By: Henrie Geyser

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And forget about the brand's traditional tweed jacket and cravat image. The XF's stylish good looks and thundering V8 muscle now also make it seriously appealing to the younger executive market.

Although the local Jaguar sales and marketing people say the XF doesn't have any REAL direct competition, it stands to reason that potential buyers will weigh it up against the larny bigger models in the Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz stables.

But such is the lure of the XF that even enthusiastic drivers with a wallet and an itch for something like a Beemer M5, Merc C63 AMG or Audi RS4 might now be looking in the latest Jag's direction.

Certainly the cash register bells don't sound too unattractive, because you can pick up the entry level XF for about R500,000 while the flagship V8 supercharged model will set you back R783,850.

In addition to two 3.0-litre V6 models and two 4.2-litre V8 models which are on local showroom floors already, a 2.7 V6 diesel is also arriving within the next few months and the rumours are strong about a wilder XF Type R which could also be putting in an appearance in the not too distant future.

What makes the XF really special is that it really is unlike any other car Jaguar has made before. And there is nothing retro about it at all. It is superbly stylish and very now, without being so over the top that it will be completely out of step in a year or two. Classic style, as opposed to short-lived fashion.

Remember what Mister Bangle did with BMW? There was a world-wide wail of horror when the 7-Series Beemer was unwrapped and today those unusual lines, curves, light and shadow-effects that he created can be seen on a number of other car brands.

Well, the XF is a trend-setter along the very same lines… And no snide remarks about Tata adding a touch of spice to the brand either. The XF was designed, developed and made long before the chaps from India even arrived on the scene with their cheque books.

And by the way, Jaguar executives tell me that Tata are unlikely to become involved in the nitty gritty of the brand's design and manufacturing processes. They want the brand to become strong and successful and to make money. They apparently have no intentions of turning Jaguar into yet another mass produced four-seat deep-freezers with four wheel-barrow wheels and a wheezy engine.

But back to the XF.

It bears some resemblance to Aston Martin and there are hints of BMW in the design, but the elegant combination of its boldly-lined and bulging hood, striking 20-inch low-profile, rubber-wrapped alloys, sporty mesh front grilles, gaping air dams and menacing double headlight clusters give the XF a strong personality all of its own.

And it gets even better once you ease into the plush living quarters, tastefully furnished in elegant and amazingly soft leather, rich oak veneer (in the flagship supercharged V8) and lots of shiny metal strips, switches and gauges.

Gone is the traditional gear lever and in its place is a centrally mounted switch which you simply click to select a gear and drive mode. What makes this impressive is that it rises from the central console when you press the starter button (no key required for this fancy Jaguar, as long as you have it with you somewhere in the car).

And if you think that's fancy, wait until you see the amazing starship effect of the phosphor blue cabin lighting that comes on automatically at night to give the cabin a kinda cool blue vibe. Not jivey, pavement-smart cool, but smart, laid-back, easy-on-the-eye cool.

I was particularly impressed by the simple functionality of the car's touch-screen that makes the frustrating hunt for climate, audio and navigational settings and adjustments a thing of the past. (Maybe Jaguar's new Indian owners should invite a German designer delegation over so they can see how to do it the RIGHT way).

For the rest of it, the XF's specifications are as many as the number of Zimbabwean dollars it costs to buy a loaf of bread.

But, to single out a few, the XF's particularly appealing features are its suede-soft gearbox, amazing sound system and automatic climate control - things that you might find in other cars, but not at this classy Jaguar level.

But what you probably really want to know about is what it's like on the road. The short version is - it performs and behaves like an aristocrat.

Under the hood throbs a 4.2-litre V8 that bangs out a whopping 306kW and 560Nm for a top speed limited to 250km/h. Even weighing in at well over two tons, the XF will blast from zero to 100km/h in a sharp 5.1 seconds.

The throttle is super responsive and those eight big pistons don't waste a split section to get into action when you floor it. And although the XF doesn't have the thunderous roar of something like the Merc C63 AMG, the Jag's big tail pipes play seriously sweet music of their own.

The brakes on our test car were impressive and the handling was sharp, as we found out very quickly when we had to take some high-speed evasive action to avoid a pile of straw bales as they came plunging from the back of a badly-loaded truck between Bot River and Hermanus.

Initially the XF feels a little heavy in tight turns, but it seems to get easier as you get used to the car's weight, length and steering responses. But even then it doesn't quite have the planted feeling you get from the German Triplets.

The suspension is quite a bit tauter than in previous Jaguar saloons, particularly when in Sports mode, but the entire steer and ride experience has been sharpened with the help of a number of clever systems such as computer active technology suspension (CATS), cornering brake control and a performance enhancing TracDSC which disengages the two-stage stability control altogether.

Add to this ABS, EBD and EBA braking and you have a beautiful car that can be driven like a lord with poise or like a hooligan with attitude.

The few niggles we did have were the space saver spare wheel; a boot that is smaller than one would expect from a car this size; the slightly cheapish effect created by the banks of shiny silver switches, knobs and dials; the limited head space for tall people sitting in the back; and the price tag on the flagship, which is a little on the steep side.

Other than that, the two V8 model XF's we drove are scintillating and exciting cars that could well lead Jaguar into a whole new era of performance, design and youthful appeal.

Footnote: In case you have been wandering what happened to the trademark leaping Jaguar figure which used to be poised on the tip of the bonnets of older Jaguars, well, the dreary politically correct Europeans decided in their wisdom that it posed a danger to pedestrians, so they declared it unsafe. BUT, if you ask your local Jaguar dealer nicely, he will haul out one from a shelf somewhere and maybe even fit it for you. Then he is in the clear, as long as he doesn't sell the car with the leaping Jaguar already fitted. Silly, isn't it?

[22 Apr 2008 11:34]

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