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Jaguar XF revised

The update comes four years into the XF's life as Jaguar's top seller.

… complete with a baby diesel engine that could mean an $80,000 starting price in Australia.

The updated mid-sized XF got simultaneous unveilings at the Shanghai and New York motor shows, with the American event focussed on design and the China reveal concentrating on the latest 2.2-litre diesel. In both cases, Jaguar design boss Ian Callum describes the XF update as the best facelift he has done in a 35-year history as a car stylist.

"I'm very happy with it," Callum says, referring to predictable but classy changes to the lamps, grille, bumpers and bonnet that give the XF more style to compete with the latest 5 Series BMW and Mercedes E- Class.

The update comes four years into the XF's life as Jaguar's top seller and money machine, and brings the diesel that could eventually account for more than half of sales.

It's a 2.2-litre four also used in the Land Rover Freelander 2 and has 140 kiloWatts with a rousing 450 Newton-metres of torque.

More good news is an eight-speed automatic gearbox for the XF diesels, complete with a stop-start system to improve economy and cut emissions.

The updated XF goes into production in Britain in July and that points to an early 2012 introduction in Australia. The car also comes with slight tweaks to the cabin, including better- shaped seats and a punchier sound system.

Not su rprisingly, new-age safety systems are also added to the XF and the car will be available with adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, adaptive lighting and hazard lights that trigger automatically during emergency braking.

The body work on the car includes lamps with a much lower profile, but there is more to Callum's work than good looks. Engineers also drove changes around the mirrors and below the body to improve airflow and cut noise.

Full details of the XF for Australia should be public around the middle of this year.