Mid-priced and luxury in the same sentence? Yes, clearly that means Jaguar!
Jaguar, the once sedan of choice for mid-priced luxury consumers, is now back as the 2021 Jaguar XF is a beautiful mid-size sedan. In stunning British Racing Green, the exterior continues to scream Jaguar with its well-known front grill and curvatures. You can notice it from a mile away as Jaguar attempts to maintain its stature in the luxury mid-priced market; and does a good job of it.
As competition historically exceeds Jaguar’s price point, such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz, they really do a great job of offering a nice-sized, comfortable sedan with luxury accoutrements. Although some items lack
Coming in with a $49K base price we recognize not all things can be of the previously named brand levels, but some things can be similar. For example, the seats in our week-long XF P300 R-Dynamic tester were exceptionally comfortable. Although the center console seemed oversized, constricting the width of the leg room, the seats were fascinating and the overall comfort was tip-top. The interior was exceptional also. The Light Oyster interior and Ebony leather with Natural Burr Ash Veneer wood grain trim is that of top class brands. The 11.4 inch infotainment system was not protruding and positioned correctly as the climate control, radio controls were all easy to navigate. Unlike most vehicles in this market in which setting up your Bluetooth to your cell phone is always a hassle, that was not the case for Jaguar, it was a breeze.
In the powertrain department we recognize a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine with 296 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque aligned with an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. With this, we did notice some lag and delay in getting up to speed quickly, but for the price point, this is to be expected.
As a previous Jaguar S-Type owner, I recognize the comfort level and stature is top priority, while exclusivity and design keeps owners coming back. Yes, Jaguar has taken some flack over the years for its continued problems in both the electronics and powertrain departments, but on our week-long tester we recognized no problems and rather enjoyed the XF’s ride quality and design advantages. We realize that all vehicles have problems eventually and granted there are no recent issues in the Jaguar fleet, the XF is a great choice and even better bang for the buck.
Jaguar XF
MSRP: $49,995
As tested: $62,695
MPG: 22 city, 30 highway, 28.4 as tested
