Should you buy one?

The advent of low CO2 plug-in hybrids make the XF hard to recommend as a company car, but as a private buy it still makes a lot of sense. For a start, it’s an awful lot of car for the money, costing a five-figure sum less than immediate rivals.

With that in mind, you can forgive it a few things, especially as it’s so good to drive. We wish there was still the option of a six-cylinder motor, but performance is still brisk enough for most and enough to have a little fun.

This is still the best driving executive saloon of this size, and while the cabin is finally up to scratch, it’s not quite as sturdy or as finely finished as the more expensive German rivals. When you’re up against the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, that’s a problem.

What we like

The XF handles well and remains comfortable, while the engines are punchy. It’s spacious, well equipped and very cheap for what it is.

What we don’t like

The engines sound coarse and the petrols aren’t very efficient. Jaguar reliability is also always a concern.