Like one of the terrifically hot curries from my local Indian, the ‘S’ version of the Jaguar XF is deceptively quick.

This may be down o the fact that it does not have a comedy acoustic exhaust like many fast cars these days – or the softer suspension set-up that smooths over all the bumps as you power through the auto gearbox.

Either way, after a trip up to London and back today, I was mightily impressed by the aforementioned understated nature of this large saloon.

I still find the rotary gearchange control of all Jaguar Land Rover vehicles way too sensitive. But otherwise this is a serious contender for the BMW 5 Series. And much better looking too.