Cheeky Cones Get the Best of Beast Driving Jaguar XF

By Adam Pockross - September 30, 2016

nicholas hoult jaguar xf

As the brilliant mastermind in the British Villains ad campaign, Nicholas Hoult has proven to be quite an effective pitch man for Jaguar. But are his driving skills anywhere near as sharp as his acting skills?

No. Simply put, they’re not. But like acting, driving is a skill, which must be practiced in order to achieve competency. And since Hoult — most notable for playing Beast in the X-Men franchise — is preparing to do some driving in his new Jaguar-filled film, Collide, the good folks at corporate decided to get him up to speed in a new XF.

As you can see in the video below, to hone Hoult’s driving skills, Jaguar set up the Smart Cone Challenge in the loose gravel of Costa Smeralda, Sardinia. It’s basically a normal road course with cones, except this time, the cones light up to show the driver a capricious route. So reactions and driving skills are a must.

Fortunately, Hoult got himself a Jaguar XF All Wheel Drive R-Sport 2.0D 180 model for the test, with an AWD drive system that can sense lack of grip and immediately respond by serving up plenty of torque where it needs to go.

Hoult gives it a spirited run too, though he admits those blinking cones are bloody cheeky. Would we rather see a pro stick putting one of the more-powerful XFs through the paces? Maybe, but hey, it’s still entertaining, informative, and definitely worth a look. So check it out, and let us know what you think.