• jalopnik reviews

    2009 Jaguar XF, Part Three

    Why you should buy the 2009 Jaguar XF:
    The Jerries killed one of your uncles, the Japs the other, the Yanks came into the war too late and now you’re shopping for a mid-size luxury sedan. You’ve seen one too many episodes of The Professionals. Your wife has the complete set of Golden Jubilee china. You’re a dentist living in Miami and since your Lehman brothers stock is now worthless you can’t quite stretch to an XJ. You want a fast luxury car, but think speed kills.

    Why you shouldn't buy this car:

    You want a car that’s equally capable of cosseting your bottom and lapping a racetrack. You’re not prepared to purchase an uncompetitive car just because it’s got a kitty on the grille. You never really liked the Chrysler LHS and Dodge Intrepid anyways.

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  • jalopnik reviews

    2009 Jaguar XF, Part Two

    Exterior Design: **/****
    It all depends on when you catch the 2009 Jaguar XF. Sometimes it’s stunning; sometimes it’s stunningly bland. Sometimes it resembles a four-door Aston Martin; sometimes it looks like either a Dodge Intrepid or a Chrysler LHS. One thing’s for certain, even though it’s occasionally good-looking, it isn’t the coupe in a sedan’s body that the C-XF concept was. Next time, we’d like to see more aggression and more visual drama.

    Interior Design: ***
    Once again, it depends on when and where you’re looking. At night, the cabin is warm and luxurious, accentuated by the starter button that pulses red, the cool blue mood lighting and the attractive dash. Under the light of day, most of the materials not only look cheap, but really, a Jaguar should never have a steering wheel worse than what you'll find in the Ford brand parts bin. The gimmicky rotary gear selector works well, but lacks damping, so it spins freely without changing gears in time. The switchgear is cheap plastic, which is especially a shame when it comes to the gear shift paddles. The seats also aren’t the quality you’d expect from a $55,000 luxury car. Then there’s the show that happens every time you start the car: the gear knob rises from the dash as the air vents swivel open. Cool the first time, and unless you're James May and/or easily amused, less and less cool every time after.

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  • jalopnik reviews

    2009 Jaguar XF, Part One

    If the Jeremy Clarkson School of Automotive Journalism has taught me one thing, it’s that any good car review needs a metaphor. They serve to add a tangible anchor to a story, they add humor, they add relevance and, more importantly, they create an easy formula with which us car reviewers can crank out reviews in no time flat about a car most readers will likely never drive. So in keeping with the teachings of Professor Clarkson, we’re picking a metaphor for the 2009 Jaguar XF: Seinfeld’s pretty/ugly girl.

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  • 2009 jaguar xf-r

    2009 Jaguar XF-R Powerslides Up The Hill At Goodwood

    With a suspected 5.0-liter supercharged V8 making around 500 HP, the 2009 Jaguar XF-R has no trouble smoking its tires. The black cat crossed the path of spectators at this weekend's Goodwood Festival Of Speed, where Jaguar head of vehicle development Mike Cross power-slid the car up the hill. Nothing better than a bit of hoonage to properly show off a car during its first official public appearance. Even if we're told by the folks at GTSpirit people barely seemed to even notice it at all. We think they'll notice it at the official unveil of the super-cat, which we're hearing will be at the British Motor Show later this month. UPDATE: Thanks to tipster Tom, who had a chance to speak to Mike Cross, we've got a few photos of the front showing the best and clearest shots yet of the catty beast after the jump. They totally need to offer that mask as a check box option, don't they? More »
  • spy photos

    2009 Jaguar XF Caught In San Jose Wilderness

    Reader James P. got quite a fright this weekend while stumbling back to his hotel room in San Jose after one too many virgin marys. A black 2009 Jaguar XF crossed his woozy path. but James was quick-witted enough to snap the pictures you see here. However, he was evidently too hammered frightened to correctly focus his camera. Still, clearly visible are the mid-sized cat's aggressive hood bulges and Infiniti-esque rear 3/4 view. James returned in the morning loaded for big game, but alas found nothing but tracks.

