Unlike its antique-looking forebears, the XF appears modern, elegant and powerful. It combines curvy voluptuousness with strong and purposeful presence in a way only the Brits can, and its Aston Martin overtones can only be a strong point, not like those Korean-inspired headlamps.

Sink inside and it’s a kaleidoscope of traditional British lounge-like class and modern Euro savvy — yet it works well and makes the driver feel special. Start up and the air vents fall open and the gear knob pops up — a nice touch, but being a Brit car, how long before it all breaks?

The seats are super cushy and the ergonomics a boon too, thanks to a modern touch-screen set-up. A luxury car for the 21st century then, but how does it fare as a performance car?

You see it here simply because it surprised in that respect too. Faced with a blast around Kyalami, the Jag’s handling proved stunning, better than a Merc CLS and perhaps superior to a 5-Series too. Only hiccup was that DSC nanny that wouldn’t let us do our thing at the very limit.

Performance is also on the very decent side despite this car’s luxo barge bulk, but it’s not exactly scorching. For that we await the R version.

For now, SV8 is a fine performance car for those also pursuing the ultimate in elegance, but a big downside is its price premium over other premium rivals.

Jaguar XF SV8
Price: R783 000
kW/Nm: 306/560
0-100km/h (g): 6.7 secs
Top speed (c): 250km/h
Hot Lap (g): 2m12.9