The first thing I do when I walk up to one of my test vehicles is look at the front brakes. Do I have some kind of weird fascination with cars brakes? It’s just a fun way of being able to tell how powerful an engine it has under the hood. Car manufactures don’t put a 470 horsepower engine into one of their vehicles without giving it the ability to stop quickly. As I first looked at the front brakes on the 2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged, I could tell this was going to be a fun week. The XF has huge brakes and calipers on the front wheels.
The XF Supercharged that I will be testing has some significant changes for the 2010 model year. In 2009, the first year that the XF was introduced, all the V-8 engine choices were 4.2 liters displacement. For 2010, Jaguar has introduced three bigger 5.0-liter V-8s, one normally aspirated and rated at 385 horsepower, and two that are supercharged, one rated at 470 horsepower and the other at 510. I will be testing the 470 horsepower Supercharged XF. This week I will look at the engine in detail and see what changes were made to develop this much horsepower.
When I first walked up to the XF, I realized how big of a car that it actually is. The XF is slightly larger in just about every exterior dimension than the Audi A6. Jaguar says that this bigger body is the most torsionally rigid car in the class of sports sedans. The first thing this means is it flexes less from end to end under pressure. The stiffness and rigidity is one of the factors that separate luxury sedans from less expensive models. It's also one of the reasons that noise and vibration inside an automobile is less. And thirdly, it’s the foundation from which dynamic capabilities such as handling, ride quality and overall responsiveness are built upon.
Upon first look, the XF doesn’t have the appearance of a Jaguar. But when you look closer, the familiar design cues are everywhere. The headlights up front have the Jaguar quad-lamp signature, complete with the traditional fluting above the lights. There is a chrome Jaguar on the trunk, and the chrome trim above the side windows is a reminder of the Mk II sedan. And the prominent hood bulge reminds you of the E-type, which is arguably the most famous Jaguar of all.
Tomorrow we will sit in the XF and take a look at the interior.
2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged: Interior Features-Day 2
When you get into a sport luxury sedan, you want style, features, comfort, new technology, and great ambience. Inside the Jaguar XF, that is exactly what you get. In some luxury sedans, you get more than you want, with a lot of technology that is too hard to learn and use. But the XF offers everything you want and doesn’t have some of the things you don’t want.
The XF cabin is high-tech, but not to the point of being over done. The features and controls in the XF are high tech and high touch and are easy to figure out without having to get the owners manual out. The overhead lights for example work simply with a touch; not a switch or even a click of the light lens itself. The glovebox latch isn't really a latch at all, but a place on the wood trim where you touch with your finger. It’s these kind of design features that make it interesting without being overpowering.
When I first sat in the XF, there is a familiar look to previous Jaguar models. There is the great leather and finished wood trim that you come to expect. There are some differences also. The difference is primarily in the design and layout. It has a less formal feel than previous Jaguar sedans, and less conventional. There is still a lot of wood trim in the XF, but Jaguar has added more aluminum trim to go with the wood. The feel in the XF is rich and even the plastic pieces have a richness to them. The interior is luxurious and is first rate in both materials and design.
The seats in the XF are leather with perforated inserts between the bolsters. The Supercharged model gets soft-grain leather in the front. It's super soft to the touch and it is also applied on the dashboard and door panels as well. Jaguar uses genuine double stitching to round out the comfortable seats. There are enough adjustments on the front seats to make any driver comfortable and also come with heated and cooled settings for extra comfort.
The XF doesn’t have a typical key that you insert into the ignition, but comes with a start button that you push to start the 5.0 liter V-8. The steering wheel is identical to that in the XK sport coupe. It has the growling face of a jaguar in the center, with heavy spokes and is heated for comfort in the winter. The gear selector is a big, aluminum dial knob that sits in the center console. The driver just turns the selector to the proper gear once the engine is turned on.
