[akj53]

In 1922 a young lad of 21 years called William Lyons started a car company named Swallow Sidecar Company. The name is almost forgotten now but this man and his company designed the SS100 which was the first Jaguar.

Over a period of time, Jaguar produced many legendary models like XK120, E Type, MK II, XJ 12 and XJS. Out of these the E Type is counted among the most beautiful cars ever designed. I first saw the E Type in 1970 both in a film and in real life and remained a Jaguar fan since then.

Jaguar along with Rolls, Bentley & Aston Martin came to define the typical British upper class taste and lifestyle in motoring. Even among these, Rolls took the aristocratic route; Aston Martin represented the fast life of a certain Mr. Bond, and Jaguar along with Bentley defined luxury at a fast pace. To quote Tom Ford, the British motoring journo, Jaguars are elegant yet understated, fast but refined, comfortable yet dynamic. And yes Timeless too.

Under the Ford leadership, penny pinching accountants took over the decision making. They wanted to make low cost cars for more sales, Jaguar started to loose focus as cost cutting prevailed. For example accountants could not understand the use of stamping the Jaguar logo over a chromed dashboard item. But fine details like these differentiate a premium item from the ordinary. My Jaguar salesman gushed – The best thing Mr. Tata did was to tell Jaguar management to do whatever they wanted to do, to stop competing with Mercedes and BMW and to start aiming for standards of Bentley. And the result is there for all to see.

XF have won more than 60 awards and has also won ‘Best Executive Car of the Year’ for 2008, 2009 and for 2010. XJ is the only car which is termed as a better alternative to the S class. No doubt the balance sheet has started turning from red to black.

XF is the model which announced return of Jaguar to form. I am attaching details of the variants available in U.K., as the Jaguar XF Diesel is about to be launched in India.
 
I shall be posting trim and equipment details and photographs also in my subsequent posts.

[DicKy]

Proud to see what Tata is doing to Jag.
Btw, hope that the X-type successor(read 3er fighter) is launched soon with apt specs.

[akj53]

I doubt that Jag is planning any X type successor which was basically a souped up Mondeo. I could not understand what do you mean by 3er fighter.

[bivin]

i think he meant a competitor to the 3 series..

[NOS Power]

Good writeup about Jaguar and the XF in particular.

When the XF was launched I wondered if it could take the fight up to the regular Beemers, the Mercs and the Audi's. But it has done a better job I must say. Infact the Top Gear test of the XF in the hands of Captain Slow made me a fan of this car. A graceful looking car but which still can go fast. May not be a handler's dream or a sturdy luxury liner but it is an overall awesome car. The best part of it is that it doesn't try to better any particular aspect of either of the 3 german sedans but it does everything well.

Just hoping that Jaguar can be once again a dream machine for many, and hopefully Mr. Tata can achieve that.

My dream of owning an XF continues

[akj53]

Originally Posted by NOS Power

May not be a handler's dream or a sturdy luxury liner but it is an overall awesome car. The best part of it is that it doesn't try to better any particular aspect of either of the 3 german sedans but it does everything well.

Just hoping that Jaguar can be once again a dream machine for many, and hopefully Mr. Tata can achieve that.

My dream of owning an XF continues

We tested the new 530 D and the XF with standard 240 bhp engine. Strange though it may seem, XF was far superior in ride and handling. In fact my son commented later that 530 was no match to XF.

In May 2010 issue, WHAT CAR published a shoot out between arch rivals XF 3.0 D Luxury, BMW 530 D SE, Audi A6 3.0 TDI SE and Mercedes E 350 CDI all with automatic gear boxes. The finalists were Jaguar and BMW. Jaguar XF won as:

"The XF is a car with strong emotional appeal, thanks to its gorgeous styling and superlative driving experience and its interior still has the ability to wow. It ticks all of the sensible boxes which is just as important. It is refined, practical and because of its long roaster of standard equipments and low running costs, is great value for money."

BMW came second due to its poor ride and handling and poor body control perhaps because BMW has traded sportiness with comfort.

Mercedes came third despite all its virtues as it was neither as fun to drive as Jaguar nor as refined as BMW.

A6 came fourth despite having the pace and space and good handling as it feels dated and was least economical."

