Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Luxury car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Jaguar and front in the case of the SAAB). The first one has a Jaguar-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 240hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 220hp engine designed by SAAB.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the SAAB being a slightly better choice apparently. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the luxury car segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the British car offers a considerable difference of 14% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that SAAB does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Jaguar, as well as SAAB, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed XF 22% below average, and 9-5 18% above the first one. That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the British car rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Performance & Fuel economy

SAAB is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.5 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 235 kilometers per hour, 2km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Swedish car, averaging around 8.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (32 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 18% difference compared to the British car.

Verdict

SAAB appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In this case though, it seems that both cars show similar levels of passenger protection all together, so that won't break a tie. When it comes to performance, both vehicles provide similar experience, so I wouldn't point any of them out. the Swedish car , on the other hand, consumps significantly less fuel, and that's a big plus. It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the SAAB. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.