Tomorrow we will continue looking at the Jaguar XF interior and check out the Bowers & Wilkins audio system
2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged: Interior Features-Day 2 Part II
In the front of the XF, the center console is wide and what you would expect in a four door sports car. Touch-release covers open up for three easy-to-reach cupholders, the largest of which will hold a super-size drink cup. With the round inserts removed, there's plenty or room in these bins for wallets, cell phones, and glasses case. The main bin in the center has plenty of room for CDs or a camera. There's also an easy-access power point and iPod/auxiliary jack, with a secure place to leave the plugged-in MP3 player while driving. Bins at the bottoms of the doors are lined with a velvety material that keeps glasses and other delicate items from sliding or scratching.
If the XF's interior accommodations fall short of the competition, it's in the rear seat. The rear seat itself is comfortable with the same fine materials as the front. But the rear space seems more confining than some other cars in this class. A big part of the problem is the XF's exterior roofline and long rear window. It gives the car a great look from the outside, but limits the area in the backseat. The rear seat legroom is tight, particularly with anything but short occupants in front, and headroom is also tight for taller passengers. Convenient cupholders are provided in the fold-down rear armrest; there's a storage bin big enough for some change or a cell phone, and a pair of vents on the back of the front console offer ventilation to the rear occupants.
The available 440-watt Bowers & Wilkins audio system might be the best I’ve heard in an original-equipment automotive application. It was developed with Bowers & Wilkins, the British boutique manufacturer that makes speakers and monitors for recording studios.
The system comes with 14 speakers strategically positioned throughout the interior of the XF. Controls on the dash monitor give the occupants the ability to adjust the surround sound system to maximize listening pleasure. There is a large center speaker in the center of the dash up front, two tweeters in the front doors, two mid bass drivers, and a full range driver also in the front doors.
The back gets two rear surround speakers, tweeters and full range drivers in the rear doors, and a huge subwoofer in the rear trunk area to round out the sound. The highs are incredibly crisp and the lows are pervasive, with virtually no muddling or distortion at either extreme, even at mega-wattage. It is truly a wonderful listening experience.
Tomorrow we will get in and drive the Supercharged XF.
2010 Jaguar XF Supercharged: Driving Dynamics-Day 3
When you get into the XF, the first thing you notice is the outward visibility in the Supercharged sedan. It’s not bad, but more restricted than you’d expect in a sedan. After I adjusted the rear and side mirrors, the view through the rearview mirror is short. The side mirrors aren't small, but they seem to be shaped probably more for noise reduction or style than visibility. The reason for the less than perfect view out the rear is the rake of the roofline. The back window is large, but the angle and the large rear deck leave it more restricted than you would think for a large sedan. And with 470 horsepower under the hood of this big cat, the driver will be doing a lot of looking at what’s behind.
As I backed out of my parking spot to take the XF out for a first drive Rear park assist solves the problem of limited visibility out the back. There are audible beeps and a graphic display on the touch screen. A reverse-view camera is optional, and strongly recommend because it could help the driver spot a child or obstacles behind the car and thereby avoid a tragic accident when backing up.
Behind the wheel, the XF delivers everything you want in a medium-sized sport-luxury sedan. The Supercharged model leans toward the sporty end of the spectrum, with the sport-tuned versions of the Audi A6 and BMW 5 Series coming to mind. The XF is smooth, fast, and responsive, but quiet and comfortable at the same time. Its six-speed automatic transmission might be the best in any luxury car anywhere, and contributes considerably to the enjoyable driving experience.
When you floor the gas pedal in the XF Supercharged, the 5.0 liter V-8 comes to life quickly. It gives you a false sense of how fast you are going because the supercharger whine is so subdued, compared to previous Jaguars. This car is the quickest car in a group of some very quick sedans, except for the ultra-performance cars like the BMW M5 and Mercedes E63 AMG.
From the outside this car looks sporty and fast but nothing in the XF line suggests a hot-rod quality. Everything Jaguar ahs done to the XF is completely befitting a luxury sedan in this price range. I felt just as comfortable driving the XF slow in the city as I did wanting to see what it will do on the open road. The XF Supercharged has lots of subtle little characteristics and seems to have two different personalities. The best thing about the XF is that the driver has the choice of which one comes out.
Tomorrow we will see just how this car performs in different driving situations in Colorado.
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