2009 JAGUAR XF 2008 Infiniti Journey

After more than 18 years under Ford's umbrella, Jaguar is being sold to India's Tata Motors, certainly beginning yet another era of speculation and naysaying about a foreign company's fitness to steer a storied British brand. Model updates are always in the pipeline years before they appear at dealerships, but the Jaguar XF is Ford's swan song as far as all-new models are concerned. The midsize luxury sedan replaces the S-Type, which has been underwhelming audiences since the 2000 model year. With new exterior styling, a more contemporary interior design and a host of high-tech features, the XF is a worthy if relatively expensive competitor to the leading German luxury sedans. With a starting list price of $49,200, the base trim level, called the XF Luxury, is closer to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class ($51,200) than it is to the most affordable versions of Audi's A6 ($42,950) and BMW's 528i ($44,300). The two higher XF trim levels include the Premium Luxury and the Supercharged. I spent most of my evaluation in a Supercharged, but also tested the Premium Luxury. Exterior & Styling The XF has exterior styling that some people love and some people don't, and that usually translates to above-average sales. The front end doesn't knock me out it recalls a 2006 Chrysler Sebring after a makeover, but that's completely subjective, of course. My greater concern is over the grille, which is something I harped on in my XK review, too. This is a more affordable car, but I still don't think that excuses the cheap-looking chromed plastic grate. I find it offensive. In fairness, the grille on Bentley's Continental GT is just as bad at more than three times the price, but that's just thrice the shame on Bentley. I've also seen much better plastic grilles on more modest cars from non-luxury brands. On the upside, the vents in the front fenders manage to look distinctive at a time when the entire auto industry including modest non-luxury cars are incorporating them. They're more like gills than vents or grates. Also, the muscular hindquarters and sharply raked windshield give the XF an athletic look. The XF is a satisfying driver's car, but the luxury car experience has a lot to do with the inside. That's where some of the XF's greatest strengths are found, so I'll start there. Cool & Contemporary For a brand that's well on its way to becoming the powdered wig of luxury cars, the XF's interior is a welcome step forward. The old-world approach had gotten, well, old. Without throwing out the entire brand identity, Jaguar designers modernized the shapes and many materials and elevated the whole experience through artistic use of lighting and theater (or perhaps I should spell it theatre): Open the door, and the engine-start button pulsates red like a heartbeat. Press it and the engine springs to life with a characteristic growl, and the cabin is bathed in cool blue light. The gauges and buttons, also backlit in blue, recall a color scheme introduced by Volkswagen many years ago, but here the hue makes for more legible readouts. The four air-conditioning vents in the dashboard's expansive standard aluminum trim panel rotate 90 degrees from their closed positions. No, this doesn't serve a necessary purpose, and yes, they are powered moving parts that could break someday, but people eat this stuff up. I ate it up, and I would have eaten more if it had been served. It's just cool in a way lights and materials can't be. Movement be it powered vents or an elaborate cupholder mechanism has true appeal. Meanwhile, a knob hidden right where your hand rests on the center console motors upward. Looking like one of those blasted multifunction controller knobs employed by several other luxury brands, the JaguarDrive Rotary Gear Selector is in fact a single-function knob that does its job very well. Its function is to select among the six-speed automatic transmission's PRNDS settings while taking up much less space than a conventional shift lever would.