Official Jaguar XF thread - is it a hit or miss?

It's the car that's going to save Jaguar. Or is it? The magazine reviews that are starting to come through proclaim it to be a great drive - Evo saying "on the whole it's hard to see how the opposition can better this". I've seen one in a Jag showroom and although I agree aesthetics are always a purely subjective matter, IMHO it is a good looking car and certainly looks sharper and has more presence than in pictures (the one I saw was dark blue - I think it could be quite a colour sensitive shape, with dark shades suiting it better). There are a couple of minor details I would change though.

The interior is particularly nice - modern and classy with a nod to Jag's of old. It's certainly a more convincing modern Jag interior than that found in the XK.

Would I buy one over a 5 series, E-class, A6, etc? In a heartbeat! For me the only thing holding it back is Jag's slightly tarnished reputation and the fact that the X-type and XJ still look too old fashioned.

SO what do you all think?

 

I agree - more character than the Merc and Audi, and the BMW is just fugly and badly needs a redesign (although I love the drivetrain.)

But it's not going to save Jaguar. Jag needs a real lust-object sports car, like the abandoned F-Type.

 

What did you think of the "gearshift"? Go swivel?

 

Miss. They've lost their reputation completely. The interiors aren't anywhere near the Level of the Germans, but the one in the XF looks good, but the entertainment system is worse then iDrive. It's slow... Like running Vista on 128mb on ram. And it looks hideous. I would never consider it because there's no AWD version. In areas, where it snows, i.e New England, people wouldn't consider it because the A6, 5 series, E class, and GS all have them, in quattro/xdrive/4matic/awd form. They've shattered their credibility after Ford came along. I drive past my local Land Rover and Jaguar dealer everyday, and I've seen the same XK softtop, since they've came out. They still haven't sold it. They have a Green x-type awd, that's a 05, and it's still brand new. The dealer is trying to anything, that can. Last time, I asked, The x type was $20k off sticker. Whereas Land ROvers are selling.

I would never trust Jaguar. Theirs are too tacky IMO. If you want a great mid-size sedan, there's the A6 , 5 Series, and the GS. They're all great, and you can't go wrong. The E class is getting really old, and needs an upgrade.

 

Interesting, but destined to break and leave you stranded. Seems like style for style's sake.

 

Jaguar needs the XJ220!.

 

You can pour 2 litres of Coke into the mechanism, and it will still work. Apparently...

 

Won't matter if it is a hit. Soon as Jaguar is under Tata ownership, half of their already minuscule base of buyers is going to vanish overnight.

 

I like the new XF. I would buy one in a heartbeat if I was shopping for a car in that segment.

I say WINNER!

Jaguars always been about style and performance.

The new XF is beautiful and would be a pleasure to own.

This is the turning point for the product offering.

No longer stuck in the past...the new XF finally shows Jaguar is willing to be daring yet again.

Thats what the public wants in the mid luxury category.

Great way to differeniate from the competition and the past. (while still holding Jaguar heritiage because its such a contemporary beauty.

JMO

 

I get my ride next month at my dealer. Althoug I have an X-Type I don't need the AWD anymore. So if it looks better then the competition then I'll buy it. If not I'll check out the A6 or E or maybe some Jap iron.

 

To me, it's not butt ugly but it doesn't really look like a Jag (Lexus maybe?). That being said, every time I think that, the design tends to grow on me over the years. My old XJR was one of the best/sexiest cars I've ever owned.

 

It looks like a Lexus mated with a Buick... It's hideous, will be yet another failure, and combined with the Tata ownership will spell the end of Jaguar.

 

Update: There was one at the La Jolla car show today (dealer display), and I got to see it in the metal and sit in it.

This is a sharp car, especially compared to the ubiquitous E-Class and the aforementioned fugly BMW 5. It isn't the kind of lust object that you'd spend all night in the garage fondling, and it isn't perfect by any means, but overall it has nice proportions and an upscale interior. The roofline is very graceful, in particular.

It does have some mildly awkward lines up front, especially the bonnet itself, and the chrome leaper above the JAGUAR lettering in the plinth (tail of the car) is overkill. Also, the grille looked like it belonged on another car.

This XF had the misfortune to be parked between a new Maserati GranTurismo (in black metallic ) and a pearl white Aston Martin V8 Vantage, probably the two prettiest cars made right now. But in real life, if I needed a 4-seater for $60K or so, the Jag would be near the top of my list.

 

I like the styling of the new XF overall.
From the side, the roof line does resemble a Lexus GS 300.
The hood is the only part of the design that looks a little too busy for me.

There is going to be a supercharged version with 420 hp and 413 torque. Nice.
MSRP will be just under $63k for that version.

Here are a couple of pictures from the jaguar.com website:
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It seems to be sort of a "balkanization style committee" thing to me - Like toggie says, lexus-like roof; front end looks an awful lot like certain Maserati styling (and not just their Quatroporte), and the rear end - did that come from somebody at Aston Martin?

I suppose those headlights are kind of original (and kind of clumsy,too), but you can see that the old days of styling cars by actually shaping metal, taking it out in the courtyard, and just looking at it until you had it right are long gone.

On the good side, it probably will still be better looking than the upcoming Porsche 4 place.

On the bad side, Aston Martin is waiting in the wings with theirs.

 

So you are saying that you can buy a brand new X Type for $15K???

I am still waiting to see the XF in person before I make a decision on the appearance. I do think it is a step in the right direction, along with the slightly redesigned XJ for this year.

I think one of the places where Jag has gone wrong, is thinking they can sell as many cars as their German rivals. They are great cars, and one of the appeals is that the cars are a little different then what you see all day everyday.

 

The X-type wagon was already ~3 years old, and was just sitting there. It had a sticker of about ~$41k, so yeah, you can get it for around $21,000.

Too bad, the car is sold, actually to my friend's dad. It actually looks a classy on the outside, but the interior is just...

Since it's soo old already and was sitting there, he's going to replace the tires b/c of flat spots, and some of the rubber seals around the windows have warped. Only the seals are covered under warranty.

 

One thing to remember about the Jag is pricing. A fully loaded supersharged version is about 65K. Porsche will most likely start 15k higher and AM, well I heard 200k and up for that car.


Darrell.