Jaguar XF 2.2 D
Mon 26 Sep 2011
Dave Moore
strong New Zealand dollar and the fact Jaguar New Zealand no longer has to kowtow to importers of the brand in Australia means the luxury British brand's prices have eased. Some Jaguars costing more than $300,000 across the Tasman are coming into New Zealand showrooms in the $200,000 range.
The XK Jaguar sports cars used to start at $229,990. Now the same range lines up from $174,000, while the XJ sedans which once had a entry-point of $174,990, now start at $154,000.
The Jaguar lineup that benefits most from the new pricing regime is the XF lineup, which competes with the BMW 5-series, Audi's A6 and the Mercedes-Benz E class. Like them, the Jaguar XF was once a strictly six-figure prospect, but now, even after the model's facelift, the range sells from $90,000, down $26,490 on the previous least-expensive model.
The cheapest XF is the 2.2d, which uses Jaguar's take on the PSA/Ford turbodiesel four, a unit also used by Peugeot, Citroen, Land Rover, Range Rover and Ford products.
It has a reputation for being a flexible, punchy and economical , and it arrives in its Jaguar application just as the XF has undergone its mid-life facelift.
At one time the thought of a four-cylinder Jaguar would have brought gasps of disbelief, and even now, the concept of a diesel surmounted by the famous leaping cat emblem raises an eyebrow or two. That's because the typical Jaguar owner has been a little older than those of Benzes, Audis and BMWs, and those companies have been running four-cylinder diesels in similarly- sized sedans since the 1980s.
With Jaguar's re-positioning through more-modern styling to go with its industry-leading engineering, younger buyers are making themselves known in the marque's showrooms, and they are more willing to go for diesel fours, as the German brands' sales figures have indicated.
In the XF, the 2.2d required re- engineering in order to be mounted north-south, driving the rear-wheels through an eight- speed automatic.
The engine produces 142kW in its Jaguar form and provides the 1745kg XF with more than adequate punch. Jaguar says it accelerates from 0-100kmh in eight seconds and it certainly felt that quick, though I was unable to verify its quoted 235kmh top speed.
Helped by Jaguar's first stop- start system and its long-legged transmission, the XF 2.2 Diesel achieves 5.4L/100km combined EU economy and emits 149g/km of CO2 on the same test cycle. I drove the car in Britain recently travelling from Liverpool to Manchester and eventually to London, with side journeys to Bristol and the West Country for a total over four days of about 1200km - less than a tank's worth.
I've always been a fan of the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel powered XF and its 2.7-litre predecessor and had suspected the smaller displacement four and its relative lack of cylinders might count against it for punch and refinement, and engine noise.
In the high-speed give and take of Britain's motorways, it pays to have a flexible mid-range engine, so you can waft quickly past slower traffic, rather than clatter busily past, working your engine noisily high in its rev-range.
Ad Feedback I needn't have worried about the Jaguar's flexibility, as long as I kept the engine around 1800rpm to 2300rpm, the eight-speed ZF automatic slurred imperceptibly between ratios to maintain pace. It did so, so easily that I drove where it was sufficiently clear in cruise control, with the car's speed staying easily within the ambient traffic velocity between 120kmh and 125kmh most of the time.
Throttled-back to 100kmh, as you must in the UK on non dual carriageway roads, the XF barely draws breath at 1400rpm in eighth gear, and this is possibly why I was able to register an average consumption rate of 5.8L/100km over a long weekend run of some 1197km, including city and village snarls and open-road touring.
No less impressive was the muted voice. Diesel fours are the noisiest of all internal combustion engines and though the car does clatter loudly when first started, it warms and quietens very quickly. So effective is its insulation that once up to working temperature, I'd defy anyone to know it was diesel, never mind how many cylinders it had.
I drove the same power unit, albeit mounted sideways and with just a six-speed automatic, in the Range Rover Evoque recently and the same smooth, neutral sound signature appeared in that vehicle too, once it was warm. The main feature of the XF revamp, apart from the astonishingly effective diesel, is that the car has at last gained the headlamps it deserves.
Before the facelift, the XF had headlamps with protruding circular upper halves to their lenses, which made the otherwise gorgeously proportioned Jaguar look as if it needed to wipe the sleep out of its eyes.
Now, the XF has the same, slim lamps introduced on the larger XJ range last year and it transforms the "face" of the car. The previous gawkiness has gone and while the chromed plastic mesh of the grille remains, the XF now could be said to have a face of real beauty, but with the attractively sinister gaze of a gunslinger.
The XF has always been one of the best driving, riding and handling cars in the segment, with those new eyes it is now also the best looking - by a country mile.
The $90,000 XF 2.2d asking price in New Zealand will be for full leather and all the fruit, including sat-nav and the most original and impressive driving environment in the business.
A four-cylinder diesel Jaguar? What on earth is the world coming to? To its senses, evidently.
JAGUAR XF 2.2D
Drivetrain: In-line mounted 2.2-litre 16-valve DOHC turbodiesel four, with 8-speed automatic.
Performance: 142kW at 3500rpm, 451Nm at 2000rpm. Max 235kmh, 0-100kmh 8 secs, 5.8L/100km (observed) 143g/km CO2.
Dimensions: L 4961mm, H 1460mm, W 1920mm, W/base 2909mm, Weight 1745kg, Fuel 69.5L. Pricing: XF 2.2d $90,000. Other XFs from $95,000 to $170,000.
Hot: Price; new face; torquey, frugal diesel four; 8-speed auto; ride and handling.
Not: Noisy when cold; harsh ride on sportier wheels and tyres (avoid them). Verdict: Possibly the best over all XF, which makes a virtue of its power unit, not a negative.
