Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats

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In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats

Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats-drivers

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Heimo Schwilk with his S-Type (left) and the successor model Jaguar XF. Between the two cars, he enjoyed afternoon tea in proper style.

Source: Reto Klar

Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats-class

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Source: Jaguar

Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats-jaguar

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Source: Jaguar

Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats-cool

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Source: Jaguar

Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats-jaguar

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Source: Jaguar

Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats-upper

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Source: Jaguar

Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats-drivers

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Source: Jaguar

Upper class: In the XF, cool Jaguar drivers become big cats-jaguar

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Source: Jaguar

Our author actually loves his ten-year-old Jaguar S-Type more than anything. For him, there is nothing better than indulging in British understatement on four wheels in the club atmosphere of the cockpit. Without any fuss, but with style. But now he’s ridden the latest XF for the first time.

W.e Jaguar drivers are individualists with a tendency towards snobbery. We don’t just drive a car, we celebrate it. When the driver’s door slams shut with a dark pop, we dive into the club atmosphere made of soft leather and shiny root wood. You will seldom see the driver of such a vehicle involved in hair-raising overtaking maneuvers, and a jaguar glides calmly to the side in the jostling of a motorway. The British-tinged understatement signals: I could, but I don’t want to.

This serenity should now be over, I thought when I received the key to the new Jaguar XFD, which with its powerfully curved bonnet and the gills behind the front wheels looks like an automotive powerhouse. In addition to its sporty successor, my almost ten-year-old S-Type makes a bella figura, even if its typical Jaguar green looks a bit good compared to the gold tone of the new one.

Above all, the finely modeled front section with the classic double headlights and the oval radiator grille triggers a significantly more Jaguar feeling than the large-meshed giant grille of the XF with its Asian-style headlights, which is based on Maserati.

But as soon as you get into the car – the so-called “Smart Key” ensures that the lock unlocks itself with an electronic impulse when you approach it – euphoria spreads quickly. There is a technoid-charged elegance, I notice, that comes from the successful mixture of marbled ebony, light-colored leather and finely structured aluminum. Under the dashboard made of fine soft-grain leather, the instruments shine in a cool phosphor blue.

When the start button is pressed, an amazing technology show takes place: a shiny chrome metal cylinder rises from the center console, a dainty replacement for the gear lever, and four fan covers swivel backwards silently and free the air conditioning nozzles. With the help of a large touchscreen above the center console, the air conditioning can be regulated or the navigation system started up at the touch of a finger. And if you only want to indulge in driving pleasure while telephoning or listening to music, you can give the audio system instructions via voice control.

In order to find out all of this and to experience it in the literal sense, I drove the luxury vehicle on a motorway trip to the south, during which I wanted to test the turbo-diesel engine, which has received a lot of praise and which releases a generous 275 hp with its six-cylinder. Even when driving onto the autobahn, you were amazed at the acceleration values, because after just 12 seconds the engine had catapulted the 1.8 ton truck to 200 kilometers per hour.

Take it easy, I warn myself, because this Jaguar easily manages the magic mark of 250, which separates the wheat from the chaff in the left lane. Somehow, I can now feel that this car makes something of me that has a lot to do with an aggressive big cat, but little to do with the comfortable purring of an English house cat. One after the other, I move competing models such as the Audi A6, 5 Series BMW and Mercedes E-Class out of the way, the horizon narrows towards the tunnel, into which I am drawn as if on rails.

After three hours of driving and cruising speed 180, first stop at the petrol station. Consumption levels off at 9.1 liters, an inspiring low figure – especially for Jaguar drivers. The old S-Type consumes almost 13 liters of premium gasoline with a significantly lower performance.

Am I stressed, has my jaguar composure evaporated into the black hole of speed? Actually no, the frenzy, and that is really a bit alarming, is hardly noticeable, the acoustically perfectly sealed interior and the minimal rolling noise ensure that. The 6-speed automatic shifts much smoother, almost imperceptibly, no comparison with the rough automatic transmission of my S-Type built in 2000, which had to be replaced with a new one after 90,000 kilometers, the control device of which is already causing problems.

Perhaps it is this impression of technical maturity and perfection that seduces a disillusioned S-Type driver like me to give the Jaguar XF a try in the future, a style break that has turned into a model. At the end it should be noted that the Jaguar XF Diesel S Premium Luxury costs around 65,000 euros. Here the understatement of some Jaguar lovers could be turned into the opposite: I would like, but I cannot (anymore).

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