New cat era

> See the gallery

One thing that?s probably as good as we have it back home though, are the roads and that?s the main reason we?re here ? to experience a car that is so perfectly at home everywhere from the A8 Autoroute to the very passes Seb Loeb has made his own on the Rally Monte Carlo. The car I?m talking about though is Jaguar?s brilliant all-new XF ? a machine set to take that executive saloon rulebook and rip it up for once and for all?

I?ve been revelling in XF?s brilliant balancing act between what Jaguar likes to call its fine compromise between the poise and style of a top sportscar and the chic and grace of an acme saloon. It handles brilliantly ? XF I?m quite sure will ask some pretty serious questions of its accepted 5, E, A6 and other pretenders when we finally pit them against each other back home sometime soon. Steering feel is as good as any of those get, it feels like a prepared production racer in the twisties, yet it?s as comfortable and sublime as anything else we?ve driven of late that can call itself a rival in town or on the open road.

There are some areas that a compromise is felt on uneven surfaces while cruising, but to be honest, you have to look hard to find those little shimmies and vibrations that find their way through an otherwise totally effective cocoon. But out on the flat freeway or open road, it?s as supple as the very best.

Chuck it about

Get serious and chuck it about and XF pretty well out-fives a Five series ? its steering may not be quite as precise in terms if total feedback, but that in no way means that the Jag is bad at all. But from there on in, I reckon the class has a new handling star. Roll on our Kyalami Hot Lap in XF ? I'm pretty sure that we not only have a new class king here, but the SV8 is a rather normally positioned car that?ll make life more than just difficult for those other performance branded machines?

I was also impressed by the multi-mode auto 'box ? seamless in the auto mode to impressively responsive in flappy-paddle shift-by-wire sequential shift manual mode.

To look at though, even that it's quickly growing on me in the flesh, it seems XF was designed by a committee ? that beautiful bum would be at home on any Aston Martin, but move round front and you'd be forgiven for thinking this was the next big Kia. In a class where the accepted leader is a Bangled styling catastrophe to say the least, Jaguar would have had a clear winner here if it stayed truer to its concept?s promise in this car, so let?s just say it?s still not brave enough to really take the style leadership it so easily could have.

As I said, it?s already growing on me and it isn?t bad looking but there certainly was an opportunity missed to match the front to this car?s superb rear end styling?

Dynamic repertoire

Inside though, Jaguar hasn?t missed a trick and between this car?s brilliant JaguarDrive gear selector dial and a driver-car interface based on touchscreen technology to prove for once and for all that those Germans are indeed crazy with their over complicated and dreadful-to-use knob-dial systems, XF is a winner. The Jag set-up may also take a little getting used to but it's way more logical and user-friendly than that Hun horror ever could or would be?

The rest of the XF?s dynamic repertoire is seamless, too ? from those delectable seats to a chic combination of leather, wood, aluminium and that high-tech electronic interface is all exquisite, while the start-up show from prodding that throbbing Start button and sitting back to enjoy it coming alive ? the gear selector dial popping up simultaneously with the aircon vents, which till then were hidden on the dash, flop down to reveal themselves amid a laser-show-like instrument wake-up ritual ? all a pure delight.

And I particularly enjoyed the orange seats matching orange stitching in the black Supercharger I drove today, while the all-new JaguarSense system introduces neat proximity-sensing controls for overhead console lights and the glovebox release. XF of course boasts an advanced eight-speaker surround-sound system with a brilliant Bowers & Wilkins set-up in the flagship models, while Bluetooth, optional iPod and MP3 player connectivity and a portable audio device auxiliary port all come ready to go with touch-screen full-function.

Other luxury highlights include JaguarVoice control for navigation and telephone functions, a Blind Spot Monitor, Front and Rear Parking Aids and Rear Camera Parking Aid, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Speed Limiter, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and Electronic Parking Brake.

In SA within a month

Coming to SA within a month, XF will be available in 175kW 293Nm 3.0 V6 petrol and 152kW 435Nm 2.7 V6 Diesel in Luxury trim, both of those plus the 219kW 411Nm 4.2V8 in Premium Luxury spec and the flagship 306kW 560Nm SV8 Supercharged 4.2 V8. Launch prices will range from R499 000 to R784 000 and while the range comes at an exceptional level of standard spec compared to its obvious local rivals, there is also a healthy list of fine options on hand...

In all, Jaguar?s new XF is more than just going to ruffle a couple of feathers in the sporting executive saloon car world ? it?s set to re-establish the pecking order there for once and for all. Yes, Jaguar is in the process of becoming part of Tata, but far from that meaning downspec future Jags joining Indica in an all-new bargain bazaar range, it means that cash-rich and no-nonsense Tata will back Jaguar all the way ? far, far more than Ford likely ever did.

So considering that will basically all come in line with the arrival of perhaps the most important Jag ever in this new XF, it?s certainly the beginning of a vital new era for the Big Cat.

What I now look forward to driving this great machine in our real world back home ? where true beauty matches roads as good as those we drove here on the Riviera. Now that?s something really worth savouring!