Jaguar XF interior, tech and comfort
- Quality for the most part good
- Physical controls for key functions welcome
- Infotainment not as slick as class best
How is the quality and layout?
Despite a facelift in 2021, the Jaguar XF looks a bit old-fashioned inside, although that does have its advantages. While you have to dig around in the touchscreens of the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series to adjust the climate control, the XF has a separate panel ahead of the gearlever.
Physical buttons would have been preferable to the touch-sensitive icons, but the dials to control temperature and, with a press, the heated and potentially cooled seats. The steering wheel has a mix of physical and touch controls, proving easier to use than the purely touch-controlled E-Class.
The XF’s interior doesn’t have the razzamatazz of a Mercedes E-Class, but is decently built and has plenty of rich materials. These include real leather seats where many rivals are switching to man-made stuff that just doesn’t feel as good. Even so, the 5 Series’ is overall better for quality.
Infotainment and tech
The 11.4-inch, curved centre touchscreen is reasonably easy to operate but isn’t quite as responsive as those found BMW and Mercedes cars. The XF’s graphics also don’t look quite so impressive as the newer systems and it can’t match their connected services or voice control. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both standard, though.
The 12.3-inch digital driver’s screen is standard on all models and proves clear and easy to read. The menu system takes some getting used to but allows you to scroll through a good selection of info. Some may want a greater variety of display styles as offered by Mercedes and Audi.
The optional head-up display has also improved over the years, with big, clear, coloured font as opposed to the early iterations and its orange, dot-matrix-like display lifted from the 1990s. The unit itself continues to look rather crudely grafted onto the top of the instrument binnacle, though.
Is it comfortable?
- Supportive seats
- Good driving position
- Noisier than rivals
Jaguar XF comfort was already well-regarded and this iteration takes this to a new level. Most obvious is the increased interior space and ease of access, despite the overall reduction in the XF’s length and height. The cabin is lighter and more airy thanks to an increased glass area, including a third side window behind the rear doors. The added benefit of which is the door itself can be more upright in shape making getting in and out easier.
Those seats themselves are new to this generation XF and look tauter and sportier, but are no less comfortable for it. The XF’s stiffer body makes it inherently quieter inside with less chance for squeaks and rattles to develop, while the soft-close door option prevents louder slams.
The XF is generally quiet over most roads, but the cracks start to show when the amount of road noise resonating in the cabin at motorway speeds builds up over rougher surfaces. It’s by no means deafening, but most rivals provide a more hushed environment, which is a bit of a shame as Jaguar installed a road noise cancelling system as part of the 2021 facelift.
Even the petrol engines sound rather coarse and send quite a few vibrations through the steering wheel at idle. Thankfully, they smooth out at a cruise.
