With the XF, Jaguar has set upon a pair of daunting tasks: first reasserting itself as a leading force in the premium luxury sedan segment, then re-taking market share from a cadre of firmly entrenched German adversaries. After a couple of months with the car, we've got to think one of those tasks should prove to be somewhat more challenging than the other.
As for the first point, Jaguar seems to have locked on its target in terms of pushing high initial quality. The designers, engineers and project managers put a lot of thought and effort into the XF's development. It shows in the details, and our initial impressions have been pretty positive.
The cabin is especially nice. Great pains were taken to provide occupants with a uniquely welcoming ambience. This begins the moment you touch the door handle and the Jag unlocks itself. The XF is a completely keyless car--that is, it requires no physical interaction with a key. This feature is standard on all Jaguar XFs. There isn't even an ignition slot. Leave the key/fob/transmitter unit in your pocket or drop it in a cupholder and the car does everything else.
Sink into the driver's seat and the engine start/stop button begins pulsing with a heartbeat cadence. Push the button to start the car and the unique rotary-style gear selector rises into your palm, while the power-actuated dash vents wheel around into view. It's all dramatic in an oddly subtle sort of way, giving the XF an almost sentient quality by actively responding to its inhabitants.
The cabin's luxurious ambience is most striking at night, when you're bathed in the glow of cool blue light from the center console, dashboard and instruments, and light-accented door panels. Buttons and controls are grouped together and surrounded by what look to be ultra-thin chrome bezels in full sunlight. But at night the bezels illuminate with that cool blue radiance, giving the XF's interior a sort of futuristic, Star Warsy kind of feel. The effect was supposedly inspired by Motorola's Razr cell phone and accomplished by etching a hair-thin line into the chrome finish that's invisible by day but lets the light come through at night.
There are other small touches--literally speaking--that really give this Jag a very progressive, forward-thinking presentation. The overhead lights are fingertip activated; one touch for on, one touch for off. The glove compartment pops open using a small bullseye-motif sensor also activated via fingertip. And virtually the whole of vehicle functions can be accessed by touch through the dash-mounted 7-inch color LCD screen--climate, vehicle information, navigation, entertainment. The XF also features portable audio device connectivity as standard and includes a cable that will interface readily with your iPod--no doofy universal aux-in port required. The portable audio interface, activated by the touchscreen, is probably the most convenient we've used and allows simple navigation through the various menus and sub-menus and easy access to your favorite songs or playlists.
As we mentioned in the introductory article a couple months ago, our XF is equipped with the optional hi-fi Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system that incorporates no fewer than 13 separate speakers and a subwoofer. Playback quality is fantastic and makes the option worthwhile for an audiophile--I hate that word--or for anyone who just likes to crank up the stereo and scream along on the daily commute. It's especially worthwhile considering the rather modest $1,500 entry fee ($1,875 if you include Sirius satellite radio).