To tow or not to tow? That is the question.
For those who have not being paying attention or forgotten, TT have secured a series of cars to do a towing car review. The task has been passed to me as EVERYONE suggests it is about time I put my old Passat W8 4WD auto out to pasture after 210,000 miles and buy something a bit more up to date. Secondly, as a collector of old Italian bangers, having a car trailer and a car capable of towing it or the bangers is clearly essential!
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Sadly the day Jaguar delivered the car to TT, it started to snow and the temperature plummeted. The XF was also fitted with 20’’ wheels, to which I will return later. Consequently, as I have a few life rules, do’s and dont’s, the less Tabloid interesting of which is: To take care of other people property better than my own, I wasn’t prepared to take the risk of towing anything in that weather.
That immediately goes to the crux of the issue with this particular XF and the UK XF range in general. A few years back jaguar released 4WD versions of their current range. A bit of a no brainer, when your sister company is Land rover and there are common engines etc. They currently don’t sell them in RHD though! Apparently the market was thought to be too small. I find this decision strange. They have just released a 4WD version of the F coupe, so perhaps change ison the way. BMW recently introduced 4WD options in the 3 series. Again with 4WD versions of X3 etc it can’t have been that difficult. Now, about 33% of all 3 series sales are 4WD. In mainland Europe Mercedes and BMW have been selling 4WD versions of most of their models for years. Apparently the ‘re-engineering costs’ for RHD ‘prevented’ them selling them here. With the number of SUV and 4WD cars about now, that product planning can no longer be sustainable. The XF is due to be replaced later this year and hopefully that product planning may change.
Accordingly, the test car had: A 275bhp engine with 600Nm of torque, mated to a RWD chassis; A kerb weight of 1850kg and a towing weight of just 1850kg! Had it been 4WD then the towing weight would be similar to the Volvo XC70 we tested last and be about 2100kg. The Land rover discovery with the same engine is rated at towing 3500kg, although there are other significant factors for the difference. Having used many vehicles to tow, FWD/RWD and 4WD, my view is that 4WD gives significantly better stability and towability.
The second issue and the one that worried me most was the 20’’ wheels. They are standard with this high end model. They look great, but a towing car needs to perform a function above appearance. Using the car in snow and ice constantly had the traction control on. The car was fitted with a winter driving mode, which cuts power and pulls the car away in 2nd gear. I used this the whole time I had the car. My concern is that with say a heavy trailer on the back, 20’ wheels and short tyre wall height, that, the normal ‘flex’ one wants in sidewalls to absorb minor trailer movements, wouldn’t be there. One would need to rely then on the electronics to keep the car/ trailer stable. In ice and snow, that simply isn’t a risk I would take. Having driven other XF’s with smaller wheels I was not conscious of the same lack of traction. Interestingly fro the new XE range the ride has been engineered to best on 18/19’’ wheels. As is self-evident I am not a great fan of massive wheels and low sidewall height tyres.
The test XF was a near top of the range Portofino version. The fit finish and quality were all very good. It is a 7 year old model now and whilst everything was, as in the Volvo XC70 well planned and thought out. Does it have that special feel that a £48.000 car should instil in you every time you jump in it? Views differ on this. At TT we subject cars to tests many others haven’t or won’t think about. One tester has two Mothers in Law. They were used in the test! There is an Old Italian saying; ‘Behind every successful man, stands a surprised Mother in Law’. The car passed that approval test.
Having been driven thousands of miles across Europe in old Jaguars in the 60’s and 70’s, and being a great fan of those old jags, the feeling one should have in the XF should link back to that heritage. Like them; it had the wonderful aroma of good leather; It had a style about it, which separates it from its competitors and it is the most handsome car in its class, especially in Sportbrake form. A trick Mercedes seem to have forgotten about.