  • gadgets

    Jaguar Creates iPhone and iPod Touch-only Broadband Magazine for New XF

    The car brand all about the cat scratch fever has partnered with the 29HD Network to develop what they're the calling the "industry's first broadband multimedia magazine specifically for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users" to "experience the new Jaguar XF like never before." And by never before they mean on a tiny screen where you don't have to see the Dodge Intrepid-like looks of the 2009 Jaguar XF. Or maybe it'll be the all-James May channel. Although we must say we've worked with the folks at 29HD Network in the past and we're interested in seeing how this one turns out. Full press release after the jump.
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  • top gear

    Top Gear Tests Jaguar XF, Declares it Cat's Meow


    Captain Slow took a turn or two 'round some rolling UK hills in Jaguar's new cat scratch fever, the S-Type replacing 2009 Jaguar XF. Top Gear gives it two strokes thumbs up — as you'd expect from the British motoring show. But the best part has to be when James May claims the XF shows Jaguar's finally got a big brass set again beneath all the fur. We're not entirely sure, but one thing we know for certain — and maybe it's the skillful video production — but for the first time, we're actually liking the XF's Intrepid styling. You be the judge.

  • frankfurt auto show

    2009 Jaguar XF - Now With Video!


    Well, we've now got the first running video of the just revealed 2009 Jaguar XF and yes, it certainly looks better on the road than it did when we first saw the press shots. However, it's still a few steps removed from the hotness that was the concept C-XF revealed at the this year's Detroit Auto Show. And by a few steps, we probably mean flights of stairs. But we digress, at least now we know a little bit more about the sedan that Jaguar hopes will give the pretty kitty brand the title of "the sports sedan brand of the world." Because you know, "it's theirs for the taking." We didn't realize how much the speedometer and tachometer look like the eyes of a cat on that dark black instrument panel. Scary! Guess we'll be waiting to check out the dash ourselves in two weeks at the Frankfurt Auto Show when it's officially unveiled. [Motor Authority]

  • frankfurt auto show

    Jaguar Reveals UK Pricing For XF To Start At $67,973

    After yesterday's official reveal of the 2009 Jaguar XF, the pretty kitty brand from Ford's released pricing in the UK for their new four-door saloon they'll be showing off in Frankfurt next month. Although there's no US pricing, we do know the XF will hit the streets in March of '09 and in the UK will start at the equivalent of $67,973 for the 2.7-liter V6 diesel or the 3.0-liter V6 gas-engined base models and run all the way up to $110,000 for the top of the line model with the big supercharged 4.2-liter V8 running on gas. Full press release after the jump.

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  • frankfurt auto show

    2009 Jaguar XF: Why We Broke The Embargo

    So here's the 2009 Jaguar XF. It represents a new design direction for Ford's up-for-sale luxe brand. Since it was shown as the CX-F concept in Detroit earlier this year, the concept crystallized into the Dodge Intrepid-like four-door XF you see here. All that need be said about it — at least at this juncture — is in the press release (see it after the jump). Perhaps more important is the tortured process that lead to our publication of the picture you see above. Its a sordid tale familiar to those operating inside Eight Mile. Yet again an automaker decided to provide limited embargo access to "trusted" media outlets that have proven less than worthy of that title. It started with a teasing side-shot from Road & Track, then a set of low-resolution shots that arrived on the internet late last week — shots that worked their way through the forums until finally reaching more heavily trafficked international sites and then next to the Road that is ever-Winding and some of the other smaller automotive blogs. Normally we'd have jumped into the breach of the embargo dike along with our fellow internet breathren, handing you the dregs and drippings from another automaker.



    But we, and Autoblog decided individually we'd hold off on running the leaked shots. Instead, we'd...

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