Jaguar XF V8 Petrol Review (2008)

Announced in 2006 the Jaguar XF is probably the most significant car Jaguar has built. Although we liked the S-Type, (the XF’s predecessor), it was flawed and did not really appeal en- mass to the younger executive car buyer.

The first XFs were delivered in March 2008 and with Jaguar’s future pinned on its success the car has to appeal to both the conservative Jaguar Buyer and tear the aspirational BMW company car driver away from the German brand.

We drove the Jaguar XF 4.2 Premium Luxury to see how it fairs in this competitive market sector.

When we tested the Jaguar XF there was a line up of four engines  all mated to Jaguar’s six-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted 'paddles' for manual  gear selection (Jaguar Sequential Shift).

Since our test Jaguar has announced a new engine line up for 2010 – including an all-new supercharged 510bhp petrol V8 and a naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8, producing 385bhp.

There is also a diesel engine the 3.0-litre AJ-V6D Gen III engine. The twin sequential turbocharged engine is available as a 275PS/600Nm S or a 240PS/500Nm version. Both offer exceptional efficiency and refinement and in the case of the Diesel S acceleration from 0-60mph in just 5.9 seconds.

At the time of writing this review the line was - 2.7-litre V6 twin-turbocharged diesel:  0-60mph in 7.7 secs and a top speed of 143 mph; - 3.0-litre V6 petrol: 0-60mph in 7.9 secs and a top speed of 148mph; - 4.2 naturally aspirated V8 petrol: 0-60mph in 6.2 secs and a top speed electronically limited to 155mph;  4.2 supercharged  V8 petrol: 0-60mph in 5.1 secs and a top speed electronically limited to 155mph.