FIRSTDRIVE JAGUAR XF 3.0D:AMID THE doom and gloom in the car market, one brand seems to be somewhat bucking the downward trend. While sales are falling, staff are working short-time and profit is likely to be thin on the ground, Jaguar can at least boast a sales rise last year of 8 per cent.
Even in our dismal new car market, the Irish distributor claims the lowest percentage fall of any car brand so far this year. It’s a strange boast, but a boast nonetheless.
A large part of this success is down to one car: the new XF. It’s got the sort of head-turning appeal that continues to wow passers-by – and in the premium segment, that matters.
Add to that the remarkable improvements the brand has made in quality and reliability over recent years and you start to see why its cars are now making some purchasing sense and giving the Germans a real challenge in the few segments where the big cat brand competes. Only last week it was ranked joint first in the highly respected JD Power dependability survey.
Now comes a revamp to the all-important diesel engine offering. The new Jaguar engine comes at an important time for the brand. Now under the ownership of the giant Indian conglomerate Tata, it was part of a purchase package that included Land Rover. Given the potential synergies Tata could pick up from the legendary off-road brand and bring to its own rather rudimentary products, the deal made sense. Less convincing was the inclusion of Jaguar, though – but because production and management for the two firms has historically been intertwined, previous owners Ford would only sell the two firms as a job lot.
So Jaguar needs to prove itself worthy of investment. It has to show it’s a viable rival to the German goliaths like Mercedes and BMW. For that it needed a competitive diesel engine. Performance petrols may be the engines that made this big cat purr for decades – and still do in the important US and Middle Eastern markets – but it’s diesel that fills the autobahns and, more importantly, the highways and byways of its home market.
Unfortunately, with pockets that don’t run as deep as the Germans, Jaguar has in the past looked for help in providing oil burners.
Its first foray was part of a joint effort with PAG Peugeot Citroën, while the X-Type has long featured a diesel derivative whose engine is taken directly from former parent Ford.
This third generation V6 diesel, however, can claim real Jaguar heritage. Chat to the firm’s powertrain engineers – the mechanical engineering bods behind the engines – and their eyes still light up when speaking of the new 5-litre petrol. Turn the topic to diesel and, where once they held their noses, they now speak with pride about the new powertrain that features in the popular XF. And well they might, for the new engine is a sweet performer.
To delve into the statistics for a moment, compared to the outgoing 2.7-litre it offers a 0-100km/h time of 6.4 seconds, down from 8.2 seconds. It offers 10 per cent better fuel economy as well, along with 12 per cent lower CO2 emissions. All this comes with 33 per cent more horsepower and 38 per cent more torque. In particular, the new engine has been tuned to offer a far bigger kick at lower revs, where it is most needed and used. What’s more, the new engine in XF guise offers more torque than the previous class-leading BMW 535d.
Does it live up to expectations? Most definitely. Combined with the sequential transmission on the XF, the engine has seemingly untapped seams of power available that pits the recently launched premium car firmly into the buying mix in the premium market.
On looks alone, the XF has done remarkably well, and with this engine it’s ready to face all challengers. The only pity is that it was not the original launch engine, something that must irk those who purchased the 2.7-litre version.
Power options are between the 240bhp regular model or the 275bhp “S” version. We tested the latter on the hills above Nice and on some really entertaining – if twisting – routes, the diesel responded with aplomb.
Even on sharp hairpin bends climbing against tough gradients, it offered the sort of hard-working power you’d expect from a well-built diesel engine. Nevertheless, the engine seems to be the most refined diesel Jaguar has featured to date.
The old-fashioned rattle is increasingly a thing of the past for diesel models and this car shows that opting for an oil-burner need not detract from the otherwise sleek and sexy image.
The one question you’re left with, however, is just how much more this engine has in reserve. For all the changes to the engine block, the transmission remains the same and, while it means you keep the fancy dial in gear knob that pops up when you push the start/stop button, the reality is there must be more available if you could opt for a manual and take control. Similarly, it does beg the question as to what it would be like with VW’s dual-clutch system in its powertrain.
Regardless of “what if” questions, Jaguar has the pricing right even, for these chastened economic times. The car enters the Irish market at €57,995, and a Band E motor tax rating, meaning an annual charge of €630. That’s in line with competitors like the BMW 530d SE, which has less horsepower – 232bhp – and lower torque as well, but starts at €67,380.
In the XF range, that pits it up against the stitched leather of the Premium Luxury version of the 275bhp S version. Given the stunning styling of the Jaguar, you start to see why the brand has done relatively well even as premium sales have plummeted.
Jaguar really has a strong product in the XF. It’s got the looks, the pricing and, to judge by recent independent dependability surveys, the quality. Now add in a seriously smart diesel and you can see why even its Indian owners must realise that this brand is starting to offer some real rivalry to the Germans. The years when it sat back and let its heritage do the work are long over. The current crop of Jaguars are out to create their a new heritage in their own right.
Factfile Jaguar XF 3.0D
- Engine output:240 bhp or 275bhp for the S version
S VERSION
- 0-100km/h:6.4 seconds
- L/100km:6.8 (41.5 mpg)
- CO2:179 g/km
- Annual motor tax:€630
- Prices:3.0D Luxury – €57,995; 3.0D Premium Luxury – €64,495; 3.0D S Luxury – €63,035; 3.0D S Premium Luxury – €69,145; 3.0D S Portfolio – €83,500
- Arriving in Ireland:Orders taken now for delivery in May
Listen to our
podcastreport on the Jaguar launch, along with an interview with Jaguar's chief powertrain engineer, Peter French, on the trials and tribulations of testing modern cars and his thoughts on the future power sources for all cars.Go to irishtimes.com/motors and follow the link to our new weekly Motors podcast,
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