"It's not a real Jaguar," said my lovelier wife (with apologies to Justice Malala) when I pulled up outside our home in the new XF. "There's no leaping jaguar on the bonnet."
She's a traditionalist. She describes the modern Jaguar emblem built into the front grille as "a tinfoil badge from a Lucky Packet". It's a view with which I find it difficult to argue.
The question of what constitutes a "real" Jag has been around for a while. I have an FM colleague whose lifelong desire has been to own a Jaguar. When he finally achieved that ambition with his current car, the pride was dissipated a little by the revelation that the Jaguar skin of his particular purchase hid a Ford skeleton. Ford, which owned the British-based company until selling it to the Indian Tata conglomerate last year, built a number of Jaguar models on Ford platforms. In pursuit of cost-effective design and manufacture, the American giant was accused of "dumbing down" the Jaguar legacy.
Ford was a more than willing seller but Tata may have timed the purchase impeccably. If international market reaction to the XF is anything to go by, Jaguar may be rediscovering its mojo.
The XF - designed and launched in the Ford era - has won a flurry of awards around the world, for attributes as diverse as looks, performance and caravan-towing. In SA, it can accurately claim to possess the "Wow!" factor. It was recently voted SA women's car of the year by a jury from Women On Wheels magazine, who described it as "the finest executive car on our roads".
Maybe it's because I'm not a woman (last time I looked, anyway) that I'm not quite so blown away. I enjoyed the XF. It's comfortable, there's plenty of space, it has lots of features and it handles well. But it didn't blow my socks off.
The range debuted in SA in 2008. This year's updated range includes two 3 V6 engines, a pair of 3 diesels, and two 5 V8s. Top of the range is the supercharged XFR.From the rear and side, the XF is a strikingly elegant car. Stand in front, though, and you get an eyeful of the radiator grille. It's a subjective issue, and others disagree, but I think the grille is too dominant and spoils the overall effect.
It's a different story inside, where I like the uncluttered simplicity of the layout. It's a little too uncluttered when you get in the first time. Where's the bloody automatic transmission control? All soon becomes clear. Press the pulsating start button and the "JaguarDrive Selector" containing the auto gear selector rises from the centre console between driver and passenger. Jaguar describes the sequence, which also opens the fascia vents, as the XF's "welcoming handshake".
Leather, aluminium and wood veneer abound. There's no doubt this is a car aimed at the luxury market. Any doubts are removed by the price, which ranges from R565 000 to R955 000. One thing confuses me. There are two comfort levels: luxury and premium luxury. Luxury is luxury. It's like being half-pregnant.
Depending on which model you buy, limited top speeds range up to 250 km/h and 0-100 km/h acceleration times down to 4,9 sec. Everything about the car is intended to revive the brand's heritage of sporty luxury. Jaguar claims the XF's body shell to be the stiffest in its class, to improve ride and handling. These are further enhanced by two new chassis technologies - adaptive dynamics and active differential control - which improve traction and torque.
So everything is there for a great ride. But during the week I drove the XF I failed to detect the spark that differentiates a good car from a great one. The car did everything I wanted, it was nice to drive, but I felt detached. There was no buzz.
Did I really write "nice"? Jaguar is not supposed to make nice cars.
WHAT IT COSTS
 From R565 000 to R955 000
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Ranking the Analysts 2009
