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Stand out from the herd.
All-wheel-drive sports sedans are a prerequisite for any manufacturer severe about racking up sales in markets where the weather can get frightful. Jaguar learned this the tough way in locations like the American Northeast, exactly where BMW’s xDrive, Mercedes-Benz’s 4MATIC, and Audi’s Quattro AWD systems rendered the British brand’s merchandise all but invisible.
That is not to say that Jaguar is all of a sudden far more than a bit player in comparison to the Teutonic trio, but its sales veritably exploded when it quick-tracked and retrofitted an all-wheel-drive system to the XF and XJ luxury sedans. And sports-car fans take note: Jaguar not too long ago announced certain variants of the 2016 F-kind would be available with AWD, too.
Despite the fact that the rear-drive XF is offered with engines ranging from a 240-hp 2.-liter turbocharged inline-4 to a stonkin’ 550-hp supercharged V-8, the AWD XF comes paired exclusively with the 340-hp 3.-liter supercharged V-6. We’re not complaining, as the 3.-liter is a brawny beast that churns up 332 lb-ft of twist from 3500 to 5000 rpm.
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Mated to a ZF-supplied 8-speed automatic transmission with the requisite paddle shifters, the V-6 delivers its output in a linear style and obediently follows commands to rev, spinning smoothly to its 6500-rpm horsepower peak. The thrust is accompanied by a reserved soundtrack nicely suited to the car’s elegant exterior. We shaved practically an complete second off Jag’s quoted zero-to-60-mph time of 6.1 seconds, with our test driver turning in a 5.3-second sprint. Maintaining the throttle pinned sent the XF by way of the quarter-mile in 13.9 seconds at 102 mph, respectable numbers for a 4385-pound car.
This XF’s accelerative feats can partially be credited to the electronically controlled all-wheel-drive setup, which Jaguar markets as Instinctive All Wheel Drive. Capable of shuffling up to 50 % of the obtainable torque to the front wheels when circumstances dictate, it can also preload torque on the front wheels to optimize traction when accelerating from a dead quit. Once underway, it transfers the bulk of the energy back to the rear wheels for maximum acceleration. (Do that typically, even so, and you’ll finish up with a low fuel-economy number like our 17-mpg figure. The auto is rated for 17 mpg city and 27 mpg highway.)
It’s easy to make pals with the XF’s brake pedal, a firm, sincere device that flawlessly relays commands to the binders and operates with a brief variety of travel. Progressive and smooth about town, the brakes respond to deep presses in stride, our test driver noting zero fade on the way to posting a 70-to–mph stopping distance of 169 feet. That metric falls within spitting distance of the competition for instance, both the Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC and the Lexus GS350 AWD turned in 165-foot stops.
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But it’s the chassis that remains the XF’s ultimate weapon. With light and accurate steering that’s swift to respond to inputs, the fleet-footed XF is far more reassuring and dynamic in real-world use than its middling .84-g skidpad figure would indicate. The chassis can be cycled via 3 modes—Normal, Dynamic, and Winter—that tailor the engine response, shift traits, AWD system, and stability handle to the task at hand. Winter mode sends 30 percent of the torque forward as the default setting, important when you’re scrabbling for obtain on a snowblown road. Pushed tough in Dynamic mode, the XF slightly understeers, its 19-inch 245/40 tires intimating that physics would like to have a word with you. Push harder and the stability control will intervene just as the tires commence to shout.
Obtainable in either Sport or Portfolio trim for the very same $ 60,800 MSRP, our XF 3. AWD was the latter, which emphasizes luxury more than, uh, sportiness. That signifies heated and cooled energy front seats, soft-grain leather trim with contrasting stitching and a faux-suede headliner, a heated steering wheel, and adaptive headlamps. Adding a heated windshield ($ 375) and fancy silver paint ($ 500) brought the as-tested value to $ 61,675. (For comparison, a BMW 535i xDrive begins at $ 58,850 adding heated front seats and adaptive headlamps brings the Bimmer’s price to $ 61,250.) If junior-executive club-room chic isn’t your issue, the Sport trim swaps the Portfolio’s 19-inch rollers for 20-inch wheels, ladles on some black exterior trim, adds sport seats, Bond-grain leather, and nets some piano-black interior trim.
Whichever way you go, you will finish up with a satisfying sports sedan with all-weather peace of mind—and a surefire way to stand out from the common luxury herd.
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