As I edge up the tight mountain pass I realise the car is going a tad bit quicker than I can turn into the curve. So on to the brake I go, simultaneously changing down to 3rd on the 6-speed automatic Jaguar Drive gearbox using the paddle shifts behind the steering wheel. A slight pull on the neck, head dips forward, I change up again after the turn and the engine whirls.
Jaguar’s Active Differential Control optimises torque in each wheel to achieve maximum grip under all conditions. At times the rear will twitch but not enough to unsettle the car. The resulting feeling is like talking back at your parents; you are old enough to do it but it just doesn’t feel right. Jaguars shouldn’t handle this well, not based on what we have come to know. But they now do, thanks largely to the XF. And the 5.0-litre gives not only license to do so but a whole visa. Actually I take that back. Jaguars should handle this way; they used to before, way back in the 1960s. I guess Jaguar is just slowly reclaiming its place in the sport luxury market.
Part of the good handling response is because of the car’s 1780kg curb weight which is the second-lightest in the range - after the 1690kg 3.0-litre V6. It also has a low Cd of .29, making it quite an aerodynamic animal to drive.
This was but one of over a dozen experiences in the Jaguar XF 5.0-litre. The French countryside was the scene and the engine felt mean. Jaguar opted to leave it unforce-fed and in this guise it makes a useful 283kW (385hp) and 515Nm of torque. Of course in the XFR jaguar found an extra 97kW but some buyers just aren’t that interested in more power and performance. Nor do they have the extra dosh to pay for it. Jaguar’s claimed 0 – 100km/h time is 5.7 seconds which in Gauteng I guesstimate will probably translate to about 6.5 seconds.
Thankfully I was not paying for the drive, not in Rands and cents but in time. When having a blast of a time one often thinks forward to a time when it will all be over and for me that time arrived within two hours when my co-driver took over the steering wheel.
But before then I was able to start up the engine and bring out those 385 horses. The XF 5.0-litre is now essentially as powerful as the previous S-Type R which had a 4.2-litre supercharged engine. The car is mostly unassuming in its exterior looks but press the Start button and you know something different is going on under there somewhere.
Inside the levels of comfort are quite pleasing. Features include a steering wheel with controls for the entertainment system, touch-screen satellite navigation, the electro-magnetic parking brake and individual climate control. Because of the heat in Provence I was quite liking the seat-cooling feature which as the name says, cools the front seats instead of heating them up. Nice when coming into a car that’s been in the sun for very long.
The Jaguar XF 5.0-litre will be launched in Mzansi within the next two months. Jaguar has not released pricing yet but I think it will be between R650 000 and R695 000.
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