adminFor me, this is a safe ranking which we as motoring fanatics can relate to and even use to make decisions on buying certain vehicles.
I have driven both, so my piece should be balanced. The Jaguar XF which I test drove courtesy of Premier Auto Services left me breathless. You pay for what you see because the British mean business.
The Jaguar XF boasts a distinctive personality. An interior filled with high-tech toys, a combination of a very powerful engine and a sporty profile distinguishes it from more comfort-oriented luxury cars.
The Jaguar XF throws aside the retro-inspired designs Jaguar has pursued for years, opting for an aggressive, coupe-like profile outside and a high-tech ambience inside.
Playful touches — like a start button that pulses until you push it to ignite the car’s engine, and a stainless steel rotary shift dial that rises out of the console and into the driver’s hand when the car starts — set the XF apart from everything else on the market.
The XF also makes no secret of its sporting intentions. The XF is available in three trims — the luxury model, the Premium Luxury and the Supercharged.
The historic British car company is combining sleek exterior design, innovative driver interfaces and strong performance with a luxurious interior. Yes, it’s a whole new type of cat. And I love it.
The XF has the performance and panache to stand out in the premium mid-size segment . . . and a car with a heart is going to be tough to beat.
Too many manufacturers think their higher-performance sedans have to imitate track cars, down to rock hard seats, tooth-chipping suspensions, a Cray wedged into the dashboard, carbon fibre and a bad-ass nasty demeanour. The XF Supercharged is another kind of car entirely.
All in all a great car which deserves to succeed. It’s for people who shop for distinction and driving pleasure in this price class, the XF is worth serious consideration if you have the cash to buy it. It is a very fine motorcar in a market segment that demands utter perfection but then again most of you out there know that since none of its stable mates has done badly in the past.
The Jaguar XF is intended to be a high-performance car, not a quiet luxury cruiser. While most of its rivals offer a V6 engine, Jaguar sells the XF with a choice of a big V8, or a bigger supercharged V8.
The thing that the XF Supercharged does best is to turn small holes in traffic into big holes with its thick band of thrust. This is no sloppy-but-powerful muscle car, however.
Jaguar abandoned the retro-inspired design theme it had pursued for years when it designed the XF. This car is decidedly more modern, with a sporty coupe-like profile. I bet you it would be hard to find anyone who thinks the new XF is ugly. It has stunning, taut lines that look more like a coupe than a sedan.
Now over to the Germans, the BMW 5 series is an exploration of beauty. It looks a little like a 3 Series from the rear and a 7 Series in your rear-view mirror. This is undoubtedly one of the best executive sedan BMW has ever built.
When a car is as successful — and iconic — as the 5 Series, continuous improvement is a dismally challenging prospect for the design team. This is the icon of all the makes and models in this Bavarian manufacturer’s stable.
The new 5 Series is Adrian von Hooydonk’s most important burden of responsibility to date, since replacing Chris Bangle as head of design. In terms of styling, the von Hooydonk design is a lot safer and more accessible than any of the Bangle works.
Dimensionally the car is bigger, yet the clever surfacing leaves one grappling with whether to class it as ¾ 7 Series or a ballooned 3 Series instead. The rear styling draws strongly from the current 3 Series, while the lower nose and larger kidney grille has 7 Series overtures. So it can be misunderstood but it is without a doubt a car for the classy men and women.
The rear- and side-view cameras render image quality that would shame first generation flat-screen televisions, while the current generation iDrive is as helpful as the original one was obstinate.
In terms of strict engineering analysis the 5-Series boasts 55 percent better torsional rigidity than its predecessor and now has double-wishbone suspension upfront. You all know what this means, more luxurious driving with no flaws.
The new front wheel attachments replace the tested McPherson struts and remain the choice way to control wheel castor and camber behaviour. The double-wishbone set-up is admittedly more complex — and therefore also dearer to produce — yet well worth the price of admission.
The powetrain is quiet, yet the in-line six emits its signature turbine acoustics when hurried about. With peak rotational force of 400Nm staying true from 1 200-5 000r/min performance is effortlessly swift. Statistically the 530d is good for a 6,3sec 0-100km/h sprint (which is not far off the E39 M5’s athleticism) and returned very neat economy figures of 6,1l/100km while on test with a huge tank of 70 litres, it’s also a green car in the making with less emissions. You may be paying over a hundred grand but you will be saving on fuel and buying luxury and peace of mind.
BMW now sets the standard in the premium executive class with its 5 Series offering and it does so rather effortlessly. Available at Quest Motor Corp this vehicle will be yours to display.
Two luxury large cars for you to choose from and both within the same price range. Your choice.
Till next week, be safe and God bless you.
Fact D. Jeke is a motoring enthusiast. She can be contacted via email on [email protected] or on Facebook Torque with Fact jeke.
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