[akj53]

POWERTRAIN & DRIVING DYNAMICS

- 6 Speed electronic automatic transmission with Jaguar Sequential Shift
- JaguarDrive Selector
- Jaguar Drive control with Winter Mode
- Jaguar Drive control with Dynamic Mode
- Servotronic steering
- Brake pad wear indicator
- Vented disk brakes, front and rear
- DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) with Trac DSC mode
- Traction control

EXTERIOR FEATURES:

- LED Brake Lamps
- Rain sensing windscreen wipers
- Bright side window surrounds
- Rear parking aid with Touch Screen visual indicator
- Acoustic Laminated wind screen


SAFETY AND SECURITY

- Front & Side air bags for Driver and front passenger
- Side curtain airbags
- ABS
- Pedestrian Contact Sensing – automatically deployable bonnet system
- Front seat whiplash reduction system
- Front seat belt pre tensioners
- ISOFIX anchor points for rear child seats
- High level rear stop lamp
- Cornering brake control (CBC)
- Emergency brake assist (EBA)
- Security system with volumetric and perimeter sensing alarm and vehicle immobilizer
- Remote control central locking with deadlocking and drive-away locking function
- Valet mode

INTERIOR FEATURES

- Automatic Climate control, Dual zone with rear vents.
- Steering column with electric adjustment for height and reach with entry and exit tilt-away
- 2 front and 1 rear auxiliary power sockets
- All electric windows with one touch open / close and anti trap
- Driver information centre with dual function trip computer
- Jaguar sense
- Phosphor halo illumination and interior mood lighting
- Jaguar Smart Key system with Keyless start

INTERIOR TRIM

• Rear center head restraint
• Folding 60 / 40 split rear seats
• Leather 3 spoke steering wheel with Jaguar Sequential Shift paddles and remote controls for audio, cruise control and Bluetooth telephone connectivity

MULTIMEDIA

• 3.5 mm stereo auxiliary input socket
• Bluetooth telephone connectivity
• Navigation system
• 7” full colour touch screen

Other features are trim dependent which I will post later.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by akj53

I doubt that Jag is planning any X type successor which was basically a souped up Mondeo. I could not understand what do you mean by 3er fighter.

The earlier X-type was based on the FWD mondeo platform as @bivin said
and was a big flop.Jaguar is now working on a 3 series fighter with a much needed RWD platform.

[NOS Power]

@akj53,

I mentioned that comment about the XF after reading reviews. I mean i've not read any shootout, but I guess I should have prior to posting that.

So my dream becomes even more interesting (i.e. if and when I realise it ).

Thanks for the info mate, you made my day.

[akj53]

Trim details varies between different models. I am giving below details of the Diesel Premium Luxury Sports model only.
EXTERIOR
• Heated, auto dimming and power folding ORVM with side repeaters and approach lamps.
• Heated windscreen with timer
• Halogen headlamps – automatic on /off
• Rear spoiler
• Front parking aid with rear camera
• Diesel misfueling protection device

WHEELS

• 20” Alloy wheels
• Alloy space saver spare wheel

INTERIOR FEATURES

• Auto dimming rear view mirror
• Jaguar Smart key system with key less entry
• Luxury Ivory soft grain leather seats front and back.
• Front sport seats, powered 18/14 way with memory functions
• Active ventilated front seats, heated and cooled
• Softgrain leather tailored instrument panels and door top rolls
• Heated steering wheel
• Jaguar 320 watts premium sound systems with radio and CD player with 8 speakers, sub woofer and USB port

ENGINE

XF 3.0 LITRE V6 DIESEL S – (Sport)
POWER- 275 PS @ 4000 RPM
TORQUE - 600 Nm @ 2000 RPM
0-100 KMPH- 6.4 Seconds
Top Speed - 250 kmph. Limited
TRIM - Luxury, Premium Luxury & Portfolio
FUEL CONSUMPTION – L/100 KM : URBAN – 9.5, EXTRA URBAN – 5.5, COMB – 6.8
UNLADEN WEIGHT KG: 1820
U.K. PRICE £ 38,600, 42,300, 45,600

[akj53]

Originally Posted by NOS Power

@akj53,

I mentioned that comment about the XF after reading reviews. I mean i've not read any shootout, but I guess I should have prior to posting that.

So my dream becomes even more interesting (i.e. if and when I realise it ).

