Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Woman's Eye Car Review: Jaguar XF

CAR REVIEW : The Jaguar XF: Skinning the Cat




With the use of a Jaguar XF for a long weekend, the initial questions seemed to be-where to go and what to wear? Monte Carlo in Jeremy Clarkson jeans and cravat? Val d’Isere in ski pants and a thong? (No, I don’t think so- I always gets them back to front - forever the girl to get the thin end of the wedgie). I eventually gave in to a Zara dress and some alarming tartan tights- not forgetting a change of shoes to road test the level of the accelerator against my stilettos...

The Jaguar XF 2.2 was named Women’s World Car of the Year in 2010: the 8 women judges based their assessment according mainly to the parameters of ‘safety, ease of driving, storage space, value for money, child-friendliness, colour and sex appeal’ ...no talk of torque or whinnying about horsepower for them then, which is fine by me.

There’s something about the rounded shape of the Jaguar XF (like the New Beetle perhaps-that reminds women of-is it a baby’s face or a baby’s bottom? I can never remember)...but it has that aesthetically pleasing curviness of the Beetle bodywork ...the XF is the luscious Marilyn Monroe of motors. Everything about the XF exudes classiness and good taste...long gone are any connotations of dodgy second hand car salesmen in Arthur Daley sheepskin coats. Add to this the near space- station feel of the interior with the rising gear shift dial from the centre console on ignition and the automatic dashboard instrument-exposing sequence and I felt like singing Ground Control to Major Tom (Tom) each time I got in.

But what I found most interesting is that, even amongst women who say they are not interested in cars, the Jaguar brings admiring glances and accolades. My friend Pip (hates cars) was practically drooling over the leather seats and cosy womb-like interior of the front cabins. She did point out though, that the rear seats will only accommodate two people comfortably, with the centre occupant having to position one foot either side of the raised mid- section. In its defence, however, there are centre restraint harness points, providing it with kiddy friendly Brownie points.

The Jaguar XF is the thinking woman’s car, that doesn’t require you to do too much thinking: automatic headlight function when dusk approaches is fab, but I personally found the dampening of radio volume on reversing (I’m sure this can have been overridden if I’d known how) quite interesting...I can often be found reversing in to the teensiest of parking spaces, music at full blast, whilst crocheting a hat and filing my nails...but then not everyone can multitask. Come to think of it, the interior of my particular model was very masculine indeed –all black leather and mesh chrome dashboard; more walnut would have been welcome as would more muted colours-but many colour options are available-cream leather interior as well as a choice of 15 different exterior colours.

Rear wheel drive means that the Jaguar XF takes on the feel of its insignia on acceleration (pouncing forward, all power rests in its haunches, whilst the front wheels are free to steer). The XF handles like a dream, with supremely sensitive and nimble steering and powerful acceleration capacity making overtaking an extremely safe and satisfying experience. Braking is also swift and steady as was cornering, the weight distribution between all four wheels feeling much steadier and controllable than either front wheel or four wheel drive. Panoramic visibility was also a great point- I’ve never driven anything that gives a better all round view of the road.

Other pluses include standard extras of Sat Nav, reverse parking sensors , heated front seats, Bluetooth and USB ports, removable drinks containers-making for easy cleaning- and great boot space. But one small niggle about the boot: instead of springing in to action on release you have to keep nudging it to open fully...but I’m sure I could live with that.

Which gets me to thinking (sorry-that’s a bit Carrie Bradshaw) ‘why don’t more women lust after luxury cars? ‘ Most women are spending longer and longer each day of our lives travelling in them...and when we do take an interest why do we always seem to go for the smaller variety? Is it the psychology of women taking up less space(men tend to spread themselves out physically-cars can be seen to be an extension of this)...but also one of confidence and control: are we in control of the car or is the car in control of us? And what is it about luxury cars that we feel are so out of bounds to us gals? (Besides the price tag, that is) My 18 year old daughter loved it but said she would never want one... she already equates cars with small and cosy, whereas most boys seem intent on speed and performance...and size.

Come Monday, the guy from Jaguar was eager to get the car back to base. We had a bit of a tussle with the keys...you know how it is: that instant of momentary recognition, when you hold on to something for just a fraction too long...well, ok- he did have to wrestle them off me, and I slunk away with just the twinkle of a tear in my eye...One day, Marilyn, you will be mine...



Speccy Bits

Price: from £29,950

Lease Hire Deals : from £342 pcm

Fuel Consumption/Eco friendliness: Fuel economy-the stop-start function is said to conserve between 5 and 7% of fuel-Consumption around town 42.8, out of town 58.9 Combined 52.3 mpg

Tank Range: 800 miles

CO2 emissions: 149g/km

0-60 in 8 seconds

Safety Rating NCAP rating: 4 star

Colourways: white, cream, brown, red, light and dark blue, light green, black, grey...and something that looked like purple

High Heelability Perfect for up to 3” –was struggling with the accelerator pedal on 4 inchers-not to be recommended

Competitors: Audi A6. Mercedes CLS and E Class, BMW 5 Series

Overall Desirability: Fight me for the keys (PS – I’m a Black Belt 2nd Dan in Karate)

A Me-Mo Car Review


Ruthie at www.me-mo.co.uk



Next Review: Fiat 500 TwinAir








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posted by Ruthie @ 2:20 PM 1 Comments