Makes that car sound pretty delectable, unfortunately not just to those with the income to sustain one. No one rich needs to feel guilty about 25 mpg, or nearly.
The thing is handsome too although fairly Euro-anonymous.
But isn't that knob-controlled transmission similar to something BMW brought out a couple of years ago and that people complained about?
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I still think that it doesn't look like a proper Jag should.
The only drop-dead gorgeous bit about it is HJ's housekeeper leaning on the front wing.
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How should a proper Jag look? I don't like them all by any means. I was never a fan of the E Type and I don't like the current range of two-seaters either as coupes or convertibles. I did like the XKs, 120 to 150 though, and the 3.4 and 3.8, Mk 1 and 2. Best looking one of all time was the C Type, but of course it's rare (and a bit of a handful to drive fast it is said).
This new one seems to have given up wood trim inside although Mercedes and BMW have had it for years. I don't mind that. But if I had one I think I would have the chrome and wheels blacked.
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I test-drove one, I was underwhelmed to the extent I forgot to post a "write up" although I mentioned it somewhere....didn't like it.
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Was it a 4.2 PU, or a lesser device?
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Diesel....I think that's why it was so disappointing, it was smoother than the Roomie !, but not close to the BMW engines I've known. I was just disappointed. Loved the bling though !
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Lud
A proper Jag must look like one - have you ever needed a second glance to instantly ID a Mercedes? Jaguars' flowing lines held their brand-image long before the term was even invented.
Even a Mk IX had "presence" and "wow-factor" and could draw a crowd of "wottle-she-do-mister" small boys in it's day; [the Mk X is perhaps best overlooked...] and that distinctive style continued right through to the X-Type.
I kinda agree on E-Types, although it would appear that I'm in a minority of one in preferring the V12 to the fairly awful original version; but an XKR is a thing of rare beauty.
Does the XF make you say; "that must be the new Jag?" No; it could be anything - by anybody. Ford should have kept it and used it as the replacement for the Granada.
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Nope. It's completely different to the BMW. The Jag has a round knob (known as the cooker control) as a transmission selector. On the BMW a similar knob controlled the computer and just about everything else (known as i-drive), but had a 'conventional' transmission selector.
JS
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JS, I may be getting you mixed up with someone else of the same name, but have you ever worked for Jaguar? - in particular, in engine design?
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I had the pleasure of driving a supercharged XF for a short time yesterday and think HJ has it about right. I didn't care for the low-geared steering but otherwise I just wish I could afford to buy and run one.
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Thank you JS.
I suppose the Jaguar transmission knob must work well if HJ likes it.
I must say I can't think of a better place for an auto selector than a well-designed slim lever behind the wheel, like a sixties Rolls-Royce. I could never understand why people wanted a macho T-bar or counterfeit gearlever on the floor or transmission tunnel, usually with the indicator down there too so you have to drive up a tree to see it. Silly piece of counter-progressive American nonsense.
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Saw one on display in an "upscale" (!) shopping mall in the US last week - a Maserati Quattroporte was also on display. Both cars seemed to be being ignored. No sales staff etc - the cars were just parked in the middle of the mall.
As usual (except that it's extra irritating as of course the XF is made in the UK) the price was stunning - $50K for the V8 Luxury model. No tax or other charges in that price, but it's got to be shipped over the US and can still be listed at a good £10K less than in the UK.
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shopping mall in the US last week - a Maserati Quattroporte was also on display.
Of course the contemporary Maseratis - the coupe too - are the most beautiful cars being made just now. So beautiful that they might make one feel a bit self-conscious, although perhaps one could force oneself to get used to it. I find myself becoming more retiring as I get older. There's something comfortable about more or less total anonymity. It doesn't incense passers-by as much as the other thing.
It would be interesting to see how they would compare with the Ford-made Jaguars for general reliability and economy in use. I would expect the Maseratis perhaps to be thirstier, and perhaps harder work to drive and live with (not that that would be a problem really).
On Jaguar aesthetics: the pushrod-engined pre-XK Mk V, and before that the 3.5 and 2.5 litre models, were indeed sort of poor man's - or anyway bookies' - Bentleys, and rather looked it. The Mk VII to IX cars always looked a bit too porky and roly-poly to me and the Mk X was indeed a bit of a dog aesthetically. The twin-cam engines were hearty and tweakable but Jaguar brakes were always regarded as distinctly iffy (really effective drum brakes being very expensive to make and finicky to maintain). But Jaguar made up for it by developing disc brakes for automotive use.
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