New York show: Jaguar spells out new XF range

AUSTRALIAN Jaguar buyers will get a choice of five powertrains and four specification levels when the lighter and more high-tech second-generation Jaguar XF glides into showrooms in the first quarter of 2016.

Revealed in sedan form today at the New York motor show, the new BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class competitor is also likely to gain a Sportbrake wagon sibling at some point.

So far, there is no sign of the thumping 5.0-litre V8 XFR variants of the current XF – Jaguar’s top-selling model in this country since it was launched in 2011.

While Jaguar Land Rover Australia says it is still nailing down exact specification and pricing for the Mark II XF, the importer has confirmed its line-up will start with a pair of 2.0-litre four-cylinder powertrains – in petrol and diesel – in a new entry specification dubbed Prestige.

Upper variants will be R-Sport, Portfolio and S, armed with a trio of V6s – a 221kW twin-turbo 3.0-litre diesel, 250kW 3.0-litre petrol, and flagship 280kW supercharged 3.0-litre petrol.

The Australian arm of the company has elected not to take the super-efficient entry level version of the 120kW 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel that emits just 104 grams of carbon-dioxide per kilometre.

Instead, the local range will kick off with the 132kW/430Nm version of the Ingenium engine that still provides handy 114g/km C02 performance while sipping just 4.3 litres of fuel per 100km.

Like all XFs slated for Australia, that engine will be mated with an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission.

While the base diesel XF can scurry from zero to 100km/h in 8.1 seconds, the 2.0-litre petrol XF can do the job in a sharper 7.0 seconds. However, the penalty is in fuel consumption which is rated at 7.5L/100km and CO2 emissions at 179g/km.

The V8 diesel provides the most torque, at 700Nm, while using just 5.5L/100km.

The swiftest XF, at least for now, is the F-Type-sourced supercharged petrol V6, churning out 250kW/450Nm to propel the slick sedan to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds.

As we have previously reported, the latest XF is built on a new platform made of 75 per cent aluminium for weight reductions of up to 190kg while improving torsional stiffness by 28 per cent.

Although the new Jaguar is a 7mm shorter than the current model, with stubbier overhangs, the wheelbase has been stretched 51mm to liberate more cabin space, including 24mm more kneeroom.

The new body is slipperier than before, with the drag coefficient being cut from 0.29 to just 0.26.

An optional adaptive suspension system is said to monitor body movement 100 times a second and wheel movement 500 times a second for optimum damper settings.

The new InControl Touch Pro infotainment system has a 10.2-inch screen with a function called dual view that allows the driver to see information such as sat-nav while the front-seat passenger watches TV.

Full-LED headlights have two banks of LEDs – one for low beam and the other for high beam.

A laser head up display delivers sharper, high-contrast colour images. A 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster can be configured by the driver.

Safety items expected in the Australian variants are autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control.

Steering is now electric assisted, not only saving fuel but allowing a range of added features such as parallel park assist.

While all-wheel drive and manual gearbox variants will be available in other markets, they are not on the radar for Australia.