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Jaguar puts Mourinho on ice

There is principal among the persecuted to embrace insults and turn them around. That's how the gay community turned "queer" from a pejorative term into a badge of pride. Now Jaguar has done the same with "footballer's car." While this has been generally seen as the UK equivalent of a "rapper's car," generally a big four-wheel-drive such as a Range Rover, blinged up so as to make it unusable off-road, Jaguar has taken the curious step of deliberately putting a footballer in the new F-Pace. Before you can even buy a Jaguar F-Pace, the company has taken ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho to Northern Sweden to drive a prototype on ice. And there is not an ounce of bling about the event. It was run on 60 km (37 miles) of frozen lake at Jaguar Land Rover's extreme testing facility in Arjeplog, Sweden, which is 40 miles from the Arctic Circle. And it's not just JLR engineers who get to do this. Jaguar sells the "Jaguar Ice Drive Experience," while Porsche has something similar and if you really want to go for it there is a company that does it in Porsches, Maseratis, and the wonderful Alfa 4C. But those are not footballers' cars. Jag quotes Mourinho as saying, "The experience was magnificent. For people in my world, I think a few days in a place like this is magnificent." However even if you read it in a Spanish accent it still sounds like it was written by a PR man. Ditto the quote "I am always learning. Even in football, which is an area that obviously I feel that I'm an expert, I'm never perfect and I always learn." What Jaguar gets out of the association is some quotes about Mourinho's plans – he's going to stay in the UK – which means the major UK papers might pick it up. They probably will and then ignore all the cool ice driving stuff. What we get as car nuts is some awesome footage of the car power-sliding with rooster tails of snow. It's a good looking car; I've seen some testing on the roads around Jaguar's home of Coventry and did a double take. It's a little Macan-like but better looking. I've driven the F-Type with both the 375-HP V6 used in the Mourinho F-Pace piece and the 550-hp supercharged V8, and the V6 is plenty. Until you drive the V8, which blows your mind way. Indeed I have the letter on my desk pleading guilty to the fixed penalty (62 in a 50) that I picked up in the F-Type. What you can't tell from the video is how good the V6 sounds. How it does a nice little wake-the-neighbours blip when you switch it on.

2018 Jaguar updates include a new 247-hp four for XE, XF, and F-Pace

Jaguar has announced changes and updates to its 2018 XE, XF, and F-Pace models, and the big one is a brand-new Ingenium four-cylinder engine. It replaces an older four-cylinder that was available on the 2017 XE line, and it will be the first gasoline four available on both the bigger XF sedan and the F-Pace crossover. This latest Ingenium engine is a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline four-cylinder like the older Jag engine it replaces; this one has its exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head, and it uses a twin-scroll turbocharger. It produces 247 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque, which are improvements of 7 hp and 18 lb-ft over the XE's old turbocharged four. Plus, peak torque is also available a bit lower than with the previous engine, at 1,200 rpm versus 1,750. It shares its architecture with the Ingenium diesel four-cylinder. The XE also gets some powertrain love at the top of the range, borrowing an engine from its bigger siblings. Jaguar is introducing a new XE S model with the 380-horsepower supercharged 3.0-liter V6. Previously, the most powerful engine available on the XE was the 340-horsepower version of that V6, which will still be available. The XE gets another upgrade in the form of an available 12.3-inch instrument panel display, when optioned with the Jaguar Touch Pro infotainment system that's also available on the other models. The big news for the XF is that its base price drops ever so slightly now that a four-cylinder model has been added. The rear-drive model with the new Ingenium engine starts at $48,770 as opposed to $49,245 for the cheapest 2017 XF, which had a diesel four-cylinder and rear-wheel drive. The downside is that diesel buyers will be paying $50,270 for the 2018 version of the same car. Some other technology upgrades have permeated the lineup as well. These 2018 Jaguars will be available with a forward cross-traffic alert and a system that will show steering angle and distance to objects on screen during slow forward maneuvering. The latter seems mainly useful for tight parking spaces. These features are available with Jaguar's Surround Camera System. Jaguar also introduced a system that will allow users to pay for gas (or diesel) from the car's touch screen using Apple Pay, Android Pay, or PayPal. The system will be introduced first in the UK and later this year in other markets, and it can only be used at Shell gas stations. Related Video:

2019 Jaguar XF Sportbrake 30t Prestige First Drive Review | Puts SUV appeal on ice

LA PLAGNE, France — British athletes have a reputation as plucky amateurs, although impressive Olympic performances of late have chipped away at it. Alpine sports remain one area where the more traditional "have a go" hero attitude prevails. Realistically, the only way a British skier is going to break records is with a little help from a fast-moving Jaguar. Thus, British ski stalwart Graham Bell set a speed record of 117 mph, towed behind a XF Sportbrake in an effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of its "Adaptive Surface Response" AWD drivetrain on all surfaces, including ice and snow. To what end? In short, a welcome reminder that an AWD Jaguar station wagon is a classy way to offer snowbelt drivers a practical, all-weather performance car with a twist: It isn't an SUV. The drive up to the ski resort of La Plagne is a chance for the XF Sportbrake to expose the myth you need a high-riding vehicle for life in the mountains. On the freeway from the airport, the Sportbrake amply demonstrates that it is a lovely thing to be in. Sleek, low-slung and effortlessly sexy in that traditional Jaguar fashion, the XF arguably looks better as a wagon than it does a sedan. For 2019, the Sportbrake range has expanded, with the 296 horsepower 30t Ingenium gasoline motor joining the existing 380 horsepower V6 S and providing the option to downsize without sacrificing too much performance. It's a tad gruff, but still packs 295 pound feet of torque to the V6's 332 pound feet while 0-60 in 5.7 seconds is only four-tenths slower. It's perhaps not decisive, but the official highway mileage improves from 25 mpg to 28 mpg. Its starting price of $64,575 saves a fair chunk of cash compared to a $71,215 V6 S, but the Sportbrake is still $10,000 more than an F-Pace with the same engine and equivalent Prestige spec. The 2019 updates also include a standard 10-inch touchscreen-controlled InControl Touch Pro system in the center console and, on our test car, the $945 Technology Package with the configurable 12.3-inch TFT instrument binnacle. For the Sportbrake, the 30t model is available exclusively in Prestige trim, meaning Navigation Pro, associated Pro Services and 4G Wi-Fi Hotspot are standard; Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available via the $300 Smartphone Pack.