With a new BMW M3 out, Richard Hammond takes it to the Stig's favorite holiday resort in Spain. The Jaguar XF is very good, but it also means Jaguar has finally found the balls to make a sedan that belongs in the present. Every model in the XF range comes with leather, the excellent paddle shift automatic gearbox, touch screen satellite navigation, electric seats and decent alloy wheels. And when it comes to value, the XF beats the BMW 5 Series. One criticism May has about his review model is that its ride is harder than you'd expect in a Jaguar, but it still wipes the floor with an Audi A6. But this won't be the fastest XF as Jaguar will be producing an XFR model with even more power. May's review model has the supercharged 4.2 L V8 engine that pushes the XF from 0-60 in 5.1 seconds. You get the sense that Jaguar is not pushing the limits of technology, but of its overdraft.Īs a sedan, the Jaguar XF goes like a four-door XK. The engines are all old hat with an available V6 diesel, V6 petrol and V8 petrol with or without a supercharger. Its basic structure is from the S-Type and its suspension is taken from the XK. Once you look past the XF's futuristic touches, it's not all cutting edge. Put your foot on the brake and push the start engine button again to start the car and a control knob emerges from the center console which controls the gear change. You push it once to turn the ignition on and you're immediately bathed in pale blue light and the air conditioning vents roll into place. Inside you have a red start engine button that pulsates like a heart beat. It's the first Jaguar May has been in that made him feel he was in the right decade. And the back looks like it came from a Jaguar XK. The XF has a new grill, subtly bulging hood and gills on the side. Now comes the replacement for the S-Type: the Jaguar XF. Case in point with the S-Type's ghastly retro grill. What's wrong with that? Well, these foreign buyers have an outdated view of what Britain is and Jaguar pandered to this view with the S-Type. Jaguar created the S-Type in an attempt to appeal to the Germans and the Americans. The S-Type really, really bothers May and sums up everything wrong with Jaguar. But first he takes a look back at the Jaguar S-Type. 1.2 BMW M3, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, Audi RS4.

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