Jaguar XF is luxury with a capital ‘L’

Drive’s Seán Creedon found his first experience behind the wheel of the Jaguar 2.2l diesel XF to be well worth the wait.

There is an old saying that good things come to those who wait. Last week, I had my first-ever drive in a Jaguar and it was certainly well worth waiting for.

The Jaguar 2.2l diesel XF is a luxury car with a capital ‘L’, and it has sold well since its launch four years ago. The model received a mid-life upgrade last year.

The car looks great, and my test-drive model received numerous envious looks, especially from middle-aged men, despite the fact that the famous Jaguar ‘leaping cat’ ornament is no longer on the bonnet.

The Jaguar’s head logo has been incorporated into the attractive front grille, while the famous ‘leaping cat’ is now to be found at the back of the car.

We don’t get many British-built cars in Ireland nowadays, apart from Nissans which are assembled in Sunderland. Jaguar and Land Rover cars, which are now both owned by Chinese company Tata, are built near Birmingham.

I drove a black model, and I felt that the colour exuded a classy feel. But the interior colour scheme offers quite a contrast, with cream leather seats that are bright and cheerful.

Starting up the car brings everything to life, in the cabin as well as the engine. The rotary gear lever pops up from the centre console, and at the same time, four air vents on the dash open up simultaneously. All very impressive.

In automatic cars, you don’t change gears; you select them. In the XF however, there are also toggles at the side of the steering wheel for drivers who want to opt for manual gear change.

It was only while I experimented with the toggles that I realised that I was driving a car with eight gears, as it showed up on the dashboard display. So, if you are not sure which gear to select, stick with automatic.

This is a long motor, and there are plenty of sensors to help you park, plus a reversing camera. At night, the LED lights at the front are really eye-catching.

It’s such a smooth drive. My daughter, who was my regular front seat passenger, almost fell asleep one evening as we made our way home; the heat was on, as was Lyric FM, and we didn’t mind the traffic jams as we drove along. It’s a relaxing drive in heavy traffic, and beautiful and smooth on the open road.

The centre of the bonnet is raised, and you may need to adopt a high driving position to get a clear view of the road in front.