The Vehicles Earth

Drove our new XF 2.2 four-cylinder diesel this weekend and was impressed. I ran CAR's first XF long-termer back in 2008/09 - a Midnight black 2.7 V6 TD. It was pretty much universally admired around these parts for its fresh Jag aesthetic, modern, pampering cabin and athletic chassis.

t never felt quite quick enough, though. Jag responded by upping the 2.7 to 3.0 litres in capacity - a move which neatly answered our criticism of lethargic performance. What hope does a 2.2 TD have in a big executive car? Thankfully, the downsized four-cylinder copes more than adequately.

It was cold this weekend and there's a bit of clatter at start-up, but once underway this 2.2 is very refined. At motorway speeds, it's a very quiet car indeed. And the performance is well judged. With 190bhp/332lb ft its outputs aren't that far behind the 204bhp/320lb ft of the 2.7 V6. Which is quite amazing when you think about it. With slightly more torque at just 2000rpm, the XF 2.2 is quite responsive.

Better still, the trip computer claims 40.0mpg. We'll be monitoring the actual economy over the coming months, but this bodes well. We averaged lower thirties in our 2.7.

The best bit about our 2.2 XF? The facelift has radically improved the looks. Most cars age badly and I can't think of many facelifts that really work. You can count the XF among them though. Recapturing the C-XF's wedgy lights is brilliant, although I am not a fan of the bling day-running lights.

The new XF appears to ride more sweetly on its 18in wheels (245/45 R18 - our last XF rode on 19s), although those rims are still big enough to be a bit nuggety. And at last they've got rid of the silly proximity switch on the glovebox in favour of a normal, like, button. Gone are the days of swiping your hand endlessly, wondering why the lid won't pop open. A few good U-turns - I'm pleased to see that Jag's not too proud to ditch the flash things that didn't work.

But would you buy one of these over a similarly downsized A6, 5-series or E-class? We're about to find out. Stay tuned to read our long-term test of the Jaguar XF 2.2 D.

By Tim Pollard