Mario James, Gleaner Writer

JAGUAR'S S-type replacement, dubbed 'XF', was bathed in the limelight last Wednesday at the Hilton Kingston in St Andrew in the company of a small, but appreciative gathering.

The marque's latest offering has subtle styling cues that indicate its famous heritage, but is really miles apart from anything that preceded it.

XF's bold new sedan body seems to be made from stretched XK panels, with heightened belt and roof lines.

Drag coefficient

Powered by a 3.0 238 (horse-power) hp V6, the model showcased is lifted and heavily massaged from the Ford Duratec line of engines. Also available in Jaguar AJV8 trim, the stately cat has more hp than the BMW five series with equal displacement, and with a wind-cheating drag coefficient of 0.29 is able to reach an electronically limited speed of 155 mph (in AJV8 trim).

The bonnet styling draws elements from Jags past, its sharply creased and curvaceous lines adding to and drawing from the Jaguar essence; the single headlight cowl that adorns each side paying homage to the XJ6.

Touch screen

New ground is, however, broken on the inside by the Coventry manufacturer with new JaguarSense technology resplendent therein. Proximity sensors on some controls such as the light and the glovebox will turn on a control when touched.

A nine-inch touch screen provides user interface functions and the interior is heady with the scent of leather, which is a base feature on all XFs.

Gear selection is made via a dial instead of a stick. While the overall ambience is indeed a departure from traditional Jaguar standards, it is an environment even the most diehard Jag purist would be happy with.

Some traditions, however, need to be weeded out, as rear legroom is still sorely lacking. The beautifully contoured rear-door aperture allows effortless ingress and egress, but the effort is wasted as space about the knees is at a premium. This is one Jaguar tradition we can do without!

Jaguar has decided to go toe-to-toe with BMW in the sport sedan segment, and if nothing else, its fresh new face should endear it to that side of the market. With the XK suspension soaking up bumps and stuff, ride quality should be on the sporty side of plush (Automotives has not yet tested the vehicle).

It is yet to be seen whether the Jaguar ride/handling compromise has been bettered (or not) in this vehicle; XF has some very large shoes to fill. But with its stellar new body (albeit strapped on to the S-type platform) the new youth market Jaguar at least looks the part. KIG has ensured its exclusivity by pricing it at between $8.9 and $9.9 million.

mario.james@gleanerjm.com