Due to the weather, we didn’t try and fully exploit the handling and road holding which many suggest is best in class. It seemed competent. The higher speed ride and control was very good. Strangely the very low speed ride was poor, but both testers suspected an intermittent issue with a front o/s damper. It is unusual for a car to have differing quality rides between speeds. Unless fitted with winter tyres I wouldn’t be comfortable driving this or indeed most short side walled 2WD cars about in very bad weather at anything other than a conservative pace. The brakes were excellent and pulled the car speed down quickly and smoothly. They were easy to modulate which is essential for towing.
With 600Nm of torque and 275bhp, performance was very good but again not exploited. The car will easily complete most required overtaking. It seemed happy at high speed motorway cruising with plenty of performance in reserve, should you need the occasional 130mph cruise! Overall refinement was much better than the XC70, and in most driving indistinguishable from a petrol engine. On test it averaged about 30mpg. The trip computer which hadn’t been reset, showed 36mpg over 722 at mainly higher speed driving. Certainly on a long motorway drive it was averaging about 37mpg. In summary, powerful refined and economical.
The 8 speed auto was very smooth and had the now standard paddles for changing gear if needed. Kickdown was quick. To get best control the paddles made kickdown very nearly redundant. Many cars in this segment are now fitted with 7-9 speed gearboxes. Going back 40 years 3 speeds were the norm. With all that torque available I do wonder if this does contribute significantly to smoothness, economy or performance or is more a sales gimmick to see who has ‘most’ gears. I do struggle with this engineering justification in modern turbo engines. It would have been very interesting to see if the 8 speeds could have smoothed out towing inclines and speed changes when you need to drop a gear or two, but sadly we didn’t get that chance.
There were a few electrical glitches during test. The heated windscreen wouldn’t work immediately, unlike say a Fiestas. Apparently it is an issue to do with electrical load. The central touch screen which controls the operation of most functions, can’t be operated with gloves on and again seemed a bit temperamental.
It is perhaps a reflection of my age (57) and ‘younger’ tester’s perceptions, that additionally I was thought to be the ‘target market’ for this type of car. Jaguar have been working hard to lower the profile age of the typical buyer for their cars, and I do think it is a bit of an unfair characterisation. Anyway, apart from the younger tester now having a sore ear, he is also wrong about the car. Jaguar want to portray the car as a stylish alternative to the ubiquitous choice of Mercedes BMW and Audi. With those manufacturers seemingly launching a new model every few minutes and creating niches no one knew existed, I think Jaguars problems are more deep rooted. At £48,000 for a top end 3.0 diesel auto, this car has to shine. In some area, or some way. I don’t think one basic RWD model can cover every base. What it does, it does well, but what it isn’t designed to do, style and options simply can’t cover the failings. I don’t think that is an age issue for me or the car. It is simply one of multiple better alternative choices for the specific towing test here.
At TT the testers are allowed to work to their own criteria without a ‘TT style’ being laid down. One issue that does bother me about car tests is how dirty they get and more particularly where they get dirty. The photos taken show the car as tested, that is dirty and used. The point being, that with modern wind tunnels and aerodynamics, should we have filthy side windows; much worse; door mirrors which get filthy and unusable; rear windows which are constantly needing wiped? I am not singling this car out for special criticism, just highlighting the point. Much of these problems could be addressed in design. They are seldom reported, yet are significant practical day to day importance. If you just like polishing and washing your car, then they won’t, if you actually drive it every day in all-weathers it does. I would like to see these issues more widely tested and reported upon.
Finally, you may have noticed the complete absence of my typical blondist remarks in this review. We at TT take criticism seriously. Out of deference to the adverse comments received I have avoided blondist references. Should anyone have a use for the remainder of a headless horse carcass, could they email me or leave a comment HERE.
CAR: Jaguar XF Sportbrake Diesel S Portfolio
PRICE: £42,895 (£47,683 as tested)
POWER: 3.0 V6 D S 275PS, 600Nm
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 155mph (limited) 0-62 mph 5.9 secs
MPG: 47.1 mpg combined
CO2 EMISSIONS: 159 g/km
TT RATING:
