Jaguar XF Review (2016-present)

The XF is Jaguar’s large executive car, a rival for well-established German machines such as the BMW 5 Series, the Audi A6 and the Mercedes E-Class. The first generation of Jaguar XF, codenamed X250, was introduced in 2007, and drew plenty of praise for its sleek looks and impressive handling, making it one of the top choices for customers who enjoy being behind the wheel. This second-generation model, codenamed X260, was introduced in 2015 and it was facelifted in 2021.

The XF comes as a four-door saloon or a five-door estate, called the Sportbrake, and with two- or four-wheel drive. Inside, you get a stylish environment, but it can’t quite Audi A6 for outright quality, and you’d expect the materials to be of a slightly higher grade at this end of the market. We’re not bowled over by the touchscreen infotainment system either, because Audi and BMW have more intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces.

This is one of the XF’s strongest suits compared to its rivals. There’s lots of passenger space front and back, and the facelifted 2021 model carved out even more; even the sloping roof line doesn’t detract from headroom for rear passengers.

The saloon has a 540-litre boot, which is bigger than that of the 5 Series and the A6, although the aperture is a bit tight for larger items.

The XF Sportbrake adds estate practicality to the saloon’s style and manages to look good with it. You get 1,700 litres of space in the boot with the rear seats folded down (565 when they’re upright), almost the same choice of trim levels (there is no Chequered Flag edition – we’ll explain that shortly) and rear- or all-wheel drive (AWD).

There are three types of suspension across the range, with fancier models sporting an adaptive system that allows you to switch between different modes. The ride is slightly firmer than that of some rivals, especially on larger wheels – it’s better on standard and adaptive set-ups – and many will think it a reasonable pay off for the sharp, direct handling. That said, R-Sport models have particularly stiff sports suspension, which does become quite uncomfortable for an executive car.

There are a range of petrol and diesel engines, attached to either an eight-speed automatic gearbox or a six-speed manual. The diesels are likely to be popular due to their superior fuel economy which, for those regularly trundling up and down motorways, will be important.

Three diesel options were available with the pre-facelift model. Our recommendation is the mid-level 2.0d model, with 180hp, which balances grunt and economy nicely. The cheaper 2.0-litre 163hp version needs to be worked hard but has lower CO2 emissions, which will be handy if you’re a company car driver that wants to save on benefit-in-kind tax. The 300hp 3.0-litre V6 has impressive power but will rapidly munch through fuel. All the diesel models are noisier and less refined than equivalents in German rivals, but they do the job well enough.

These were scaled back to just a single 2.0-litre diesel engine with 204hp in 2021. It’s called the D200 MHEV and has a mild hybrid system to help reduce emissions and improve economy.

Petrol fans can pick from a trio of 2.0-litre engines with 200-, 250-, or 300hp. We think the 200hp version offers enough poke for most uses. An XF S model was available with a 380hp supercharged V6 petrol, but that was phased out after a couple of years. Post-2021 petrol engines became the P250 and the P300, with 250hp and 300hp respectively.

There’s no plug-in hybrid or electric option, which could be a deal-breaker for some, because several rivals offer such choices.

All trim levels are well-equipped, starting with the Prestige and rising through R-Sport to the top-end Portfolio model, and the special edition Chequered Flag model was introduced in 2019.

The top-end Portfolio version is worth a look because it’s not hugely more expensive than the other models, but the Prestige has most features you could want, and you could always add a few options if you’re buying new.

Trim levels were overhauled with the 2021 facelift, and changed to S, SE and HSE. S has 18-inch alloy wheels, heated and electrically adjustable front seats, leather upholstery, an 11.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, adaptive cruise control, a reversing camera and parking sensors, traffic sign recognition with an adaptive speed limiter and lane keep assist.

SE – our pick of the three – adds auto dimming headlights, a heated windscreen, 19-inch alloys, a wireless phone charger, a Meridian sound system and blind spot assist. HSE adds 20-inch alloys, styling updates, upgraded seats and plusher leather.

It’s probably worth pointing out that Jaguar markets the XF as a sports saloon, meaning there’s a certain emphasis on performance and this, by its nature, can mean frugality isn’t always at the top of the car’s agenda. The recent changes to testing protocols for official fuel economy and emissions figures haven’t done the range many favours either, as the figures are now less impressive on paper than they were before, and that can have implications for company car tax. Rivals offer cheaper motoring in this regard.

But that said, the diesel engines are the ones to go for if you want to maximise your fuel usage. You might think that the entry-level 161bhp engine would be the least thirsty, with an official fuel economy of up to 50.4mpg (WLTP). But actually, it’s the more powerful 178bhp diesel that’s fractionally cleaner, with an official mpg of up to 50.9 and 146g/km of CO2 compared to 147 on the 161bhp model. Those stats apply to models with a manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive help that, as all-wheel-drive models will be less frugal. These diesels will be good for company car taxpayers, particularly because they’re compliant with a relatively new emissions standard called RDE2, and as such aren’t subject to the normal 4% Benefit in Kind surcharge on diesel cars.

The 296bhp petrol and diesel engines will both chew through fuel much faster than the smaller units, although with a 43.2mpg (WLTP) official fuel economy, the diesel is impressive considering its grunt.

Another thing to consider when it comes to XF running costs is resale value. In short, it’s not great news when compared to the German rivals, as it’ll likely lose quite a bit more from new. Conversely, that could make it a relatively attractive used buy. Sportbrake models tend to hang on to their values slightly better.

Cars registered before 1 April, 2017 will attract varying rates of Vehicle Excise Duty depending on their CO2 emissions. Cars registered after that will pay a flat rate of £150 a year after the first year.

Jaguar offers service plans on its new cars, with both fixed price and flexible options. For 2.0-litre diesel models, you can have a plan for five years/50,000 miles or five years/75,000 miles. The 3.0-litre diesel plan and the petrol engine plan cover five years/50,000 miles. These plans are transferable and refundable when you sell the car, so if you’re after a used one, see if it’s still valid.

Jaguar’s record for reliability isn’t particularly great, and it regularly sits down towards the bottom of independent dependability studies. But then again, so do its premium rivals Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It seems reliability in the executive sector could really do with some geeing up. One study saw the XF come bottom of all luxury cars surveyed, which is somewhat concerning, and it means that if you’re buying a used example you’ll want to check that things are in order.

Common problems include squeaks and rattles that are notoriously hard to track down, and the XF is also prone to electrical gremlins, particularly in the infotainment system. Again, this can be hard to fix.

The XF has been subject to several recalls. Early cars had fuel feed hoses that could detach from the fuel filter, leading to the engine cutting out. Affected cars should have had a retention clip added to stop this happening. Other machines saw a misrouted fuel pipe chafe and leak diesel, inner sills crack on the left hand side, and leaking fuel hoses.

A number of cars built in 2017 left the factory without the occupancy detection mat being fitted to the front passenger seat, and others saw the digital instrument cluster go blank intermittently, requiring updated software. A software update was also required for cars that could fail to meet CO2 emissions levels.

Check before you buy a used XF whether it was affected by any of these recalls, and make sure any necessary work was carried out.

If you buy a new XF you’ll get a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty which is slightly better than the norm of 60,000 miles imposed by some rivals.