Favourite things

With a 300PS diesel engine and a lightweight, handsome body, the XF 3.0 TDV6 S could be the editor’s best-choice saloon of the current range. To discover if that’s true, he takes an example to a well-loved location of his, the Yorkshire Dales.

- Paul Walton

THE AMERICAN actor Vincent Price wrote once, “I know what I like. I like art – and I like what I know.” I know what I like, too: cars with big,powerful engines clothed in beautiful, svelte bodies. Being a Yorkshireman, if they’re also economical and cheap to run, then so much the better. It’s for this reason that the 3.0-litre diesel version of the XF S might be my favourite model in Jaguar’s saloon range. I think it’s certainly prettier than its siblings – small or large – which, together with a strong and powerful V6 diesel engine, make for an appealing combination.

To put my belief to the test, I’m taking an XF 3.0 TDV6 S to my favourite place in the UK: the Yorkshire Dales.

It might be a while since I lived in Yorkshire, but, having grown up close to the Dales, the area still feels like home. Places like Reeth, Low Row and Mukar remain as familiar to me as my current street in the East Midlands, while the soft rolling hills have never lost their appeal. I may not get back as often as I’d like, but ask me where I’d most like to be in the UK, and I’ll always say here. More importantly, because the roads that slice through the area have fast corners and long straights, it’s a great place to evaluate a car in real-world conditions.

Of Jaguar’s current saloons, the one I’d rather drive is the XF.

Ever since I first drove the model a couple of years ago [see JW, October 2015, p32], I’ve been smitten by its gorgeous design with proportions that are arguable better than either of Jaguar’s other two saloons, from every angle. The delicate, feminine line from the rear window over the boot is particularly pleasing, reminding me of the X150-generation XK.