THE business car market is fiercely competitive with manufacturers vying for the attention of drivers up and down the country and now the latest Jaguar XF is guaranteed to make fleet buyers sit up and take notice.

Priced from £32,300 and rising to £49,945 the new lighter and ultra-efficient XF is available in four trims - Prestige, R-Sport, Portfolio and S - and sits neatly in the Jaguar line-up between the XE and XJ models.

The second generation XF is available powered by the company's new Ingenium diesel engine which has been designed and built in-house. The result is a luxury business car that can achieve fuel economy up to 70.6mpg with carbon emissions as low as 104g/km.

Customers can choose from 163ps and 180ps 2.0-litre diesels mated to manual or automatic transmissions, a 300ps 3.0-litre V6 diesel automatic or a 380ps 3.0-litre V6 petrol automatic.

Thanks to the introduction of an aluminium architecture, the car is up to 190kg lighter and despite being 7mm shorter than its predecessor, the wheelbase has been increased by 51mm, which in turn has resulted in additional space for back seat passengers who are treated to extra leg, knee and head room.

Boasting a sleek, coupe-like profile with a long sculpted bonnet, the XF looks every bit the sports saloon. Add in features such as an additional rear quaterlight, smart alloys, a fin antenna and state-of-the art adaptive full-LED headlights and it's easy to see why Jaguar bosses are so excited about the car.

Ian Callum, director of design at Jaguar, explained that it was imperative to maintain the brand's identity.

He said: "We wanted people to see the car and think - there is a Jaguar. Not it's an F-Type or an XF, but it's a Jaguar. And the most important feature for any Jaguar is the line of the car. It needs to be simple, clear, beautiful and easy to follow and understand. It's like a pencil flowing across a paper and then easing away.

"The new XF is leaner looking which adds to its elegance making it more befitting of its place in the Jaguar line-up."

Inside the cabin the quality of design and craftsmanship cannot fail to impress with a blend of contemporary luxury materials and finishes, along with innovative technology and infotainment systems.

There is a 12.3-inch reconfigurable TFT virtual instrument cluster along with four-zone climate control, a suede cloth headliner, rotating air vents, 10-colour ambient lighting and fluted Windsor leather seats.

Infotainment is catered for thanks to two systems. The first is the InControl Touch which is based around an eight-inch touchscreen which is designed to be intuitive and simple to operate and supports gestures such as swipe and drag like a smartphone to navigate pages and scroll across maps.

But move up a notch and the XF is the first model to offer the InControl Touch Pro system with its 10.2-inch screen which introduces a whole host of additional features including customised home screens, dual view technology, seamless iOS and Android connectivity, rapid and more advanced navigation functions and data transfer rates, plus the option of a 17-speaker sound system to deliver pitch perfect audio.

This superior system, which also offers remote features such as starting the car and adjusting the climate from a mobile phone, will be available in about six months' time.

We drove the XF in northern Spain on a selection of mountain roads, sweeping lanes, fast motorways and also at a race circuit where the vehicle's dynamics were really tested out.

First up was the R-Sport model powered by the 2.0 180ps Ingenium diesel engine mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

This car, priced from £36,850, can sprint to 60mph from a standing start in 7.7 seconds and tops out at 136mph. According to official figures it can achieve 65.7mpg with emissions of 114g/km and is likely to account for the majority of sales.

One of the first features that impresses is how beautifully spacious the car is - the extra room in the back is instantly noticeable and addresses one of the major issues that was highlighted by customers owning the first generation XF models.

Secondly, it's difficult not to be wowed by the level of on-board technology and thankfully it is easy to come to terms with. There is nothing worse than getting into a car for the first time and being completely bamboozled by technical wizardry.

That's not so with the XF. It's easy to set a sat nav, adjust the stereo, link a phone, adjust the temperature and then there are all the other systems that can be explored as and when you need them.

Comfort levels are superb and the car seemed to glide along the Spanish roads which in fairness are far superior to ours. But even when an unexpected bump or dip was experienced, the XF's outstanding suspension ironed out any creases. There was a little wind noise at higher speeds, but other than that the insulation was very effective.

Motorway driving was an absolute doddle with all the power you could wish for and then on open roads with long sweeping bends the XF really came into its own. The road-holding was flawless and the steering very precise. And for a vehicle of its length and size, it was deceptively agile and made light work of tight hairpin bends.

There was a constant supply of power on tap and overtaking at short notice was easily achievable. In fact, my only gripe was the visibility at times. The front pillars are quite wide and do obscure your view when turning sharply.

But that aside, the XF was an absolute dream to drive. It was responsive, comfortable, nicely tuned and coped admirably with anything we threw at it.

Next up was some fun on the race track - this time in a 380ps 3.0-litre supercharged petrol model.

In fairness, very few owners will put their pride and joy through such a punishing ritual, but the car was truly exhilarating and as sweeping bends and long straights were attacked at "silly" speeds it maintained its grip, composure and control.

All in all, the new XF is a fabulous car. It looks amazing, drives brilliantly, is packed with technology, is economical to run and comes with a competitive price-tag too.