The Jaguar XF has been launched with a diesel engine which offers class-leading CO2 emissions and fuel economy.
Now in its second generation, the new model is lighter, more spacious, and far more efficient – offering company car drivers the lowest-possible Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) taxation liability in the sector for a non-hybrid vehicle.
Headline figures include a CO2 output of 104g/km, while fuel economy is a claimed 70.6mpg. That’s for the lower-powered, manual 2-litre ‘Ingenium’ diesel engine, and slots the XF into an 18 percent company car tax band for this tax year. Monthly tax bills could be lower than £100 per month if you could somehow wangle one of these on the 20 percent tax rate.
Designed to take on the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6, none of its rivals can match the Jaguar at this point. The closest is the latter, which emits 109g/km of CO2 (thus one higher BiK percentage point) and returns 67.3mpg fuel economy.
That doesn’t mean you have to scrimp on performance, though. Even the lowest-powered diesel develops 161bhp and 380Nm of torque, so will cover 0-62mph in 8.7 seconds and hit a top speed of 132mph. Prices start at £32,300.
You’ll pay a small penalty for picking the optional £1,750 eight-speed automatic, with figures dropping to 109g/km and 68.9mpg.
The other engines available
Jaguar’s Ingenium 2-litre is also available with 178bhp and 430Nm of torque for an extra £500, but with slightly worse efficiency figures of 65.7mpg and 114g/km. Of course, the trade-off is performance, and this one will cover 0-62mph in 8.1 seconds with a top speed of 136mph. This one is also available with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
The most powerful diesel, a 3-litre V6, provides strong performance with 700Nm of torque and 296bhp meaning it can crack 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds, but produces just 144g/km of CO2.
If you can convince your fleet manager to let you have one, the petrol XF shares its supercharged 3.0-litre V6 with the F-Type coupe, and it’s a very impressive engine. With 375bhp it races from 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds and produces 198g/km of CO2.
Prices for both V6s start at £49,945 and both come with eight-speed automatic gearboxes.
What else is new?
Widespread use of aluminium means it has lost 190kg, and the entry level diesel car claims to be 80kg lighter than its competition.
Despite being slightly shorter and lower overall, the new XF has an extra 51mm between its axles, which means more space inside for passengers without compromising the 540-litre boot.
Passive dampers feature an extra valve for better ride quality at low speed and All-Surface Progress Control takes over braking and the throttle to let the car pull away smoothly in slippery conditions. There’s even a new torque vectoring system which brakes the inside wheel while cornering to ensure drama-free handling.
Four trim levels to choose from
The new XF range consists of Prestige, R-Sport, Portfolio, and S specifications. All feature the new InControl Touch Pro system which uses a larger 10.2-inch touchscreen (eight inch on Prestige cars).
Entry-level cars come with rear parking sensors, 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlamps and wipers, lots of exterior chrome, and Bi-Xenon headlamps with LED daytime running lights.
Inside you get keyless start, cruise control with speed limiter, heated leather seats with part-electric adjustment, leather multifunction steering wheel, and a automatically-dipping rear view mirror.
For a more athletic look pick the R-Sport trim, which adds stiffer suspension, a sporty body kit and spoiler, gloss black detailing and 18-inch wheels on the larger 2.0-litre diesel. The leather seats gain perforations and contrasting stitching, plus there’s a dark headlining and metal finish pedals.
Luxury Portfolio spec gets an electrically-heated windscreen, keyless entry, a reversing camera, front parking sensors and automatically dimming and folding door mirrors. The seats and dash are trimmed in softer leather and there is a 380W Meridian sound system to listen to.
V6-engined S models promise the best of both worlds with an aggressive body kit, adaptive sports suspension, 19-inch wheels, and electrically adjustable R-Sport seats.
Our pick
Prestige trim comes with plenty of kit so we’d stick with that. While the lowest power diesel car with a manual gearbox can be had for £97 a month (for a 20 per cent tax payer) the more powerful 178bhp model with an automatic gearbox only costs £115 a month so we think it’s worth the extra cash.
It’s worth bearing in mind that for about the same money (£114) you could have a lower powered but still automatic R-Sport model, and a V6S diesel is £100 a month more.
