Already in its second generation, the 2015 Jaguar XF simply improves upon perfection in a lot of ways, creating a unique bland of style and excellence in one vehicle. Dubbed by many as a true competitor to the BMW 5 Series (ETR: BMW), it certainly gives the Bavarian car maker and their highly touted and rather successful model a thing to worry about.
The refreshed model will launch in Winter 2015 where it will bring several improvements upon its predecessor. These mostly revolve around the newly introduced all-aluminum chassis, granting better rigidity, improved handling, lowered weight and improved fuel efficiency resulting from that. The car will remain a beautiful thing of British design overall. There aren’t significant changes employed with the exterior and interior design. The car was already perfect to begin with.
However, the car is a bit longer than the previous generation. The wheelbase of the upcoming Jaguar XF is increased by 2 inches (51mm) to 116.5 inches (2,960mm) overall- However, the vehicle’s overall diameters have shrunken by 0.3in (7mm) to 195in (4,954mm) long. This longer wheelbase delivers superior packaging that liberates an additional 0.6in (15mm) of rear legroom, 0.9in (24mm) of rear knee room and up to 1.1in (27mm) of rear headroom.
Engineers at Jaguar have put a great emphasis on handling. This is where the all-new Jaguar XF exceeds expectations of how a sedan should ride, handle and steer. Comfort and refinement have been taken to a higher level and combined with excellent agility and responsiveness. The light yet exceptionally stiff body with its combination of aluminum and advanced high-strength steels delivers a near-50:50 weight distribution. Double-wishbone front and Integral Link rear suspension systems provide the inherently high levels of stiffness needed for agile handling and steering precision with the compliance essential for first-class comfort and refinement. Advanced damper technologies — both passive and continuously-variable — improve ride quality and extend the breadth of dynamic capability of the XF.
“The all-new XF has to deliver both driver reward through agility and immediacy of response when it’s called for, and yet great ride composure and comfort too. The light and rigid aluminum intensive architecture of the all-new XF is a key enabler for us delivering those attributes, as it provides an optimal basis for finely tuning the ride and handling characteristics of the car. The result is that the new XF is as satisfying to drive quickly, as it is comfortable to be driven in.” Mike Cross, Chief Engineer of Vehicle Integrity, Jaguar is quoted as saying in a press release.
As far as the powerplant offered goes, the performance oriented owners now have the choice of the Jaguar free-revving 3.0-liter supercharged V6 engine in 340hp and 380hp ratings – equipped with either rear or all-wheel drive (AWD). The higher performance rated model is the Jaguar XF S which comes matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission, this model is capable of covering the 0-60mph sprint in 5.1 seconds on its way to an electronically-limited maximum speed of 155mph.
Additional performance, driving assistance and safety options, all matched with a bevvy of comfort oriented additions are available. The Jaguar XF is a worthy competitor to the BMW 5 Series, performing a role of the luxury daily driver and the high-performance monster equally good the same as its main competitor does. Overall, this is a viable alternative for people that want to pick and choose something different than the usual pickings in the business segment overall.
