Car News
Car Reviews
Cars for Sale
Car Discussion

2009 Jaguar XF Review; Tata; Opinions - Letter From Europe

2009 Jaguar XF Review
by Andrew Frankl
European Bureau Chief

No, I am not bragging but I was the only person, and that includes thepeople from Jaguar, who have had a chance to meet with Ratan Tata, the newJaguar boss. The new boss? Yes, in case you’ve been in space shuttlefor the past few weeks the revered British automobile maker is now part of theIndian industrial giant Tata.

It was at the Geneva show back in 2007 that we had a chat which wefollowed up with another one this year.

First and foremost he is a lovely, caring man who most definitely wantsto make a success of Jaguar, and Land-Rover for that matter. The lattershould be easier as Land Rovers have been selling like hot cakes of lateand the Indian terrain is ideal Land Rover country. As is Africa of course.The same cannot be said for the new XF which is more Monaco thanMumbai.

We had a chance to test Jaguar’s latest offering in SouthernCalifornia and were not disappointed. The two cars, one normally aspiratedand the other supercharged V8s both provide more than adequate power forall bar those insisting on a V12 Lamborghini or the 599 Ferrari.

In fact I think most people will find the normally aspirated andsomewhat less expensive just fine. We did. With 300 horsepower and 310lb-ft torque the Jag gets from 0-60 in 6.2 seconds and yes, we did see theelectronically limited top speed of 121 miles per hour. And no, I am nottelling you where! There was of course more wind noise at over 100 milesper hour but we were too busy having a good time.

The 420hp version with the supercharger does fly (0-60 in 5.1 seconds)and knowing Chief Engineer Mike Cross I am sure there is an even quicker“R” version in the wings. Mike is probably the World’sbest engineer when it comes to dynamic qualities and it comes from being anexceptional driver as well as being an engineer. As Jackie Stewartmentioned in his most recent-and excellent-book, some of Ford’sengineers may have been good behind the computers but were absolutelyuseless on a race track. If you’ve never been on the limit how you dodesign it into a car? You don’t and Ford’s current demise inAmerica is proof of it.

Anyway, back to the XF. The styling is a matter of personal taste; Ihave some doubts about the front. There is a certain element of “whatis it” which would never be the case with a Mercedes or a BMW. On thepositive side the cops won’t know what it is either so theywon’t be over-anxious to get that Jag!

The interior is different and very exciting, especially if you are youngor young at heart. If you are in your 50s or 60s you may find some of thestuff somewhat intimidating just as you would with BMW’s dreadediDrive. For the young, rich kids at Google and Yahoo the Jaguar XF will bea piece of cake.

There are some truly beautiful touches in this Jag. One that impressedme very much was the twin-stitched dashboard top pad. It was straight outof Maranello, home of Ferrari. This might seem like a detail but a terrificone at that especially if you’ve been lucky enough to have drivensupercars.

The much heralded rising JaguarDrive selector is a clever gizmo, itrises once you press the start button. As in all modern cars there is nokey as such. Once the gizmo is up you simply turn it from P to R and so on.Once in D you can use the pedal shifts just like in a Maserati. On the backroads near Julian, the apple pie capital of America we had huge fun usingall the gears.

Complaints?

Well, as far as the automobile is concerned none from the dynamic point ofview. Looks , as I’ve mentioned are a personal thing, the threequarter rear is visually the best part of the automobile for me The interior willneed more time for an oldie like me to figure it out completely but themain thing is I could drive the XF without understanding all of it.

The proximity sound drove us insane; it was about as subtle as Rambo.Needs urgent attention. Far too unpleasant and is not modulatedproperly.

What is more relevant however is the lack of diesel. I am fully aware ofthe problems-historical and otherwise-but it would be great to have itavailable sooner than later. It is already available in Europe and is ahuge success.

All in all a great automobile which deserves to succeed. I hope Mr. Tata haspatience and the money to keep it going. He has the backing of the Britishtrade unions, a vital component.

The alternative- an offer from former failed Ford boss Nasser-would havebeen too horrible to contemplate.

Prices? From about 55 thousand upwards depending onspecification.