EXECUTIVE RELIEF
The XF was a welcome alternative to the E-Class and 5 Series
JAGUAR XF
C
oming after the ultraconservative Jaguar
S-Type, the Mk1 XF was a shock to those who thought the company could only produce clones of its old designs. Out went Jaguar’s familiar saloon profile to be replaced by something sharper, sportier and more coupélike. Inside, the XF was even more luxurious than any Jag before it, sporting features such as the rising transmission knob and active ventilation vents that would delight showroom customers and set the tills a-ringin’.
The XF was launched in 2008 and was immediately successful, scooping most of the major awards and landing a near five-star rating from Autocar for its design, steering and control weights, accessible performance, ride comfort and body control, smooth automatic gearbox and fabulous cabin environment. It was offered first in saloon form and then, from 2012, in Sportbrake estate guise (see ‘Also worth knowing’, right).