Jaguar : Facelifted MY12 XF range features new 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine

Keith Adams

2012 Jaguar XF
2012 Jaguar XF

The XF has received its first facelift, just three years after its introduction. The main visual difference incorporated into the 2012 XF is a new front end featuring new headlamps that resemble those which appeared on the 2007 C-XF Concept as well as the 2009 XJ. However, the big news is reserved for under the bonnet, where a new 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel has been added to the range, to counter the class-leading Audi A6 2.0TDI and BMW 520d.

The new (to Jaguar) power unit pushes out 187bhp and incorporates a stop-start system. The numbers are impressive, though – 149g/km of CO2 and 52.3mpg. Four-cylinder diesels account for a 53% of sales in the XF’s market sector and Jaguar expects more than 60% of XFs sold to be the 2.2d.

The XF’s bonnet has also been reprofiled, with a more prominent power bulge, and further venting in the front bumper. The rear light clusters have also been altered, most notably filling in the ‘missing chunk’ from the original car, cleaning up the back end considerably.

Inside, the changes are more subtle, with a new steering wheel and centre console controls taking the majority of the attention, but the touch-screen has also been updated. Added safety kit includes Adaptive Cruise Control, now with Intelligent Emergency Braking – which can apply the brakes automatically to avoid or reduce an impact. There’s also high-beam assist.

Prices range from £30,950 for the 2.2d in SE trim to £65,350 for the uprated XFR.

 

Keith Adams

32 Comments

  1. I always thought the headlamps on the XF were a bit of a let-down after the C-XF Concept. I’m glad to see they’ve sorted them out now.

    Unfortunately, the XF (which I always liked, just not as much) is now firmly back in the running in my “Which modern Jag would I buy?” fictional internal turmoil…

  2. Personally, I prefer the original version – especially at the front. There is a simple etiquette to LED lights and that is less is generally more. The more busy you make a headlight the more it detracts and, in this case, it’s the epitome of the ‘don’t’ school of design.

    I can live with the back, although I have to admit to preferring the original version here as well. A little quirk is a good thing.

    I think all cars are designed nowadays with the mid-term update firmly in mind – since it means that components can be designed and lead times amply provided for so the bits are there and quality problems are ironed out before the customers get a hold of the revamped cars. It also saves on cost to an extent – the shorter time you give someone to provide something, the more they are likely to charge you…

  3. Some modifier has stuck Peugeot 406 facelift (D9) headlights onto that XF!

    What next? They’ll be using Peugeot diesel engines!

    Why not just name the thing 608 and be done?

  4. The XF is now four years old and this MY12 version looks even more stunning – so much more classier than the usual Munich Airport Taxis littering the Queen’s Highways.

    The new 2.2 Diesel it may have started out as a PSA engine – no bad thing if you think of the XUD – but it has been extensively worked on by JLR Engineers at Bridgend. Jaguar needed a small diesel fast to meet the competition head on and give former X-TYPE owners the opportunity to trade up.

    Don’t forget that, just 18 months ago, JLR went cap in hand to the then Labour Government for a loan to develop new models like the Evoque. Money was very tight after Ford left the scene and the credit crunch in important markets like the States didn’t help.

    The hard work by all at JLR has to be commended – it’s a good example of workers, management, unions and a foreign investor working well together as well as being a fine business model for others to follow.

  5. David 3500 :
    This is all very well, but where is the Estate version I keep hearing about?

    Have a look at the image of a Jaguar XF-R Estate on CCW Automotive Design’s website – that should whet you whistle!

  6. Andrew :
    This looks wonderful. Watch out BMW!

    I’d say that the Jaguar XF’s squaring up to Audi with this facelift. I’m sorry, Jaguars are still beautiful cars but the chintz is starting to creep in.

  7. Well, as much as I disliked the XF headlamp units when the car was released, they were at least distinctive… This facelift makes the XF look rather more anonymous and the LED DRLs are just tacky. The new climate control unit isn’t nearly as nice as the old one either. I’d rather have an Audi A7 based purely on aesthetics.

  8. The MY12 XF looks neat and tidy with more of a family look in common with the XJ. A bit blander than the old one perhaps? Overall though, minor changes to a car which looks sleek and stylish in both forms.

  9. The new lights give the XF a more aggressive front. They have lost the horrible orange indicator bit (hurrah) but gained more bling LEDs (boo). Why does everyone have to follow the crowd? LEDs are rubbish – only BMW have used them well by circling the main lights. All the other manufacturers’ look like aftermarket boy racer items.

    The facelifted MY12 XK is far more like it – the old one looked like someone forgot to design the front – now it looks more what a sports Jaguar should look like!

  10. Well, at least the facelift is mild and in keeping with the car’s existing quality design. The 2.2D should be a useful addition. Existing owners shouldn’t need to worry about their current car becoming the “old” model…

  11. Who would have imagined a few years ago that a 2.2D engine would be the mainstay of an Executive saloon?!

    Indeed, within the EU, petrol engines are almost becoming irrelevant for luxury saloons and SUVs (aside from the BMW M5, Jaguar XF-R and various AMG Mercedes etc.).

  12. Massively desirable and built in the UK too. 🙂 Well done Jaguar for reinventing yourself so effectively.

  13. Can’t say I fancy the look of this blob. I still think it looks like a Vauxhall Insignia that’s eaten one too many kebabs. Repulsive.

  14. @CMPD
    The bottom line is that, if you can’t afford one, you’re opinion doesn’t really count.

    Jaguar had done the retro look for too long and it was affecting sales – people no longer wanted Inspector Morse rehashes. The XF, like it or not, is selling very well despite not having 2-litre petrols or diesels (yet) or an estate (yet) and that alone is bringing much-needed money into the UK.

  15. Mikey C :
    Who would have imagined a few years ago that a 2.2D engine would be the mainstay of an Executive saloon?!

    Indeed, within the EU, petrol engines are almost becoming irrelevant for luxury saloons and SUVs (aside from the BMW M5, Jaguar XF-R and various AMG Mercedes etc.).

    I currently have a 5.0 V8 XF. It’s the naturally aspirated engine and, whilst not as bonkers as the XF-R, it’s a real wolf in sheep’s clothing with a glorious V8 soundtrack. Tragically, the 25mpg fuel consumption means I’ll be going back to a V6 diesel S later this year.

  16. @Landyboy
    25mpg from a V8 is quite respectable!

    I’m getting 20mpg from a 4 pot VTEC paired to an autobox.

    @Simon Woodward
    I appreciate the engine started off as a PSA unit. It is a good starting point. Rover themselves fitted XUDs to the R8 200s.

    HDis are a lot more refined than the TDis, which can sound like tractors on startup!
    I just hope that the HDi niggles that I had, such as MAFs, anti-pollution faults and weak mounts are sorted in the Jaguar – that and the FAP (a frequent mod to an HDi 2.2 is a “defap”).

  17. DaveH :
    Why does everyone have to follow the crowd? LEDs are rubbish – only BMW have used them well by circling the main lights. All the other manufacturers’ look like aftermarket boy racer items.

    Doesn’t forthcoming EU legislation require Daylight Running Lights? That’s just like the old Volvos!

    This latest Jaguar looks good and is such a brilliant alternative to the BMW 3 and 5 Series, which are becoming a bit, well, like a new-build housing estate, just, there…

  18. @Jon
    I know it’s a photoshop re-hash – it was a bit of fun, which is why I posted the details of the website. Actually, most of the stuff on that site is fanciful.

  19. There seems to be some surprise that MY12 XF is using a PSA-derived unit. However, Ford/PSA have been jointly developing diesels based on PSA designs for years. You find PSA diesels under the bonnets of all sorts of things – the older engines found their way into Rover cars, LDV vans etc. Indeed, the current generation BMW MINIs use PSA HDi lumps and most of the Ford TDCi units are shared with Peugeot/Citroen models.

    The production of HDi engines is shared between Ford’s Dagenham works and PSA’s own factories. You could buy a Focus with a French-built engine or a Citroen with a Dagenham-built engine.

    JLR, in fact, already use this 2.2-litre lump in Land Rover range – the Freelander has this engine albeit in a different state of tune. The TDV6 in the Discos can be found in the C6 while the TDV8 in the Range-Rover isn’t fitted in any PSA products, but it’s yet another PSA/Ford design.

    Actually, the only current entirely Ford diesel I can think of is the Transit (aka Puma) engine. The X-TYPE diesel used the Transit engine – nothing wrong WITH that really, but it never sounds good when you say a sports saloon uses “the same engine as a Transit van.” 🙂

    JLR is, of course, no longer part of Ford but they clearly still source their engines through the same channels. It makes good sense to keep all the vehicles in their line-up using the same engines – that makes parts stock holding and training for Service Technicians much cheaper. Filters etc. from the Freelander will fit the Jaguar, Land Rover Service Technicians don’t need extra training and a new workshop manual to work on the Jaguar engine.

    It’s not like, say, the R8 Rovers where there were four different oil filters depending on the engine fitted (Rover K, Rover T, Honda, Peugeot) – a Rover Dealer had to keep stock of four different filters on the shelf not to mention other parts!

  20. @ZigZagJag
    I not moaning about running lights – I run a Volvo S60 but the LEDs look like someone has just bolted them on and not thought about their design.

    Look at Audi’s – they look like someone thought about putting them on after designing the light fittings! I don’t like the look that Volvo has gone for but, at least, they don’t not look like an afterthought.

  21. @Dennis
    The Puma engine was actually designed by Ford using a Peugeot block! The Lynx and Lion engines were developed by Ford and Peugeot on a new block design and Ford actually make more of these units than Peugeot do as the build quality at Dagenham is much higher – must be those Dagenham screwdrivers!

  22. @Dennis
    Most car companies have Joint Ventures with other OEMs when it comes to engines or platforms – the Polish-built Fiat 500/Ford Ka is just one example…

    Ford and PSA produce TDCi/HDi engines from 1.4-litre to 2.2-litre four cylinder form and a 3.0-litre V6 and, with JLR having been owned by Ford in the past, it is not surprising that the small 2.2-litre unit already used in the Freelander has found its way into the XF.

    However, it’s a pity that Jaguar isn’t boosting the engine to the 200bhp which Peugeot extracts from this same block in the 508! Smaller Volvos also use this four cylinder diesel engine – that’s a legacy from when Ford owned Volvo.

    Further back, the Rover 115D used the PSA 1.5-litre found in the Citroen AX/Peugeot 106 Diesel, the 218D/TD used the 1.7/1.9-litre found in the 205/309/405 at the time while, if I’m not mistaken, the 825d engine was a VM unit like the one found on the Iveco vans, the Chrysler Voyager and the Alfa 164 diesel…

    MINI and PSA share the same petrol and diesel engines. However, before that, some small Chryslers shared their engines with MINI – they were built in Brazil!

    Anyway, back to the XF MKII, she looks even more gorgeous – who’d believe it was possible! I can’t wait another five years until the first XFs are affordable!

    Oh, and in response to Landyboy, 25mpg is good for a V8 engine – my S-TYPE 3.0-litre manual gives an average of 28.5mpg!

  23. @DaveH
    I thought the Puma diesel was based on Ford’s first passenger car diesel which was introduced in 1984 and used an adapted Kent block.

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