the maximum driver character in its sedans with a glance at BMW, or they think in categories of abstract standards, but the XF drives perfectly: the power of a three-liter unit with a supercharged drive presses into the seat, the sedan takes off with a hoarse roar, and then karting begins. The all-wheel drive XF in motion juggles the moment between the axles, distributing traction depending on the situation, and differs from the classic, rear-wheel drive, more transparent habits. Obedient, like a Caucasian bride, he very accurately enters the turns, and only a little lighter than you expect, the steering wheel periodically forces you to adjust the trajectory and reminds of the second hypostasis of the XF - a large sedan with a comfortable suspension.

XF engine

 

The supercharged 3,0-liter petrol engine is found on the most expensive XF versions. The six-cylinder unit produces 340 hp. and 450 Nm of torque. The all-wheel drive transmission is installed only on the version with this engine. The emphasis in torque distribution is almost always on the front axle. Depending on the situation, the thrust can be divided either in a ratio of 0: 100 or 50:50. From standstill to 100 km / h, the 3,0-liter XF accelerates in 6,4 seconds, and the top speed is electronically limited to 250 km per hour.

Test drive Jaguar XF



Behind, however, despite the engineering compromises, it shakes even in small pits, and on speed bumps the XF noticeably "goats" with the rear axle. No matter how trite, but this car is designed more for the driver than for the passengers. In addition, in the back row, despite nearly five meters of length and 2909 mm wheelbase, it is very cramped. On a long trip, the situation was saved by the correct angle between the pillows and the back of the back sofa, as well as the fact that I was driving a family of gnomes two thousand kilometers from Moscow. If my passengers were over a meter seventy, I would have had to stop at “stretch my legs and buy berries from that grandmother” three times more often.

But something else is important - there can be as little space as you like, but there is magic, a breed. Its exterior and interior, with all that ubiquitous leather and perfect stitching, is difficult to disassemble and evaluate separately, highlighting the profile line, the cunning squint of the headlights or the pattern of the center panel. As an iPhone, it is overwhelmingly good, and as an iPhone, it is very touching. And also all the time to go somewhere.

Test drive Jaguar XF



What stands out from the overall impression is a multimedia system, which seems to lack absolutely everything that modern premium counterparts can boast of. However, this is partly forgivable if you consider that we are talking about the outgoing generation of the car, which took over the watch back in 2007, and was renewed in 2011. Moreover, the minimum of functions that it is capable of is performed without hitch and roughness. And yet this is clearly not what a buyer who is ready to pay several million is waiting for - in comparison with the same gearbox washer, archaic tiles look alien on a miniature screen.

Jaguar has mastered the art of being different and opposes the utilitarianism of the modern car industry over and over again. Therefore, knowing about the imminent release of the new generation XF, people go to car dealerships for its current version, especially since traditionally, when changing generations, one can count on significant discounts. Let the majority prefer the less pushy R-Sport two-liter option, which will be a million cheaper, but retain the same charisma. “No navigation, imagine?!” my colleague in the holding is surprised. She is very beautiful, she chooses a new car for herself and took the same XF for a client test drive. “But it suits you,” I try to be honest. “Fact,” she accepts the argument.

Test drive Jaguar XF
 

 

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