Jaguar XF 3 0D V6 review

What strikes you first is just how silky smooth the powertrain is

Jaguar XF 3.0D V6 Premium Luxury

Price as tested  £40,950

Jaguar’s answer to the BMW 530d. The recently revised Jaguar XF range has now arrived on UK roads, and it’s the mid-range diesel we’re testing here.
The 3.0D V6 model used to be the entry-level XF model, but the addition of the 2.2D has pushed it higher up the range. The biggest change from the pre-facelift car is the addition of a ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox, which promises smoother, faster and more seamless shifts over the six-speeder from before.
The handsome styling changes include slimmed down headlights, a lower bonnet line and two striking sets of LED strips sitting either side of the larger front grille.
Asides from the gearbox, dynamic changes are small yet significant, and include dynamic engine mounts, an increased use of sound deadening materials and redesigned wing mirrors, all designed bolster refinement and suppress road noise.

A remarkably accomplished machine. What strikes you first is just how silky smooth the powertrain is, the 237bhp, 369lb ft V6 turbodiesel oozing refinement and being capable of eating up motorway miles without any fuss. Drive this XF back-to-back with the new 2.2-litre four-cylinder model and you’ll really appreciate how much greater the refinement is – and how much quieter it operates – at lower speeds.
The gearbox is also a fine addition to the package. Having eight forward speeds raises fears over hesitancy and the potential for blunting progress, but it responds well to differing driving styles: really put your foot down and it’ll hold the gear for more rapid acceleration; drive with more consideration and it’ll seamlessly shift in the background.
Off the motorway, it lacks the impressive urgency of the more driver-focused S model, but it’s still remarkably composed and quick enough in almost any given situation.
The steering is accurate and the ride quality is also particularly pleasing, although we’d stick with the standard 18-inch wheels of this Premium Luxury model over the optional 19- or 20-inchers as the latter options tend to detract from ride comfort over more abrasive surfaces around town.

It’s hard to think of too many reasons not to. Each of the three diesel models in the XF range offers something distinctly different, but each of them is so well executed.
If you can live without the added power and sharpened chassis of the non S 3.0 V6D but still want the extra refinement of a six-cylinder engine, then you won’t have too many regrets while eating up the motorway miles in this XF.

Jaguar XF 3.0D V6 Premium Luxury
Price: £40,950; Top speed: 149mph (limited); 0-60mph: 6.7sec; Economy: 44.8mpg; CO2: 169g/km; Kerb weight: 1810kg; Engine: V6, 2993cc, turbodiesel; Power: 237bhp at 4000rpm; Torque: 369lb ft at 2000rpm; Gearbox: 8-spd automatic

Jaguar Is Selling F Types Not Much Else

By sports car standards, Jaguar is selling a lot of F-Types. By Jaguar standards, Jaguar is selling a lot of F-Types.

But Jaguar USA isnt doing so much with the selling of its other cars.

U.S. sales of the XJ, Jaguars S-Class rival, are down 16% through the first seven months of 2014 to just 2627 units. We dont expect S-Class-like numbers from the XJ, but these arent even XJ-like numbers from the XJ. True, large luxury SUV flagships have done a number on large luxury sedan flagships, but the XJ is a car that attracted more than 10,000 buyers in both 2003 and 2004. Jaguar USA might sell 5000 in 2014.

Context: Mercedes-Benz is selling nearly 1900 S-Class sedans per month in what should be a boom year for the S-Class. The Audi A8, on the other hand, is a perennial low-volume large luxury player, and year-to-date volume is down 12%, but Audi has reported an XJ-besting 3137 A8 sales.

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• U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - July 2014 YTD
• All Cars Ranked By July 2014 YTD U.S. Sales
• All Makes & Models Ranked By July 2014 YTD U.S. Sales

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Thankfully, theres the XF, a car thats been around since 2008. Its best year was its first full year on the market, 2009, when 8578 were sold. Remember, 2009 was a dreadful year for auto sales in America. Sales of just about everything have increased since then. But XF volume in 2014, now that the range has been hugely expanded, is down 17% compared with the first seven months of 2013, which ended as the XFs second-best sales U.S. sales year, 8% off 2009s pace.

The XK is dead. We want to be sad that a conservatively handsome British grand tourer has disappeared, but buyers of this type of car wont miss it, because they werent buying XKs to begin with. Only 5674 have been sold in the last 43 months. Porsche has sold 6017 911s in America in the last seven months. No, Jaguar isnt Porsche. But to suggest that its alright for Jaguar to sell the XK in ridiculously small numbers is to forget that the XK has, at points, been half of Jaguars lineup. Or a third of the lineup. Or now, a forgotten quarter of Jaguars lineup.


The F-Type, on the other hand, especially now that its available in both coupe and convertible form, is a popular car by SLK, Z4, TT, Boxster, and Cayman standards, if not the ever-popular 911. Jaguar has sold 2238 F-Types this year. Year-over-year volume during the last three months, the only three months for which we have year-over-year numbers, has risen 48%. The F-Type was Jaguars best-selling car in May, when it generated 33% of the brands volume. It was Jaguars best-selling car in the U.S. in June, when it generated 34% of the brands volume. The F-Type was also Jaguars best-selling car in the U.S. in July, with 42% of the brands volume.

In July, the F-Types 501 sales placed it ahead of the Audi TT (101), BMW Z4 (120), and Mercedes-Benz SLK (416). The Boxster and Cayman combined to sell 559 units. Porsche also sold 849 911s.

At 501 units, the F-Types best month since it arrived in May of last year, the F-Type easily outsold the Mazda MX-5 and trailed the Nissan 370Z (636 July sales) with surprising closeness. The F-Type isnt a high-volume car, but among cars of this type, its far from being a low-volume car.

The allure of its design, its symphonic engines, and its ability to stretch far upmarket cause enthusiasts to hope against reason that the upcoming entry-level XE – a name which sounds terribly Toyota trim level-like – could be equally gorgeous, equally pleasing to drive, and equally successful.

Non-F-Type Jags are selling very poorly in the United States right now. Combined, the XF, XJ, and XK are down 14.5% this year; they were down 46% in July. The same fate cannot strike the XE a couple or even a few years into its first model cycle.

Or else Tata will be forced to rely on Land Rover for its premium content. Yes, that Land Rover, the brand that currently accounts for 76% of U.S. JLR sales, up from 44% a decade ago.