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A U T O NEW CAR REVIEW: 2012 Jaguar XF By Eric Peters Jaguar is going BMW. And both are going four — under duress from Uncle. BMW has already brought out a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the standard powerplant in both the 3 Series and the 5 Series, which formerly came standard with sixes. Jaguar will do the same next year in the 2013 XF — which up to now has come standard with a V-8. There will be — reportedly, these stats are preliminary — a new turbocharged 2.0 liter four cylinder engine in the 238 hp range as standard equipment, with a 336 hp supercharged 3 liter V-6 as the step-up option. If these preliminary stats are accurate, the '13 XF's engines will produce much less hp than - and deliver performance inferior to - the current car's standard 385 hp 5.0 liter V-8. The four-cylinder XF, with 147 fewer hp, will for-sure be much less quick than the current car - with an estimated 0-60 capability of 7.5 seconds (vs. 5.6 for the V-8). Camry turf. The soon-to-be-here supercharged V-6 may match the current base XFs 0-60 performance — maybe — but will almost certainly fall short of what the current supercharged V-8 XF can deliver. It will be the first downgrade in performance Jaguar has brought forth in years. So... why? Both Jag and BMW are doing it for reasons of fuel-efficiency. Not because their customers demand it. But because Uncle does. The government’s not-far-off 35.5 average MPG edict is within sight. Just three short years 3 8 away. Big sixes and bigger V-8s are never going to make the cut. So, they’re being rapidly retired — even in high-end cars like the XF, whose buyers can surely afford not to worry too much about gas mileage. Unfortunately, Jaguar the company can’t afford not to worry about Uncle’s edicts and penalties. So 2012 is a turning point for Jag and the XF. It will be the last year that V-8 power is standard equipment in the company’s mid-sized lux-sport sedan. What It Is The XF is Jag’s mid-sized luxury-sport sedan. To date, it has put distance between itself and rivals such as the BMW 5 and Benz E by giving owners a powerful (and prestigious) V-8 as standard equipment vs. the fours and inline (and V) sixes that came standard in the competition. Price was and still is another strong point for the V-8-powered XF, which starts at $53,000 vs. $62,400 for the power/performance equivalent (V-8 powered) version of the BMW 5 (the 550i) and $59,790 for the V-8-powered Mercedes E550. And if 385 hp doesn’t move you sufficiently, Jaguar offers two supercharged versions of the XF with 470 or 510 hp. The latter starts at $68,000, the former at $82,000. What’s New A new high-zoot Portfolio trim slots into the lineup, as well as updates to the touchscreen interface on all trims. There are also new-design headlights and tail-lights. S A N D I E G O M E T R O . C O M | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | 2 7 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y 1 9 8 5 - 2 0 1 2 What’s Good Standard (for now) V-8. Very competitive pricing structure. Traditional Jaguar elegance and distinctiveness. What’s Not So Good The V-8’s on the endangered species list. Touch screen interface has too much info in too small a space; not the easiest unit to use, either. Only available in sedan form (no wagon version). Under The Hood All 2012 XFs come standard with a 5 liter V- 8 that’s bigger and brawnier than the engines in comparably priced competitor models. The V-8 comes paired with a six-speed automatic and in three escalating states of tune: Base XFs get a 385 hp version, sufficient to get the car to 60 in about 5.6 seconds. If that’s insufficiently quick, a supercharged version is available, with 470 hp. It knocks the 0-60 time down to just under five seconds. Still not quite enough? Then the 510 hp XFR, capable of zero to 60 in about 4.5 seconds, is for you. This is mighty performance, particularly from the base version of the XF. Consider, for perspective, the performance of some priceequivalent competitors: The base version of the Mercedes E-Class — the $50,490 E350 — comes with a 302 hp 3.5 liter V-6 that gets the Benz to 60 in about 6.5 seconds. This is 83 hp shy, two fewer cylinders — and a solid second slower to 60 — than the roughly same-price V-8 XF. Added bonus: The XF’s V-8 is only slightly less fuel-
