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Jaguar XF Saloon Leasing Deals

Details	Fuel	From Price
Jaguar XF Saloon 2.0D Prestige	Diesel	£449.00 inc p/month
Jaguar XF Saloon 3.0d V6 S	Diesel	£679.00 inc p/month

All deals subject to availability and finance approval.

XF Saloon

As everyone who knows me will know, I hold a bit of a candle for the Jaguar XF.

For me, it is easily the best executive saloon in its class.This is backed up with the fact that the XF has won the 'What Car Executive Car of The Year' award four years in a row, and when you consider the competition in that market place (5 Series, E Class, A6 etc....) that makes it quite a remarkable achievement. What makes it even more remarkable, is the fact that Jaguar have done this without a 4 cylinder diesel engine. That's like going to war with 'Ze Germans' armed with only a spoon and a copy of The Sun newspaper.......and winning!

Audi, BMW and Mercedes all offer a premium, 4 cylinder diesel engines and sell shedloads of them into the 'exec rep' market. In fact, 80% of sales of the A6, 5 Series and E Class are down to 4 cylinder diesels. Don't get me wrong, Jaguar have sold well over 100,000 XF's worldwide since 2008, but just imagine how many more they would have sold if they had released it with a smaller diesel option like their three German counterparts.

Thankfully, Jaguar have seen the light and we are about to find out!

To coincide with the launch of the new facelift XF, Jaguar has released an all new 2.2ltr diesel engine. For me, this smaller diesel engine represents a massive step forward for Jaguar, which is not something I ever thought I'd say. It goes against all that I normally stand for as I want more power, bigger engines and lower 0-62 times but even my tiny little brain understands that for Jaguar to move to the next level, they needed this engine.

But before I talk about the engine, let's go through some of the key changes on the facelift model. Jaguar have basically taken the front from the XJ and stuck it on the XF, which is no bad thing as it is a stunning front end. Thankfully though, they left the rear of the XJ on the back of the XJ. OK, so the back of the XF could have been fettled with a tad more as it is identical (other than some new foglights) to the out going model.
On the inside, they have somehow managed to make massive improvements on what was an already superb interior. You still get the wonderful gearstick that pops up out of the centre console and airvents that twist around when you turn the fans on, but Jaguar seems to have gone to great lengths to modernise this car and they have managed it in a highly commendable way.
The new touch screen, colour sat nav/stereo system is superb and has some great touches integrated into it. For example, if you have an iPhone, when you connect it to the Bluetooth, the system automatically loads your phonebook and recent call history but more importantly (for me anyway) your iPod songs. It means that with everything integrated into the system, you never need to lay your eyes or hands on your mobile whilst driving again.

Ok so the super-duper sat nav is a cost option on the SE model, but the spec that you get with the standard SE is epic: - Eight-speed automatic transmission - Jaguar 400W sound system - Bond grain leather seats with suede cloth seat inserts - Bond grain upper facia - Bi-function HID Xenon headlamps with washers and LED daytime running lamps - 7 inch colour touch-screen - blue halo illumination and interior mood lighting (excluding front doors) - Stop/Start system - Keyless start - Front Media Interface and 17" alloy wheels.

So it has its rivals beaten on standard spec, but let me talk a little about the nuts and bolts of the thing. I'll start with the gearbox I mentioned at the start of the above spec list.
No it's not a typo (Although I'm sure you'll find plenty of them on here) the new XF 2.2d comes with an 8 SPEED AUTO!!! Why on earth would you need eight gears? Surely it must change gear more times than Lady Gaga changes her sexual preference!?! Well if it does, you'll be doing very well to notice as it is one of the smoothest gearboxes on the market. But a gearbox is only as good as the engine it's mounted to and Jaguar has yet again done a superb job with this one.

The all new 2.2d engine was originally developed to refine and replace the old, dated and extremely rubbish Freelander diesel. Seriously, I've driven more refined 1930's tractors than that engine! Thankfully, the new 2.2d has turned out to be so good that the owners of JLR Group (Tata) decided not only to put it in to the new XF, but also the phenomenal new Evoque. For a relatively small company like Jaguar Land Rover, this sort of investment is a big deal for them and it needs to be good........and by god it is.

Let me try to explain just how good it is. One of the pictures next to this review is of the old shape XF parked next to the latest XF, which really shows the massive difference in styling between the 2 cars. The 'old' car has the 3.0d engine, which I had for the week before Jaguar kindly dropped off the new 2.2d. I was so worried that having the 3.0d before the 2.2d would make it feel lethargic, but I needn't have as it is simply superb!!! Although the 2.2d gives away 50bhp to the 3.0d (190bhp vs 240bhp), it only has 50nm's of torque less (450nm's vs 500nm's) than its bigger brother. Those are pretty impressive numbers, especially when compared to its rivals. I'll use the 520d as an example because I really can't be bothered to write down the bhp & nm figures for the A6 and the E-class Having said that, I could have done that in the time that it has taken me to waste all my time writing this!!! The 520d produces 184hp and 380nm's of torque which is massive difference, but then that is evened out as the Jaguar is a bit porkier than the 'Beeeeeeeemer'.

Whether you're buying, leasing or being given the choice of one of these as a company car, the only thing that should really matter to you are MPG numbers, but since you can't really separate them (58mpg combined for the 520d and 52mpg for the XF) it comes down to the feel and the drive and this is where the Jaguar is just that little bit better. The ride in the XF is more forgiving than the BMW. It's firm at low speeds but less so than it's German rival. Once you get the car up to speed, the handling is exceptionally good for a car of this size and weight! The XF feels superbly balanced through the corners, the level of grip on offer is more than most XF drivers will ever need and the wonderfully weighted steering gives you great feedback, it's sensitive but not overly like previous Jaguars tended to be.

Be in no doubt that the BMW is a superb car, but, and this does sound ridiculous, it feels like it's been built with no expense spared and therefore doesn't have the same character that the Jaguar has.
Jaguar are the poor underdogs that have had a tough family life, I mean the poor little sod has been 'adopted' several times.... but they have come out of the other side better for it. They know the mistakes that they have made in the past and learnt from them to produce one not only the best executive cars ever made but also go as far as to say it's one of the best cars ever made. Jaguar has worked wonders to ditch the 'old man' image whereas BMW and Audi drivers, thanks to a certain motoring programme, have a rather nasty stereotype that has stuck for with them no matter what the manufacturer has done to the car.

Let me put it this way, nobody looks at a Jaguar XF driver and calls them a 'cock'! The way to avoid this is simple, swap the German car for a British one and end up with a better car in the process.

Thanks for reading.

Stuart Mckay