Thanks for the info mate, you made my day.

Best wishes mate for an early realisation of your dream. May you get your Jag in 2011 only.

I shall post the pictures next week.

[akj53]

Originally Posted by DicKy

The earlier X-type was based on the FWD mondeo platform as @bivin said
and was a big flop.Jaguar is now working on a 3 series fighter with a much needed RWD platform.

As I wrote earlier X type was a souped up Mondeo. Not only it shared the platform but the X type also shared many components with Mondeo. However Jaguar refined it as much as they could within the financial limits imposed by Ford accountants. It was a much better car than Mondeo and sold in decent numbers but the special feeling associated with Jaguar brand was missing.

I will try to find out if Jaguar is planning to bring out the X type rival.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by DicKy

The earlier X-type was based on the FWD mondeo platform.

The Jaguar X-Type was available from the year '01 and it was initially offered with all-wheel-drive even though it was based on the Mk-III Ford Mondeo. It was only in '03 that Jaguar started offering the X-Type in FWD guise.

Originally Posted by DicKy

Jaguar is now working on a 3 series fighter with a much needed RWD platform.

Originally Posted by akj53

I doubt that Jag is planning any X type successor which was basically a souped up Mondeo.

Originally Posted by akj53

As I wrote earlier X type was a souped up Mondeo. Not only it shared the platform but the X type also shared many components with Mondeo. However Jaguar refined it as much as they could within the financial limits imposed by Ford accountants. It was a much better car than Mondeo and sold in decent numbers but the special feeling associated with Jaguar brand was missing.

I will try to find out if Jaguar is planning to bring out the X type rival.

Firstly, the X-Type wasn't a 'souped' Mondeo by any means. It was offered with the same engines (2.5L V6 and the 3.0 V6) that powered the Mondeo. In fact, the 3.0 V6 powered the Mondeo ST220 when it was in production. When the FWD variant of the X-Type was made available, they introduced two new engine options: a small 2.0L/2.2L 4-pot diesel (Ford Duratorq motors) and a smaller 2.1L V6 (not sure about the source of this)

And it is true! Come 2012 and Jaguar will introduce a new 'X-Type' that will be pitted directly against its main rival, the BMW 3 Series. And yes, this new X-Type will be powered by its rear-wheels for the first time!

Rumor has it that Jaguar will offer several engine options including several 4-pot diesel and petrol motors and an almighty 3 litre V6 and a hybrid with the same V6 coupled with an electric motor, mated to an 8-Speed auto-tranny.

[sanchit.j]

We've beeen on the look out for some thing like an E-Class / 5 series for sometime now so had called up the Jaguar showroom in Mumbai about 3 weeks ago for an enquiry about XF Diesel. The sales representative responded, saying that the model would be launched in about 2-3 months and although he wasn't committal on the trim level, the fact that he uttered of a trim called 'Premium Luxury' while selling only 'Portfolio' (currently) implies that it should be the trim on offer at launch.

Surprisingly, an approximate price was also suggested at about Rs. 51-52L ex-showroom.

Although, they do offer lots of kit and their product is well differentiated from the 3 Germans, I hope they do get their pricing right. It would be quite a success if certain kit is skipped to reduce the price. Internationally, Jaguar has attempted to ostentatiously position XF as something a bit above the Germans; let's see how things pan out here.

Further, the person also assured that Jaguar would also have comprehensive service packages akin to those given by BMW in the next 3-4 months. I was quite surprised to see that the representative knew the exact details of the packages on offer by Mercedes Benz and BMW; haven't witnessed such detailed salesmanship from either MB or BMW or Audi!

For the time being, let's keep our fingers crossed and hope they get their mix right.

[akj53]

@ Sanchit

Glad to know that you are considering Jaguar. They have also opened a new dealer in Delhi, details are on

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...new-delhi.html

Jaguar's trims are 'Luxury', Premium Luxury and Portfolio in ascending order. Portfolio is the topmost trim. Price in India will higher than Germans, as Jaguar will be imported as CBU, so higher duties. If is good if they are planning to offer service package, because we dont get even the free services. Bombay dealership is owned by Tata's so the sales person had to be good.

You will have to see the car and decide yourself whether Jaguar should be positioned above the Germans.

I am posting my ownership review under a new thread, please view that.