Jaguar XF – 2010 Updates

Jaguar has updated the XF range for 2010 / 2011

The Jaguar XF was the real start of the Jaguar renaissance. It replaced the very able – but rather unloved – S Stype in 2008 and offered a real contemporary Jaguar, fully equipped for the 21st century and able to stand toe to toe with the best that Germany could offer.

Top of the tree is the Jaguar XFR which is at least the match of the M5, E63 and RS6, but at less money. But in many ways – much as it pains me to admit – the star of the range is the Jaguar XF Diesel S, which was launched last year. Featuring Jaguar’s latest 3.0 litre diesel it produces 273 bhp, does 42mpg, manages 0-60mph in 5.9 seconds and is as good as it gets in this sector.

If there was a gripe about the XF Diesel S it was that it didn’t look as ‘Sporting’ as you would expect when you look at its performance figures. But Jaguar have fixed that. They’ve sprinkled some XFR ‘Fairy Dust’ on the Diesel S and it now comes with a very XFR-like exterior. Not gaudy and OTT – for that’s not Jaguar’s style – but subtle mods to make the diesel S look as aggressive as you would hope.

You can now opt for the Aerodynamics pack on the Diesel S, which gives you black mesh inserts for the grille and lower air intakes, sculpted lower air intake blades ((with LED running lights if you want them) and the side sills from the XFR.

The ‘Must have’ option – available for the first time on the Jaguar XF Diesel S – is the Dynamics Pack. This gives you Jaguar’s Active Dynamics (the same system as on the XFR) which monitors an array of inputs including chassis movement and wheel and driver input and adjusts the suspension – up to 500 times a second – to give optimum handling without any loss of comfort. And it really does work. It allows you to waft or blast at will. It also comes with a choice of 20″ Volans five-spoke alloy wheels. A crackingly good system.

Finally, the Diesel S gets an XFR makeover for the interior too. You get leather sports seats – which are hugely adjustable and ‘Hugging’ – and high-gloss Piano Black veneer and Jet Suedecloth headlining available as an option on Premium Luxury and Portfolio Diesel S models.

The other big news is that the XF range now starts from under £30,000. The entry-level XF 3.0 V6 petrol Luxury now costs £29,900 and still comes with a good spec which includes Bond Grain leather seats; Phosphor Blue halo illumination and interior mood lighting; seven-inch full colour touch-screen display with Navigation and Bluetooth technology; six-speed automatic transmission with Jaguar Sequential Shift and Jaguar Sense and Jaguar Smart Key System with Keyless Start.

There’s also a new choice of colours including a trendy ‘Polaris White’,  and you can opt for Red Brake Callipers.

The best just got better.

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By Cars UK