Review: 2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged, A Worthy Leaping Cat
2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged - Click above for high-res image gallery
When Jaguar launched the new XF in 2008, it marked the first significant change to the brand's overall design direction since the 1960s (except for the mid-70s XJ-S which never inspired anything else). Elements of the new design language began appearing in concepts like the RD6 earlier in the decade, but it truly took the XF to break the stranglehold of retro design in Coventry. The XF set in motion a movement that continued with the introduction of the all-new XJ and will likely inspire additional models in the future.
At its launch, the XF was powered by engines that were largely carried over from its predecessor the S-Type which were by no means bad, but they were starting to fall behind the German competition. Two years into its life-cycle, the XF (along with the rest of the Jaguar and Land Rover lineup) has received a heart transplant to go along with its still fresh looking duds. We recently got to spend a week living with a 2010 XF Supercharged and you can read all about it after the jump.
Photos Copyright ©2010 Sam Abuelsamid / Max Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
After such a long period of reproducing the same basic idea in cars like the XJ and its mini-me, the X-Type, there wasn't much about the XF that screamed Jaguar when it debuted two years ago. However, though it bore little family resemblance to its ancestors, the XF nonetheless seems perfectly suited to wearing the leaping cat badge.
When the old XJ and the Mark 2 (the car that inspired the S-Type) first hit the road in the sixties, they had a low, long, lithe cat-like form to them, much like the XK120s, D-Types and E-Types that came before. Even as four door sedans they had a lean, athletic stance that said "drive me!" Of course like all of us the designs started to look a bit flabby and stodgy as they started to hit their middle and senior years. Early in the just ended decade, Jaguar design boss Ian Callum recognized that it was time for a passing of the torch to a new generation.
When the C-XF concept appeared at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, it was a sensation, and fortunately Jaguar managed to preserve much of the appearance for the production XF a year later. Even though it has four doors, the XF has a profile that is very coupe-like, following the fashion trend started by Mercedes-Benz with the CLS and spreading to many other designs in recent years. However, aside from the sloping roof-line, there is nothing much about the XF that is copied from other cars.
The face of the XF is something almost completely new for Jaguar. The rectangular grille recessed from the surface abandons the elliptical shape of the XK, the egg-shaped opening of the S-Type and the traditional dual portal of the XJ. The lights do feature four main lamps, but they are integrated into a single cluster. The curved bodywork above the larger main lamp does hint at the contours formerly seen on the XJ.
The flanks of the XF are smooth and comparatively free of surface development. The one exception here is the is functional fender vents behind the front wheels. Thankfully Jaguar has made the vents body color rather than chrome as has all too often been the case in recent years. One automotive fashion that Callum's team has followed that works well on the XF is the coupe-like roof profile. The greenhouse sweeps up, over and back down to the rear edge of the car in one unbroken but perfectly proportioned line. One of the few visually distinguishing features of the supercharged model compared to the base naturally aspirated version is the four individual exhaust pipes.
On the inside, the XF has all the luxury touches you would expect of Jaguar while dispensing with the old English gentleman's club look. In fact the XF interior is in some ways modern to a fault. When off, the dashboard and console have a smooth metallic appearance. Upon settling into the driver's seat you immediately notice that there is no traditional transmission shifter. Near the front of the center console is an engine start-stop button. Step on the brake and press the button and the lovely supercharged V8 fires and a cylinder rises up out of the console like something you might see in a space ship.
It turns out this is the shifter and you simply rotate it to select reverse, neutral, drive or sport modes. It's a rather odd arrangement but much better than the old J-gate arrangement used on Jaguars for the past two decades. Like many of its contemporaries the XF also has paddle shifters for manual control of the transmission when the mood strikes. The shifter is not the only part set in motion by starting the engine. With the engine off, there are no open vents on the dashboard. Starting the engine causes four panels to flip over, exposing the climate control openings.
The vents and shifter are kind of interesting to watch the first few times you get into the car, but they really seem like pointless gimmicks pretty soon afterward. Even though Jaguar has dramatically improved its quality ratings in recent years, given its historic reputation, one might think the company might want to avoid adding features with a strong chance of failure over time.
