By KL Tay

MY EARLIEST experience of riding in a Jaguar was when I was 12 years old on a family holiday to London.

Squeezed into my aunt's white XJ with my parents and three sisters as she whizzed us around London, we even made a stop at the circus in front of Buckingham Palace to pose for family photos.

Cocooned in a sleek English car while taking in the sights of London couldn't have made a holiday to England more perfect.

The low-slung XJ bodywork was such a revelation in comparison to what we saw on the streets back in 1976 that it left a strong indelible impression that still remains fresh in my memory.

Fast forward to the XF series. Representing Jaguar in the mid-size luxury car segment, it was introduced in 2008 to replace the more traditionally styled Jaguar S-Type (which drew design inspiration from the 1960s Jaguar Mk2), the XF was the first car from Coventry that convincingly looked forward into the 21st century.

Its low roofline, subtle curves and four doors speak the language of modern design in a similar vein to the Mercedes- Benz CLS and Lexus GS350, while still maintaining Jaguar's best traditions in comfort and refinement.

Until now, the flagship Jaguar XF has been available here with a 4.2 litre supercharged variant that produces 420 hp. The latest addition to the XF line-up is the new XFR packing a 5.0-litre supercharged engine with a whopping 510 hp and bonnet vents not found on other XF models.

Acceleration figures are well within the realm of dedicated sports cars, many of which would not be able to carry four adults in comfort.