Jaguar XF 2008-2015 verdict

The Jaguar XF is still the king of dynamics. So if you care about such things - and as a reader of these pages, you undoubtedly do - the Jaguar XF should still be your default option in this class.

There are other class highlights on offer, too, most notably the largely (but by no means completely) fabulous cabin environment.

The intangible delights of the Jaguar set it apart

Steve Sutcliffe

Editor-at-large

Still, it's a bit of a shame that for some buyers it won't be quite so straightforward, because there are shortcomings that need to be considered.

For instance, we can't gloss-over the fact that the 2.2D needs lower CO2 emissions to really take the fleet fight to the super-efficient BMW 5 Series 20d or Audi A6.

And for all the abundant quality, the list price of the larger diesels really does pit them against the opposition from Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

But for us - and, we'd recommend, for a good deal of you, too - the intangible delights of the Jaguar will be more than enough to offset its more quantifiable shortfalls elsewhere.