2021 Jaguar XF First Test: More Luxury, Less Sport
The facelifted XF has grown up substantially, with dynamics taking a back seat to comfort.
SUV this, EV that. These initialisms have trended big time in automotive circles for a while now, as sports cars, hatchbacks, and sedans all die a slow death. Or so the sales charts tell us. But the Jaguar XF has always made a strong case for the existence of swoopy four-doors, and a heavy facelift for the 2021 model year gives it extended appeal.
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The 2021 Jaguar XF isn't an entirely new car, but its revisions are significant. Its body in white is the same, but Jaguar massaged the exterior for a more elegant appearance, and it substantially rethought the cabin. Overall, it's tough to find a better-looking sedan on sale right now. Also, as part of the refresh, Jaguar clipped the optional V-6 engine from the XF lineup, leaving just two 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinders to choose from.
About Those Missing Cylinders
It's not all good news here. The British Racing Green P300 R-Dynamic model we tested carried the more powerful of the two available XF powertrains, with 296 horsepower going through an eight-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels. Nearly 300 hp might at least sound like an adequate number, but it isn't. Our test car accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, well short of Jaguar's 5.6-second claim. For reference, the last AWD XF we tested (an R-Sport car with the V-6) did the deed in 4.9 seconds.
When the updated XF made its debut late last year, we asked Jaguar why it didn't offer the car with the mildly hybridized, 395-hp I-6 from the refreshed F-Pace. Jag said customer demand for the old V-6 didn't warrant such an option, which is a shame, especially after looking at our test numbers: The 2021 XF's 14.9-second quarter-mile time is 1.6 seconds slower than the XF 35t AWD R-Sport model we tested more than four years ago.
Dynamic Conservatism
Dialing back the dynamics further, the 2021 Jaguar XF we tested wore all-season rubber, hindering the car at the track. Its 115-foot stopping distance from 60 mph would have been shorter on tires with more bite, and its 26.3-second figure-eight time at an average of 0.68 g would have been improved, too. Road test editor Chris Walton also noted the XF lost some of its luster on our test track thanks to a recalcitrant transmission and the benign engine.
The same was true on the road. Although the 2021 Jaguar XF's 51/49 front/rear weight distribution makes for a car that pivots neatly around its driver in corners, this characteristic also reminds you the chassis absolutely deserves more power, a smarter gearbox, and summer tires. We wish we could tell you there was a hardcore XF-R on the way to remedy these issues, but Jaguar will be an all-electric brand by 2025, so it seems the gasoline-powered XF has gone soft for good.
On the Other Hand
The good news is, if you aren't chasing a lap time, the freshly added softness is a boon for the 2021 Jaguar XF's daily usability. On the road, the updated XF now feels like a real luxury car. Even Los Angeles' nastiest roads couldn't flummox the big sedan, and only the largest ruts and deepest potholes resulted in a brief moment of driver discomfort. We've always praised the XF's bad-boy reputation on the road, but this facelift has resulted in a more mature, less rowdy character.
Inside Story
And then there's the new interior, within which Jaguar redesigned the entire dashboard for a more mature atmosphere. The old rotating shifter knob is replaced with a more logical lever, and the dash now features open-pore wood treatment, which actuallysmellslike wood every time you clamber aboard (though the aroma will likely subside over time). The new digital instrument cluster is both a joy to view and easy to configure, as is the head-up display.
