Whilst the original concepts of Jaguar cars included Grace, Space and Pace, of late the marque has strayed from Sir William Lyons ideas.
The latest is the 2.0 liter four cylinder Jaguar XF which is considerably cheaper than the previous most affordable petrol Jaguar, and cheaper in most markets than the BMW 520i, Audi A6 2.0 TFSI and Mercedes-Benz E200.
The 177 kW engine is the same turbocharged direct-injected unit employed in Ford Australia’s EcoBoost Falcon, and is also used in various states of tune in the Ford Mondeo, Range Rover Evoque and some Volvo models. So much for exclusivity.
Jaguar XF.
The petrol XF drives the rear wheels through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. This eight-speed box has now been applied across the XF range as part of a 2013 model update that also includes a new 250 kW/450 Nm 3.0 liter supercharged V6 variant.
The two turbo-diesel models have been retained – in 2.2-liter four cylinder and 3.0 liter V6 guises, plus the supercharged 5.0 liter V8 for the performance Jaguar XFR.
The four-cylinder engine in the cheapest XF develops 177 kW at 5500 rpm and 340 Nm of torque giving a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 7.9 seconds. This is hardly the “pace” envisaged so many years ago. Mind you, Indian ownership of Jaguar by Tata was also not envisaged.
The new XF range gets some interior tweaks such as new infotainment features, including a 30 gb hard drive, a more capable sat-nav system that zooms in when the car approaches an intersection, and a browsing function for iPod tunes. New high-end Meridian sound systems are also available. Jaguar also says suspension tweaks deliver a better ride without upsetting handling.
Standard features on the cheap 2.0 Luxury include Alcantara seats with four-way front-seat electric adjustment, keyless entry and start, automatic transmission with sports shift and steering wheel paddles, leather-bound steering wheel and 18-inch wheels. But does it have Grace, Space and Pace? You are the judge.
