This major mid-life update addresses that, as well as revising the engine line-up and substantially streamlining the model hierarchy: from 64, there are now 28 derivatives, and just three engines – a 201bhp, 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel with a 48V mild-hybrid, and a 2.0-litre petrol, in 247bhp and 296bhp form. What they do care about is interior quality and connectivity, two areas in which the XF was rather less competitive. Maybe no one cares so much about that stuff any more. As TG.com has noted, the XF is possessed of the sweetest handling and ride balance in its class. It’s a downward spiral the XF in itself has done nothing to deserve, regardless of macro trends and the machinations of the apocalyptic four horsemen. This is obviously sub-optimal, and a scenario that won’t have been helped by what was lurking round the corner…

The XF sold 16,024 units throughout Europe in 2016, which dropped to 5,935 in 2019. While new boss Thierry Bolloré ponders the brand’s potentially all-electric future, running the numbers on what was once the company’s bread and butter will have him reaching for strong medication or a stiff drink. Jaguar is probably more wedded to a fusty old stereotype than most. And as we know, software engineers are taking over the world. Doesn’t it play to the sort of mind-set that propelled a variety of Seventies and Eighties BBC sitcom characters into thigh-slapping bother? It’s certainly difficult to imagine a senior software engineer in the Google-plex plumping for one. In these strangest of times, the idea of ascending the corporate ladder and rewarding yourself with a large-ish four-door car seems more outdated than ever. Is the executive saloon having an existential crisis? Well the words ‘executive saloon’ are a tough sell, let’s be honest.

Xf jaguar