Last year, when finally had the opportunity to drive the ’09 Jaguar XF Supercharged, I lamented that this compelling sports sedan was to be replaced with something less amenable to the thin air of my home town. No matter how good this new model might be, it would never measure up to the high standard set by its 4.2-liter blown predecessor at Denver’s high altitude.

Sure enough, the new model, powered by a gasoline direct-injected, 5-liter V8, doesn’t produce its full corral of 385hp at 5280 feet. While the S/C didn’t either, its force-fed nature meant more of its original 420 horses were still galloping about here in the Mile High city. Yet the difference wasn’t as subjectively noticeable as I had anticipated. Credit that to the slick variable valve timing and greater inherent efficiency of this new engine, which gets the same fuel economy as it the 300hp, normally aspirated 4.2-liter, which is still available in the most basic XF.

Right off idle there’s good shove—more than I remember from the S/C—that burgeons into a massive amount of midrange grunt, accompanied by a more mellifluous exhaust note. 0-60 time is only about a half-second adrift of the older S/C, too. Keep your foot planted, and the tach rips around the dial in no time, leading to a super slick shift from six-speed automatic.

I contend this is still the world’s best automatic, despite that competitors now offer up to two more (seemingly superfluous) gears. Not content to sit on their laurels, Jaguar’s engineers continue to finesse this box’s software, leading to almost perfect shifts—up or down—even the incredibly difficult rev-matched shift from 2nd down into 1st as you approach a stop. My only remaining gripe is that in Dynamic Mode, which supposedly allows full manual control, flooring the throttle still forces a downshift when the AJ-series engine’s 380lb-ft of torque don’t really necessitate it.

This sport mode sharpens the computer controlled dampers as well; while excellent ride quality doesn’t suffer overmuch, it would be nice if one could separate out the functions, and allow one to use the basic, softer chassis calibrations with the more aggressive transmission and engine settings over scarred urban blacktop. Whichever mode one chooses, the XF still offers up excellent body control, terrific balance, and sublime steering feel. The brakes also inspire confidence with their ultimate stopping power. On aggregate, I would rank the XF Premium as the finest driving midsize luxury sedan available.

Jaguar has addressed some of the minor nits we journalists have picked about previous XFs: the B&W audio system has a much less fatiguing high-end, yet still offers the revealing and detailed sound the venerable firm is known for; and they’ve added lots of useful standard tech like heated and cooled seats, bi-xenon headlamps, blind spot monitors, and a back-up camera. Sadly, the older model’s slow-witted processor for the touch-screen control interface remains.

That’s easier to suffer though, once you realize that the XF Premium comes in at about $7000 less than the older S/C car, despite offering almost all of its performance potential—especially at the lower elevations most Americans live at. Sealing the deal for us in the thin-air minority, Jaguar decided to roll out a new XF Supercharged model, with 50hp more than the old one, slotted in below the bellowing XF R top dog model, yet priced quite close to the old S/C. With a XF range now comprised of five different models, Jaguar has made sure there is a flavor for everyone.

Price as tested: $58,875

For what Jaguar has to say, go here.

Post script: All XFs are rear-wheel drive. Is this a legitimate concern, when competitors from BMW, Mercedes, and other brands offer available AWD? Not in my mind. Our tester was equipped with a set of dedicated winter tires. Waking up to several inches of fresh snow on a Sunday morn, I decided to investigate—all in the name of clarification, mind. With every safety aid turned off, the XF was a ball—power sliding about with abandon, yet never serving up any frights, thanks to the stickiness of those winter donuts and their predictable behavior under turn-in and braking.

After having my fun, I tried the various levels of driver aids, up to and including the Winter Mode, which changes transmission strategy, throttle sensitivity, and other parameters, all to make the XF easier and safer under low traction conditions. Now the Jaguar went exactly where I would expect; path control was amazing, with no scary tail-wagging to bother those less comfortable with such shenanigans. The only area where the XF trails AWD players is when moving off from rest—there’s just no way it could leave the lights with anything like the enthusiasm of either a front- or all-wheel drive vehicle. For those who live in areas of significant and consistent snowfall, this would no doubt be an issue; in cities like Denver, where the white stuff rarely sticks around, the Jaguar is fine.

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