THE original Jaguar XF was a landmark car for its maker. In one fell swoop, signified by its rakish roofline, it banished the stuffy British clichés of the S-Type and presented a modern Cool Britannia take on a full-sized sedan.

It was always an in-betweener car, however. With the X-Type failing, and only giving way to the XE earlier this year, the 2007 original had to play 3 Series competitor on price and 5 Series rival in size.

This second-generation model changes that. With the XE now sparring with the compact Germans, the XF pushes its wheelbase out by 51mm and body width out by 48mm to offer the sprawling rear space expected in the premium full-sized sedan segment.

Repositioning has meant a price rise.

The last XF started from under $70,000 the new model now starts at over $80,000. As tested here, the $97,800 (plus on-road costs) XF Portfolio 25t has the same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and eight-speed automatic transmission previously available in the equivalent $73,285 XF Sports Luxury.

Clearly, Jaguar wants this to be its no-excuses premium full-sized sedan, one that takes it up to the $99,900 BMW 528i and $101,005 Mercedes-Benz E250 without apologetically lower pricing.

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