Jaguar will be in attendance at the New York Auto Show with the facelift version of their XF luxury sedan. The company is headed into 2012 with an addition of a diesel version to the XF engine lineup, which will even be available on the US market.

 

The new 2.2-liter diesel unit will deliver a total of 190 HP and 332 lbs ft of torque, while returning 52.3 mpg on the combined cycle and only 149 g/km of CO2. It will feature a water-cooled turbocharger with low-friction pistons, new injectors, and a new crankshaft. The new configuration allowed Jaguar engineers to add a new oil pan and new electronic systems which affect the crankshaft to allow the new intelligent Stop-Start system to operate more efficiently. The new engine will be mated to an advanced eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox, with the seventh and eight ratios effectively acting as overdrive gears.

 

 

With this type of setup, the diesel XF will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 8.5 seconds and will hit a maximum speed of 140 mph.

On the road, the XF has mucho whoosh over a nice wide torque spread, and plenty of refinement nearly all the time. Sometimes you notice the 'box has been set for obsessive economy - get stuck behind a truck at a steady 50mph, and it goes for seventh, leaving the engine grumbling agriculturally at about 1,200rpm. But you always over-ride with the paddles. On a motorway, it's just a distant hum. And as the engine is a bag of cement lighter than the V6, it's even better in sharp corners.

 

As to the numbers, if you compare auto with auto (Jag gives no manual option), the BMW 520d is still a sliver more economical and speedy. But not so's you'd notice. If you like the XF, there's now no rational reason to buy a rival saloon.