Posted 08.20.2008

2009 Jaguar XF Premium Luxury Sedan

By Jeff Rundles

The 2009 models are beginning to stream into the marketplace, and while I am sure there will be some surprises - like Chrysler touting large trucks and SUVs, some with massive hybrid engines, at a time when the marketplace is headed in another direction - there couldn’t possibly be anything more surprising than this new Jaguar XF.

Yeah, it’s a V8 luxury sedan at a time when the marketplace is all gung-ho for small and economical, but hey, some luxuries are worth hanging on to. I read the other day that some people are forgoing other things in their lives to be able to hold on to some vices, like chocolate, so I imagine that this car is pure, dark Godiva.

I just say that upon hearing that the new XF was in the offing, my expectations were low, for two reasons. First, Jaguars I have driven lately have been dated, and I have said more than once while the models in the line are very nice, they haven’t had any updates in a while and they sorely need them to stay competitive. Second, Jaguar is owned by Ford, and Ford hasn’t exactly been chalking up brownie points for its great automotive decisions of late. Moreover, Ford has been talking about selling off its luxury brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, like it did a while back with Aston Martin, and I figured, since the company is in a bit of a crisis, why would it invest to improve something it has pretty much declared is for sale?

Anyway, as I said my expectations were low. On the first reason - needing an update - I have to give it to Ford and Jaguar: this is an upgrade; competition beware. On the second reason—that Jag is for sale so why update - I suppose Ford took an entirely different approach to the sale idea: update to something smashing that would improve the chances for a sale at a good price. Buyers should be beating down the doors.

During my test-drive week behind the wheel of the 09 Jag XF, my family had scheduled a get-away to the mountains, so we took this car to Glenwood, up to Sunlight, and on to Aspen. I had the opportunity to really let it out on the highway, and I did some twisty mountain driving too, giving me the opportunity to really check it out. Check and recheck. All my doubts melted away.

I should add that since I have been reviewing cars now for some 25 years, my wife and children have gotten pretty good at sizing up automobiles, and they are often very helpful at all the bells and whistles. After some time in the car - and remember this is an audience steeped in cars - we all took guesses at what it might cost to own one of these. Now lately, of course, I have had a tendency to guess low, and I have been shocked at some of the price increases on venerable models (see: BMW, Mercedes, et al). So here I thought of that and guessed $80k, a little more than I really thought but I wanted to take into account the upswing recently. My wife, who always over guesses on price because she thinks every car is over-priced, said $85k. In the ballpark, as it were. My sons and daughters of driving age said $75k, and my youngster, age 10, said $70k.

To say we were shocked when we pulled out the sticker was an understatement. This particular test-drive model is the middle of three trims available: the Luxury, or base, trim has a MSRP of $49,200; this Premium Luxury model carries a price of $55,200; and, the Supercharged trim is a MSRP of $62,200.

But there’s more. Yes, the MSRP here is $55,200, but the only added money is the destination charge of $775. The sticker bottom line is $55,975, and people, I’m tellin’ you, that is an excellent, unbelievable price on this loaded ride. Wow!

There are a couple of minor downsides, but they need to be put into context. First, Jaguar has gone to a new hood logo. Gone is the historic leaping, 3-D Jaguar, and in its place is a full-face cat, and an ugly one at that. I suppose they did away with the hood ornament

Last updated on Nov 02, 2009 at 10:25 AM