The new V6 engines are in fact as hushed and refined as the old 2.7 they're totally in keeping with this model's luxury ambitions. It might not sound quick, but it sure delivers. This hardly comes as a surprise, Sherlock: wringing 271bhp and, especially, 443lb ft from a twin-turbo V6 means the XF is never wanting for acceleration.Īny gear, any speed, any incline – the Diesel S just leaps forward in that lazy, turbodiesel exec fashion. And it quickly transpires that they've fixed our biggest gripe over the XF's slovenly performance. I'm the custodian of CAR's long-term XF 2.7 D and feel well equipped to judge the accelerative powers of the new Diesel S. Ok, so the Jaguar XF Diesel S sounds good on paper. You can just imagine the oneupmanship at work here. Which is a winning combo, until you check out the BMW 535d's marginally more saintly figures of 178g/km and 42.2mpg. Key figures are 179g/km of CO2 and 42.0mpg on the European combined cycle. The XF Diesel S is no different – boasting a third more power, cutting emissions by 12 percent and supping 10% less fuel than the older, weaker 2.7. Also helping the headline figures is a new, third-gen common-rail system using piezo injectors operating at 2000 bar for more precise fuel measurement.ĭon't you just love modern engines? We're suddenly seeing power outputs spiral and CO2 figures plummet. It's different from other twin-turbo systems that use a smaller turbo for low revs and a larger secondary blower for the big work – and Jag claims its system, which isolates the smaller turbo from exhaust gases until needed, reduces pumping losses, consumption and CO2. But when the revs hit 2800rpm, this smaller, fixed-geometry blower kicks in to provide additional puff. The new V6 employs parallel sequential twin turbocharging: most of the time, a variable geometry turbocharger does all the work, leaving the secondary turbo dormant. Jag says 369lb ft of that twist is on tap within 500 milliseconds of idle. And the new V6 has a whopping 600Nm, that's 443lb ft, of torque from just 2000rpm. The Jaguar XF Diesel S is claimed to hit 60mph in 5.9 seconds, within a tenth of Stuttgart's new roadster.
You mentioned the Boxster?Īrtistic licence? Hardly. It's a sign of the times that Jaguar launched its first derv model back in 2003 and here we are – just six years later – with a full, Boxster-baiting performance oil-burner. Jag's not let any journos loose in the lower-powered XF diesel yet, so we're only able to report on the range-topping Diesel S. The old 204bhp 2.7 TD has swollen to 3.0 litres in capacity and now comes in two power outputs: 237bhp and 271bhp. The higher-powered XF Diesel S is firmly targeted at the BMW 535d. The new Jaguar XF Diesel S: should the BMW 535d be worried? It's an unusually swift engine overhaul for the XF, a car that's only been on sale for 12 months. These are important new engines – bound for action in the new 2010 Jaguar XJ, XK sports car, XF, Land Rover Discovery and numerous Range Rovers. It's a failing confirmed by life with our long-term test XF 2.7 D.Ĭue the new family of expanded 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesels arriving in the XF in March 2009 (alongside the new naturally aspirated 5.0 V8 and supercharged XFR). Our biggest criticism? The XF's weedy 2.7-litre V6 diesel engine, which was nonchalantly dispatched by the BMW 5-series' cleaner, brawnier, more efficient diesel engines.
Is Jaguar at a stroke about to answer our biggest criticisms of the XF executive saloon? Now the dust has settled after the epoch-bending new four-door replaced the stuffy S-type in 2008, we've grown used to seeing the wedgy new Jag on our roads and had time to assimilate the XF's place in execville.ĬAR Magazine didn't swallow the PR spin and placed the XF behind its BMW 5-series nemesis when we group-tested the XF against its rivals, including the Mercedes CLS and Lexus GS.