- The Press
« Back to News
Dave Moore
strong New Zealand dollar and the fact Jaguar New Zealand no longer has to kowtow to importers of the brand in Australia means the luxury British brand's prices have eased. Some Jaguars costing more than $300,000 across the Tasman are coming into New Zealand showrooms in the $200,000 range.
The XK Jaguar sports cars used to start at $229,990. Now the same range lines up from $174,000, while the XJ sedans which once had a entry-point of $174,990, now start at $154,000.
The Jaguar lineup that benefits most from the new pricing regime is the XF lineup, which competes with the BMW 5-series, Audi's A6 and the Mercedes-Benz E class. Like them, the Jaguar XF was once a strictly six-figure prospect, but now, even after the model's facelift, the range sells from $90,000, down $26,490 on the previous least-expensive model.
The cheapest XF is the 2.2d, which uses Jaguar's take on the PSA/Ford turbodiesel four, a unit also used by Peugeot, Citroen, Land Rover, Range Rover and Ford products.
It has a reputation for being a flexible, punchy and economical , and it arrives in its Jaguar application just as the XF has undergone its mid-life facelift.
At one time the thought of a four-cylinder Jaguar would have brought gasps of disbelief, and even now, the concept of a diesel surmounted by the famous leaping cat emblem raises an eyebrow or two. That's because the typical Jaguar owner has been a little older than those of Benzes, Audis and BMWs, and those companies have been running four-cylinder diesels in similarly- sized sedans since the 1980s.
With Jaguar's re-positioning through more-modern styling to go with its industry-leading engineering, younger buyers are making themselves known in the marque's showrooms, and they are more willing to go for diesel fours, as the German brands' sales figures have indicated.
In the XF, the 2.2d required re- engineering in order to be mounted north-south, driving the rear-wheels through an eight- speed automatic.
The engine produces 142kW in its Jaguar form and provides the 1745kg XF with more than adequate punch. Jaguar says it accelerates from 0-100kmh in eight seconds and it certainly felt that quick, though I was unable to verify its quoted 235kmh top speed.
Helped by Jaguar's first stop- start system and its long-legged transmission, the XF 2.2 Diesel achieves 5.4L/100km combined EU economy and emits 149g/km of CO2 on the same test cycle. I drove the car in Britain recently travelling from Liverpool to Manchester and eventually to London, with side journeys to Bristol and the West Country for a total over four days of about 1200km - less than a tank's worth.
I've always been a fan of the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel powered XF and its 2.7-litre predecessor and had suspected the smaller displacement four and its relative lack of cylinders might count against it for punch and refinement, and engine noise.
In the high-speed give and take of Britain's motorways, it pays to have a flexible mid-range engine, so you can waft quickly past slower traffic, rather than clatter busily past, working your engine noisily high in its rev-range.
Ad Feedback I needn't have worried about the Jaguar's flexibility, as long as I kept the engine around 1800rpm to 2300rpm, the eight-speed ZF automatic slurred imperceptibly between ratios to maintain pace. It did so, so easily that I drove where it was sufficiently clear in cruise control, with the car's speed staying easily within the ambient traffic velocity between 120kmh and 125kmh most of the time.
Throttled-back to 100kmh, as you must in the UK on non dual carriageway roads, the XF barely draws breath at 1400rpm in eighth gear, and this is possibly why I was able to register an average consumption rate of 5.8L/100km over a long weekend run of some 1197km, including city and village snarls and open-road touring.
No less impressive was the muted voice. Diesel fours are the noisiest of all internal combustion engines and though the car does clatter loudly when first started, it warms and quietens very quickly. So effective is its insulation that once up to working temperature, I'd defy anyone to know it was diesel, never mind how many cylinders it had.
I drove the same power unit, albeit mounted sideways and with just a six-speed automatic, in the Range Rover Evoque recently and the same smooth, neutral sound signature appeared in that vehicle too, once it was warm. The main feature of the XF revamp, apart from the astonishingly effective diesel, is that the car has at last gained the headlamps it deserves.
Before the facelift, the XF had headlamps with protruding circular upper halves to their lenses, which made the otherwise gorgeously proportioned Jaguar look as if it needed to wipe the sleep out of its eyes.
Now, the XF has the same, slim lamps introduced on the larger XJ range last year and it transforms the "face" of the car. The previous gawkiness has gone and while the chromed plastic mesh of the grille remains, the XF now could be said to have a face of real beauty, but with the attractively sinister gaze of a gunslinger.
The XF has always been one of the best driving, riding and handling cars in the segment, with those new eyes it is now also the best looking - by a country mile.
The $90,000 XF 2.2d asking price in New Zealand will be for full leather and all the fruit, including sat-nav and the most original and impressive driving environment in the business.
A four-cylinder diesel Jaguar? What on earth is the world coming to? To its senses, evidently.
JAGUAR XF 2.2D
Drivetrain: In-line mounted 2.2-litre 16-valve DOHC turbodiesel four, with 8-speed automatic.
Performance: 142kW at 3500rpm, 451Nm at 2000rpm. Max 235kmh, 0-100kmh 8 secs, 5.8L/100km (observed) 143g/km CO2.
Dimensions: L 4961mm, H 1460mm, W 1920mm, W/base 2909mm, Weight 1745kg, Fuel 69.5L. Pricing: XF 2.2d $90,000. Other XFs from $95,000 to $170,000.
Hot: Price; new face; torquey, frugal diesel four; 8-speed auto; ride and handling.
Not: Noisy when cold; harsh ride on sportier wheels and tyres (avoid them). Verdict: Possibly the best over all XF, which makes a virtue of its power unit, not a negative.
- The Press
« Back to News