2016 Jaguar XF Makes its Debut

2016 Jaguar XF (Credit: © Jaguar)

Well, that was a whole lot less exciting than Jaguar led us to believe. Sure, the XF made its debut by driving across two tightropes, but safety crews rigged it with tons of harnesses and its tires had grooves to better grip the ropes (video below). Either way, the new XF made its debut, and as I expected, it is essentially an evolution of the 2015 model.

Starting with the exterior, the new XF has revised headlights, and updated hood, a wider front grille, and an updated front bumper. Jaguar also took the time to change the dimensions of the new XF, making it 0.3 inches shorter and 0.1 inches lower than the 2015 model. It also expanded the wheelbase by 2 inches, and incorporated more aluminum to drop the sedan’s weight by 132 pounds with rear-wheel drive and 265 pounds with all-wheel drive.

In 2016, the XF will be available with a pair of 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 engines. The base engine will produce 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, while the optional engine will push the horsepower number to 380. Both engines will mate to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

As I mentioned earlier, the 2016 XF will be available with rear- or all-wheel drive, with the all-wheel-drive system featuring a torque on-demand system and a chain-driven transfer case. Like the F-Type AWD, the XF’s all-wheel-drive system offers rear-wheel-drive-like driving dynamics in normal driving situations, giving you the chance to get this sedan’s tail a little loose is you so desire. Also included is an All-Surface Progress Control System, which manages the brakes and throttle to automatically pull away cleanly in adverse conditions.

Inside the cabin, the XF receives some new tech gadgets, like the new InControl Touch system that uses an 8-inch screen. Buyers can opt for the InControl Touch Pro system, which upgrades to a 10.2-inch screen. The Pro system also gets a solid-state hard drive, a quad-core processor and Ethernet connectivity. Other new features include the 12.2-inch TFT instrument cluster and a laser heads-up display.

We’ll learn more about the 2016 Jaguar XF when it make its debut at the 2015 New York Auto Show on April 1st.