In spite of the gimmicky bits everything in the XF is beautifully finished. The top surface of the dash is covered in a hand-stitched brown leather while the areas below the wood and aluminum are covered in a tan leather. The headliner and pillars are covered in suede. Both rows of seats are very comfortable with the fronts getting an array of power adjustments plus both heating and cooling. In spite of the sloping roof-line, the rear still offers plenty of head-room even for a six-foot tall fourteen year old.
Our XF was equipped with the same touch screen navigation system that has been available in Jaguar and Land Rover models for the last several years. Overall it's generally easy enough to find the functions you are looking for in the interface. The biggest problem is the speed or rather the lack of it. When you tap a button on the screen, it seems to take inordinately long before something happens. A faster processor would do wonders for this system. One other area that could adjustment is when you navigate the media interface when you have an iPod plugged in. Normally you would expect to be able to scroll through a track list on an mp3 player and have the current track continue playing. As you scroll through a track list in the Jag, each time a new page loads, the top track on the page starts playing. It's an annoyance, but with lesser cars not exhibiting this behavior we would expect Jaguar to eliminate it.
The heart of the XF like any great car lies under the hood. For 2010, Jaguar-Land Rover did a complete revamp of its V8 engine lineup. While based on the existing AJ-V8 architecture that debuted in 1997, this third generation variant adds direct fuel injection and bump in displacement from 4.2-liters to 5.0-liters. The base normally aspirated version now produces an even 400 horsepower while our tester added an Eaton supercharger to bring this up to 470 horsepower along with 424 pound-feet of torque. The beauty of a supercharged V8 is that the torque curve is fat and flat, with that peak being available everywhere between 2,500 and 5,500 rpm.
As you might expect in a car with the sophisticated character of a Jaguar, the V8 idles smoothly and quietly. Point the XF out of town however and then step and the gas and things rapidly change. The sound level picks up with a muted growl yet never leaves the sophisticated zone, after all this is no boy racer. While the audible portion of the XF may be subdued there is no lack of performance. Opening up the blown V8 gives you a strong shove back into the seat as the speedometer needle rapidly swings clockwise. Accelerating from on-ramp speeds to triple digit speeds seems to happen unnaturally quickly.
Anytime you need some extra speed in order to complete a pass on a rural two-lane, the XF engine is more than up to the task.
Going faster is only one aspect of performance. Cars need to change direction and slow down as well. Here the XF excels as well with huge brake rotors that fill the standard 20 inch aluminum wheels. Squeezing the brake pedal brings instant but smooth dissipation of velocity. In spite of the braking power, the binders never feel grabby and are easily modulated. Our tester came equipped with Pirelli SottoZero winter tires that provide excellent grip when we hit snowy pavement. On dry pavement the low profile winter tires still helped the car respond quickly to steering inputs although not quite as crisply as summer tires would. Any buyer planning on owning an XF or any other performance car in an area that gets winter weather would be well advised to invest in an extra set of wheels and winter tires. When you really want to drive briskly, just push the shift knob down and twist clockwise to sport mode. This will engage more aggressive throttle and transmission control for quicker responses.
Given the performance capabilities of the supercharged XF, the biggest disappointment is actually the front seats. While the seats are comfortable, the units in the non-XFR variants are lacking in lateral support. While the full-blown sport seats in the XFR might be overkill, a bit more side bolstering is definitely called for in this sport sedan.
Overall we found the XF Supercharged to be an excellent luxury sport sedan that has the sleek styling that buyers would expect of a big cat with virtually all the performance most drivers would ever need. At $68,000, the mid-level XF is priced competitively with its German rivals. As long as Jaguar can maintain the improving reliability ratings it has achieved in recent years, hopefully the electrically operated bits like the shifter and vents will keep working for the life of the car. Anyone in the market for mid-sized luxury should definitely have this car on their consideration list.
Photos Copyright ©2010 Sam Abuelsamid / Max Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
