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"         Class, comfort, technology, perform\u00ADance; the car that best strikes a balance among them (without competing with your mortgage payment) is quite possibly the . When we first received the car, we were thoroughly impressed by its state-of-the-art switchgear, its stylishly bold, Jaguar-divergent wrapper and, of course, the potent supercharged all-aluminum V-8 that moves it all. But our previous experiences with electronics issues in our made us wary when taking delivery of this techno-laden cat from Coventry.   Knowing well what we were getting into when choosing black for our long-term Jaguar XK (though it looked great in black!), we decided on the more neutral shade of Lunar Gray for the . Much to our surprise, though, color had little effect on the car&amp;#039;s fortunes, as our XF experienced its share of bad luck (through no fault of the car).   We racked up close to 47,000 issue-free miles on the naturally aspirated version of this engine in our previous Jag, and wanted to see if the blown version\u2014which added an appreciable 120 bhp and 103 lb.-ft. of torque\u2014would prove as reliable.   Alas, we didn&amp;#039;t get nearly as far this time\u2014before our by an apparently preoccupied motorist. Nevertheless, the juiced-up 4.2-liter was ready to go the distance. The torque we were wanting from the naturally aspirated engine was now always on tap, delivered with a silky snarl. Or, if we so preferred, with a light foot we could silently blend into traffic with the poise of a law-abiding citizen\u2014&amp;quot;almost missed you back there, Ponch!&amp;quot; Curiously the average fuel economy difference between the two V-8s, which shared the same excellent 6-speed automatic transmission, was only about 1 mpg. The supercharged car got 19.8 mpg, which was better than our turbo four. The added power of the supercharged V-8 more than made up for its slight mpg deficit.   With its plush, supportive seats, active suspension and comfortable road manners, the XF was chosen to make a few trips through the Midwest, where the less-than-spectacular roads managed to blow out both left-side tires with a single pothole. It was then that we discovered that low-profile summer Pirelli P Zeros, which work best when full of air, were a bit costly to replace, setting us back almost $1600 after alignment and installation.   We managed to shrug off that incident only to run into Bambi down the road. The body shop parts list for that incident consisted of just about everything on the front end, which wasn&amp;#039;t cheap. But had this been an aluminum-bodied car (like the XK), there&amp;#039;s a good chance the cost of repair would have led to a third Long-Term XF.   Despite the unforeseen expensive repair bills, Jaguar&amp;#039;s engineering confidence kept service at very manageable 10,000-mile intervals (though we still recommend an oil change at least every year). This kept our maintenance costs at a -rivaling low of $265 (total) for the duration of the test. So why the high cost-per-mile figure? Depreciation.   Like so many solid performers before it, the XF takes a hit in the residual value department, which of course only matters if you plan to sell or trade it after a few years of joy riding. We were shocked, excuse us, we mean pleasantly surprised that not a single electric gremlin found its way into a seat control, key fob, or more importantly, the slick but all-too-essential twist-knob shifter that must rise from the center console before it&amp;#039;s of any use.   We believe set out to make a new statement with the XF. It&amp;#039;s one that should echo throughout their bloodline from here on out.   Jaguar has done a commendable job of reinventing itself as a luxury brand in the XF. The design is contemporary, not retro, and yet there&amp;#039;s sufficient wood and leather accents in the pleasing cabin to remind you that, indeed, there will always be an England. \u2014Matt DeLorenzo, Editor-in-Chief   The XF&amp;#039;s boosted V-8 provided nearly limitless torque throughout the rev band, but had the driveability of the proverbial pussycat around town. The variable suspension settings helped keep the car livable for those not living on a sinewy mountain road. The fact that it could seat four with complete comfort merely sealed the deal for me. \u2014Calvin Kim, Assistant Road Test Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/road-tests/reviews/a3540/wrap-up-2009-jaguar-xf-supercharged/>