While executive saloons like the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class sell in droves, Jaguar’s four-door rival, the XF, just hasn’t matched the lofty highs of its German competitors. In fact, Jaguar sales in the UK are just above those of Citroen sub-brand DS.
But Jaguar wants to do something about it, so it’s decided to release an updated version of the XF in a bid to boost sales.
At first glance, the changes look relatively insignificant. The grille is a little larger, the air inlets either side of the front bumper have been reprofiled and there are new LED head and tail light designs. The rear bumper has been lightly tweaked, but the overall design isn’t too different to the previous XF.
Step inside, however, and the changes become a bit more apparent. The cabin has been completely redesigned, giving the car a more luxurious feel and significantly boosting the amount of tech for the driver to play with.
For instance, the centre of the dashboard is dominated by a curved, 11.4-inch touchscreen running the latest version of Jaguar’s Pivi Pro infotainment software. That’s paired up with a digital instrument cluster, too, which, in our experience, tends to drastically improve cabin quality.
What’s more, Jaguar says it’s chucked out the old car’s cheaper plastics, which could be found on some of the switchgear, and replaced them with higher quality materials.
The engine line-up has also been streamlined, too. There are a pair of 2.0-litre petrols, one available in 247bhp form and the other with 296bhp and all-wheel drive. There’s also a 2.0-litre diesel, producing 201bhp, that’s also mated to a 48V mild-hybrid system. As standard, it comes in rear-wheel drive form and has a claimed fuel economy of 57.2mpg. You can spec an all-wheel drive layout, but just note that fuel economy will likely dip.
So are the updates enough to bring in the buyers? We’ll have to wait and see, but the starting price of £32,585 does make it considerably cheaper than its German rivals.
Keyword: Jaguar XF 2021: what's new on the BMW 5 Series rival?