In an age where self-driving cars are nearing reality, Jaguar appears to have stolen a march on Google with the XF estate.

Okay, it doesn’t actually drive itself, but there are times, particularly on the motorway, when it seems to glide along following the curves of the road with barely any steering input from me.

And that smoothness is achieved without the Adaptive Dynamics technology that’s available as standard on diesel S models and above (and as an option on all other Sportbrake models bar this one) that “continuously monitors the speed, steering and body movements of the car, adapting the suspension 500 times a second” – which makes our car all the more impressive.