2021 Jaguar XF pricing and specs detailed: BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6 rival's range slashed to a single sedan for MY21 facelift

Jaguar’s struggling XF has been thoroughly facelifted for 2021, adding all-wheel drive, a new nose, a completely redesigned interior, upgraded safety and a dramatically improved multimedia system.

Arriving in the first quarter of next year, the model line-up has also undergone a radical rethink, diving from 17 variants down to a single, well-specified, turbo-petrol, AWD sedan, losing the Sportbrake wagon, diesels and V6s in the process.

Kicking off from $100,200 before on-road costs, the MY21 XF R-Dynamic HSE P300 AWD aligns most closely with the previous mid-spec 30t R-Sport sedan that started from $96,088, meaning that entry into Jaguar’s BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class competitor now costs almost $20,000 more than before.

That said, both of the above German rivals also start off from similar money, leaving only the front-wheel-drive $84,889 Audi A6 40 TFSI as well as the rear-wheel-drive $68,900 Genesis G80 3.8 and $74,838 Lexus GS Luxury to battle it out in the lower regions of the now-niche $70,000-plus sedan segment.

Unveiled five years on from its 2015 debut, the X260-series XF facelift is more extensive than it may seem at first glance, with a sleeker nose treatment adopting Jaguar’s new design language. The ‘Double J’ LED motif headlights are slimmer, the grille is wider, the bumper air intakes larger and the bonnet has been redesigned with no shutlines showing.

Exterior changes include a revised rear bumper design with chrome inserts, and darker tail-lights.

Along with giving the British sedan a stronger and more powerful stance that is more in line with the recently remodelled (and very closely related) F-Pace SUV, the aim is to differentiate XF from the smaller XE series. Previously, the two looked almost identical front the front.

Other exterior changes include wrap-around grab handles (as per F-Pace), a revised rear bumper design with chrome inserts, darker tail-lights “for further visual sophistication”, Jaguar 'leaper' badges now adorning the side vents, and updated alloy wheel styles.

Current Jaguar owners will have no problem spotting the changes inside, however, which are wholesale in their execution as well as their quality, upmarket presentation.

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For starters, the dashboard has been completely redesigned, and boasts a driver-biased orientation, bringing with it a new gear lever, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with multi-configurable instrumentation and full-screen 3D mapping.

Like the F-Pace, a floating 11.4-inch curved-glass touchscreen has been introduced, ushering in a much fresher appearance, better tactility and the inclusion of JLR’s Pivi Pro multimedia system, among other innovations, twin phone connection, an eight-device WiFi hotspot, 15-watt wireless smartphone charging and a signal booster and an independent SIM card for instant, zero-delay response.

A floating 11.4-inch curved-glass touchscreen has been introduced, ushering in a much fresher appearance.

Thanks to an overhauled electronic vehicle architecture dubbed EVA 2.0, with significantly broader functionality, the latest XF scores true surround-view camera operation, over-the-air software update capability, active road-noise cancellation technology and a cabin-air ionisation and filtration system for people susceptible to airborne particles and allergens.

New too are a user-setting memory key fob, a watch-style key band that allows the user to leave the actual key at home, new door casings offering improved practicality and – on the safety front – a Clear Exit Monitor (to avoid dooring cyclists), a ‘Clear Sight’ rearview mirror with a wide-angled lens camera for when the regular mirror is obstructed, improved adaptive cruise control and a driver condition monitor that helps keep fatigue in check.

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Under the bonnet, JLR’s 2.0-litre Ingenium four-cylinder petrol-turbo engine drives all four wheels via a ZF eight-speed torque-converter automatic. Outputs are on a par with the outgoing 30t version of the same engine, meaning this P300 unit delivers 221kW/400Nm for a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 6.1 seconds.

To refresh, the XF employs JLR’s D7a platform shared with the F-Pace, XE and Range Rover Velar, so the front suspension consists of a double-wishbone arrangement and the rear an integral link system. Until now, all versions sold in Australia were RWD.

More information, including specific equipment listings for all the grades, will be provided later on.