Months in service:Ten
Miles to date: 27,530
After nearly two months on the East Coast, the Jaguar XF returned to Ann Arbor for the last two months of its yearlong stay in our Four Seasons fleet. Unfortunately, however, the XF developed a problem with its footwear just before its scheduled return. "Both front tires have a major lump in their sidewalls, and the right front also has a chunk of sidewall missing. Twenty-inch wheels and 35-series tires (30-series in the rear): too extreme for real-world driving, perhaps?" pondered senior editor Joe Lorio.
Assistant editor David Zenlea, who was tapped to make the 600-mile drive back to Michigan, proceeded with caution: "The lumpy tires were in plain evidence, and so I stayed within 4 mph of the speed limit for my entire drive. I was somewhat reassured by the fact that there's a real spare tire in the trunk, rather the can of fix-a-flat that's becoming increasingly common. Driving the XF gingerly gave me a chance to see why the old folks in Miami Beach love Jaguars so much. Even with our 20-inch wheels, the Jag enjoys a perfect ride."
Upon its return, the Jaguar was immediately reshod with new Pirelli PZero footwear, and it was back in business in no time-and it wasn't long before Zenlea was back behind the wheel, this time for a trip to the Windy City with his girlfriend, who he was trying to impress with the XF: "Contrary to my expectations, she was not thrown into a heat of passion at the sight of our sleek sedan, but rather, wondered aloud why I didn't bring home the BMW 7-series." Oh well, good try.
The Jaguar has now been in our possession for eleven months, and although its tenure has at times been beset by some frustrating electrical and mechanical issues, we've managed to rack up more than 25,000 miles, a testament to the fact that when this car works properly, we absolutely love it. ...next page >>