There's no diesel crisis at Jaguar
Though the XF diesel has been on sale for quite some time I believe this is my first time driving one. Or maybe I drove it before and forgot. I must say it takes some getting used to. Why? Because below, say, 2,500 rpm there isn’t much giddyup even though the 318 lb-ft is on tap from 1,750 rpm according to the specs above. I thought the car was sluggish off the line unless I legged it, like it’s catching its breath. It feels fine on the freeway, there’s plenty of oomph there. But around town, meh. I'm not inspired. I remember driving the V6 gas versions of the XF and found them fun and light on their feet. This car can be too, but you gotta flog it.
The steering feels nice and natural, light around town with weight increasing as speeds rise. Nice.
As for the rest of the XF, I like the styling. I think it’s well proportioned, smooth and understated. The cockpit is pleasant, the seats excellent. An E-Class interior, in my opinion the best in the biz, is better in terms of materials and build quality, but this ain’t bad. As we’ve written often the infotainment system seems improved in terms of speed and smoothness and is mostly intuitive. On the other hand going from, say, satellite radio to AM takes three or four stabs.
The A6 I drove in March costs five grand less than this Jag. Just sayin.’ On the other hand an XF with the four-cylinder gas turbo costs about $2,000 less than the diesel -- not bad considering diesels usually command a higher premium than that. The 3-Series diesel, for example, is $6800 more than the gas version.
I got 30.98 mpg on the fillup.
OTHER VOICES:
This diesel is really diesel-y! It doesn’t have the smell, like the new Cruze did, but it has a harsh little rumble on startup. It also has a nice growl through the rev range, it’s plenty fast with more than 300 lb-ft of torque AND highway mileage is 40 mpg. Not much to dislike there. The eight-speed automatic is also silky smooth, and moving the drive and transmission modes around certainly makes it fun to drive. Going from D to S quickens up the shifts and going from normal to dynamic stiffens the chassis up considerably, helping it feel planted around corners due to the decently heavy steering wheel weight.
The original XF was one of the first new designs from Ian Callum and it did a ton for the brand back in the aughts. It was nice then, but the car just doesn’t feel as ground-breaking now.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire