The XF is faring well on the Fleet World long-term fleet. Jonathan Musk reports.

Our long-term test has shown the XF has become the go-to family car for all occasions

Of late, I’ve found myself behind the wheel of many different cars from low budget to upper premium, from saloons to SUVs and hatchbacks. However, each time I return to the Jaguar I’m genuinely impressed by the way it drives, which is something that can all too easily be overlooked if taking one out for a five-minute spin from the showroom. It’s comfortable, smooth, quiet and rapid in equal measure.

Similarly easy to understate is its power. In a power-obsessed world, the 180 horses might not strike you as all that much to push along the XF’s 1,696kg bulk, but it’s the 430Nm torque number that raises an eyebrow. Criticise diesel all you like, but there’s no denying the fuel’s turning force is second only to an electric motor and facilitates the XF’s flexible do-it-all and do-it-well approach.

As such, the XF has become the go-to family car for all occasions. It’s at home whether going to the shops, the recycling centre or a red carpet – the latter enhanced by our car’s 19-inch gloss black alloys (£1,255 option).

Meanwhile, the heated and cooled front seats have been well worth the £540, ensuring bottoms have been kept at the right temperature no matter what the fickle weather has thrown at us.

P11d/BiK: £40,925 (36%) MPG/CO2: 44.1-40.2mpg (WLTP) /144g/km (NEDC Correlated) Test MPG: 40.9mpg