The exterior styling is almost perfect (Or should that be Purfect). I say "almost" because I'm still not totally enthralled by the front grille. To me, it appears a little too plastic for my liking and I believe that the badge should have been mounted on the hood. Never mind though, because the rest of the vehicle makes up for that by being simply drop dead gorgeous.
Ok, some might have knocked the blue oval's ownership of Jaguar but I think that they got several things right. For one, they improved product quality no end (more on that later). Much of this was due to them "re-educating" the British factory staff. Being a Brit myself, I have no problem in saying that the British car workers needs a good kick in the rear every now and then to keep them in line, and that's exactly what Ford did. In fact, Ford told them more then once, if you don't improve the overall quality, we'll move Jaguar production out of Britain.
As a Brit who painfully watched the demise of British Leyland and the UK car industry through constant union strikes back in the 80's, I'm glad they did that.
Many improvements came from Ford redesigning such items as gaskets and oil seals. Ask any older Jag owner and they'll tell you, "If a Jag's not dripping oil on your driveway, then you'd better check that it has some in it".
Lastly, they allowed designers to get creative without worrying about upsetting the whole apple cart. Do yourself a favor and take a look at the XF from the hind quarters, if that doesn't look like a 4 door Aston Martin, then I don't know what does!
Ok, so the car looks the part, but does it prowl and prance like a true feline?
Well, as soon as you climb aboard the XF, you're in for a bit of a shock. Yes, it feels like a Jaguar, but one that's suddenly leapt into the 21st century. A small button on the center console pulses in blood red, like the cars heartbeat, and gentle pressure on this awakens the 4.2L V8 resting under the hood, just as a rotary-style gear selector gracefully rises close by. This entire procedure is wonderful to watch, although if the ventilation system is in operating mode, you could be distracted by the electronically revolving air vents on the dashboard.
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| The exterior styling is almost perfect (Or should that be Purfect). |
Ok, some might have knocked the blue oval's ownership of Jaguar but I think that they got several things right. For one, they improved product quality no end (more on that later). Much of this was due to them "re-educating" the British factory staff. Being a Brit myself, I have no problem in saying that the British car workers needs a good kick in the rear every now and then to keep them in line, and that's exactly what Ford did. In fact, Ford told them more then once, if you don't improve the overall quality, we'll move Jaguar production out of Britain.
As a Brit who painfully watched the demise of British Leyland and the UK car industry through constant union strikes back in the 80's, I'm glad they did that.
Many improvements came from Ford redesigning such items as gaskets and oil seals. Ask any older Jag owner and they'll tell you, "If a Jag's not dripping oil on your driveway, then you'd better check that it has some in it".
Lastly, they allowed designers to get creative without worrying about upsetting the whole apple cart. Do yourself a favor and take a look at the XF from the hind quarters, if that doesn't look like a 4 door Aston Martin, then I don't know what does!
Ok, so the car looks the part, but does it prowl and prance like a true feline?
Well, as soon as you climb aboard the XF, you're in for a bit of a shock. Yes, it feels like a Jaguar, but one that's suddenly leapt into the 21st century. A small button on the center console pulses in blood red, like the cars heartbeat, and gentle pressure on this awakens the 4.2L V8 resting under the hood, just as a rotary-style gear selector gracefully rises close by. This entire procedure is wonderful to watch, although if the ventilation system is in operating mode, you could be distracted by the electronically revolving air vents on the dashboard.
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| The Jaguar XF is wonderfully high tech. |