THERE'S no question about it, Jaguar is on a roll.

The F-Type swept in to rival the world's best roadsters and coupes and earlier this year the F-Pace proved itself to be worthy match to the sporty Porsche Macan.

Meanwhile the baby of the Jaguar range, the XE, is making its presence strongly felt in the business sector.

Global sales are through the roof and order books are bulging.

But the model that started current-day Jaguar on its road to success was the XF, an executive saloon that stole the thunder of the previously all-conquering BMW 5-Series.

The latest XF, which emerged last year, has picked up the baton and is going for gold.

Model of choice, if you're not too restricted by budgets, is the 3.0-litre diesel S version. It's one of those few cars - saloons, coupes or estates - that covers all the angles, and fails in none.

With a crisp but refined V6 diesel pushing out almost 300bhp, there's more than enough power to satisfy the vast majority of demanding drivers.

Sixty is clocked in under the magic six seconds and maximum is 155mph. Yet with a meagre CO2 emissions level of 144g/km, it's cheap to tax and easy on the wallet to fuel.

Most owners will easily get 45mpg and the official combined figure is 51.4mpg, pretty impressive for a seriously rapid executive express.

The XF S really comes into its own on a long run, when its driveability and refinement come to the fore. An eight-speed automatic gearbox controls the flow of power seamlessly.So much so that few passengers will detect the gear changes. Nor will they realise that this is diesel powered.

The engine note is a trifle gruff, but there's rarely a hint of coarseness, let alone harshness.

Ride quality is just about perfect with good bump/pothole suppression, yet very limited roll angles during swift cornering.

From a driver's perspective, things are similarly rewarding. Special mention must be made of the steering which lets the driver know exactly what's going on down at road level yet insulates the helm from jolts and irregularities.

Inside, there's loads of space for five to sit in comfort. Legroom in the rear is a tad less than some rivals but the seats, both front and back, are superb.

The remodelled dash is more contemporary but the rotating air vents, a nice touch, have been held over to the latest model.

There's a feeling of classiness and quality about the interior, even though the sat-nav screen is a bit small and slightly old-school.

The boot, too, is of a good size with a capacity of 540 litres, slightly roomier than either the 5 Series or Audi A6.

Standard equipment is generous with leather seating, sat nav, DAB radio, bodykit and heated front seats being included in the £49,945 price. However, it's easily possible to spec up the Jag and end up with a price tag of closer £60,000.