efficient than the E's much smaller, far less powerful V-6. The Jag’s 385 hp V-8 rates 16 city, 23 highway — vs. 18 city, 25 highway for the Benz’s 302 hp V-6.Hardly noticeable. On The Road The old S-Type — the XF's predecessor in Jaguar’s lineup — leaned more toward softness, quietness and smoothness. Those three attributes used to be the most important criteria for a luxury sedan, but as the target demographic for cars of this type became more Gen X and less Greatest Generation sharp handling and reflexes became at least as important. The trick is packaging all five attributes into one car without dulling at least a couple of them in the process. Much of the XF's suspension is either based on (or inspired by) what’s underneath the XK coupe. Major pieces such as control arms are made of lightweight aluminum, which helps reduce unsprung mass. And both front and rear suspension assemblies are mounted on separate, bolt-on subframes, which helps isolate road harshness and keep unwanted feedback from reaching the passenger compartment. With the car’s body structure already being naturally very rigid, it was not necessary to tighten up the suspension overmuch. At The Curb The shape of this car is slick and modern, no 2012 Jaguar XF specifications: Base price: $53,000; as tested $68,100 w/supercharged V-8) Engine: 5.0 liter V-8, 385 hp (470-510 hp w/supercharger) Transmission: six-speed automatic Length: 195.3 inches Width: 73.9 inches Wheelbase: 114.5 inches Curb weight: 4,067 lbs. Luggage capacity: 17.7 cubic feet EPA fuel economy: 16 city/23 highway Where assembled: Birmingham, England faulting it on that score. But it’s also less distinctively Jaguar than the old S-Type. This is true of all current Jags, except the XK. Traditionalists may or may not like the new look. But the car seems to be selling well, even though it’s now nearly three years old. So, Jaguar’s aesthetic gamble appears to be paying off. And there are still “Jaguar” touches that give the car a unique personality. For example, the pushbutton ignition backlighting that pulses like a living creature’s heartbeat , and the swank rotary knob gear changer that rises from the center console to greet your right hand. Other unusual touches include dash vents that rotate open in a choreographed symphony, along with the rotary knob’s rising, when you first key (well, push-button) the XF to life. The XF’s coupe-like styling is striking, but at a cost. Interior room is a bit less than in more upright, conventionally sedan-ish sedans like the BMW 5 and the Benz E. For instance, the Jag has about an inch less front seat headroom than the Benz E — 37.1 inches vs. 37.9 for the E350 — and a much tighter backseat, headroom-wise, with only 37.6 inches of noggin space vs. 38.2 for the Mercedes. The Rest It will be interesting to see what effect four (and six cylinder) power has on the XF, and not just fuel efficiency-wise. Will buyers be more inter- A U T O ested in a more economical XF? Does a 4-5 MPG improvement really matter all that much to people who buy cars that start at $50K? I’d say no. I’d say people who buy $50k cars are interested in gas mileage as a fourth or fifth consideration, if they're interested in it at all. They may say they care, but if they really did care, then they wouldn’t be spending $50k on a car in the first place. They’d spend $25k on a 35 MPG Camry. No, what they really want is prestige and power. Not necessarily in that order, of course. But it works out being the same thing. A V-8 is very prestigious because only a handful of cars are still available with them. Anyone can own a four or a six. So even if said four or six manages to produce V-8 levels of power through the assistance of force-feeding (turbocharging or supercharging), it is still just a four or a six when all is said and done. I personally miss the twelves that used to be a Jaguar’s signature feature. But forget about that. We’ll be lucky to see the V-8 survive. Here's to hoping. The Bottom Line Get a V-8 ... before it’s too late. Eric Peters is the author of Automotive Atrocities” and “Road Hogs” and a former editorial writer/columnist for The Washington Times, a contributor to Cars.Com, The Car- Connection. com and SD METRO. 2 7 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y 1 9 8 5 - 2 0 1 2 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | S A N D I E G O M E T R O . C O M 3 9
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