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The engine-downsizing program will continue until morale improves.
From the March 2013 Issue of Car and Driver
Under Tata, Jaguar is getting the attention it was denied during its stint as furniture in Ford’s living room. In the auto industry, attentiveness is fairly easily quantified, and Tata’s doting rings in at $2 billion. We’re told that’s the amount the Indian industrial conglomerate has earmarked for Jaguar RD for each of the next five years. For the XF, Tata’s investments have already spawned niche vehicles such as the gorgeously utilitarian Sportbrake, an XF wagon for European markets, and the 550-hp XFR-S, of which only 100 are coming to the U.S. next year, making it as rare as a reliable British car.
Jag also checked critical mainstream-consumer boxes by adding an all-wheel-drive XF and bolstering the number of engines on the XF’s options sheet.
Where previously there was an all-V-8 lineup, now the roster consists exclusively of boosted four-, six-, and eight-cylinder engines. A supercharged eight still rules the Jaguar pride, but where the blower-less V-8 once stood as the beta, now there’s a supercharged V-6. And dropping a full $6000 from last year’s basic XF—and three grand down on the new V-6 model—is this four-cylinder, with a turbo puffing the 2.0-liter’s output to 240 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque.
On paper, output is the only sacrifice the 2.0 makes, down as it is 100 horses and 81 pound-feet to the supercharged six. In practice, though, the turbo’s slow spool-up makes the four somewhat binary. It trudges along in the commuting queue just fine, and it’s smooth when asked to behave badly. But between flat-line and flat-out, it falls flat. Toe just slightly into the throttle, and the 2.0-liter bogs. Applying more foot pressure doesn’t do enough—right up until it does too much. Then, you get an abrupt downshift as boost builds, whipping the car forward with far more gusto than you wanted or were prepared for.
A dozen or so brands have a 2.0T in their portfolio. The configuration is becoming sort of a spec engine for the entire automotive industry. BMW’s has the same horsepower count (but maxes out 500 rpm sooner than Jag’s) with just four more pound-feet of torque peaking 750 rpm earlier. Yet the XF’s 6.8-second 0-to-60 time trails the slightly lighter BMW 528i by nearly a second, and we noted no issues with the German’s power delivery. Even the Kia Optima’s 2.0T has better manners. The solution could lie in retuning the transmission to delay the downshift until after the boost comes on instead of changing gears in the thick of the torque’s buildup. But the 4052-pound XF isn’t going to get much quicker until it gets lighter. A ton is a lot of vehicle mass per liter of displacement. In return for its compromised power delivery, the inline-four betters the smoother V-6’s mileage by 2 mpg in both the city and highway ratings, rising to 19 and 30 mpg, respectively. Check the sofas; you may have another $3000 for the V-6 in there somewhere.
Aside from the engine, there’s little dilution of the XF’s strengths with the turbo four. It still has delightfully tactile steering, giving it a helm far livelier than the relatively relaxed car it controls. It still has a lovely interior, a sort of techno update on old-world opulence that celebrates aluminum and LCDs as much as it does wood and leather. The XF tested here was still as expensive as an uplevel car, too. From a base of $47,850, it climbed to $68,175 with the addition of just about every luxury option available, including navigation, keyless entry, heated and cooled front seats, a faux-suede headliner, 20-inch wheels, a Meridian surround sound system, and a rearview camera. Before we added a lavish combination of options, we’d spend an extra three grand for the blown six. Or just wait for Tata to divert a few more bucks to transmission calibration.
Specifications
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED: $68,175 (base price: $47,850)
ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 122 cu in, 1999 cc
Power: 240 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 251 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 114.5 in
Length: 195.3 in
Width: 73.9 in Height: 57.5 in
Curb weight: 4052 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 6.8 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 17.6 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 36.3 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 7.8 sec
¼-mile: 15.1 sec @ 93 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 149 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 161 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.85 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway: 19/30 mpg
C/D observed: 20 mpg
TEST NOTES: Aggressive use of brake torque is essential in order to achieve a spirited launch.
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