Jaguar XF - Was it that good in hindsight?
Discussion
I recently found an old Jaguar feature from Evo magazine that was released in 2008 when the XF came out. It covered many years of Jaguar models and culminated in a glowing review of the XF. I remember press reviews at the time treated it like the second coming.
I had two of the facelifted version, both 2.2 sadly. I also know someone who has an early 3.0. I still like them, particularly the interior design, but my lasting impression is of a car which felt special on first acquaintance but began to feel a little veneer-thin after time. 20% too strong in bling and 20% too weak on genuine quality and luxury attributes such as refinement and ride quality.
What's the consensus on the XF after all these years? Particularly in light of the fact we've had 4 years with it's replacement (which I think is a dreadful, cynical product, FWIW).
I had two of the facelifted version, both 2.2 sadly. I also know someone who has an early 3.0. I still like them, particularly the interior design, but my lasting impression is of a car which felt special on first acquaintance but began to feel a little veneer-thin after time. 20% too strong in bling and 20% too weak on genuine quality and luxury attributes such as refinement and ride quality.
What's the consensus on the XF after all these years? Particularly in light of the fact we've had 4 years with it's replacement (which I think is a dreadful, cynical product, FWIW).
scottygib553 said:
The facelift Sportbrake was gorgeous and I nearly bought one but felt it was a bit mature (was 27 at the time).
One of the two we had was a Sportbrake. I agree about the design, it was a handsome car. Didn't really shout "Jag" though, which the saloon didn't either. But it was very practical and well designed. It just lacked quality and the electrics were problematic. Our other one was a saloon with the R-Sport body kit. Mean looking motor.If Jaguar had made the centre console out of more solid and higher quality materials and perhaps used more solid plastics on some areas of the interior, along with a softer ride the car would be outstanding.
One of my gripes on the interior was the sheer volume of trim that should have been aluminium to pull off the design but was just painted plastic. I also felt the gear selector was cheaply executed, not enough weight to it and the movement was sloppy with too much free play. A lot of trim was actually quite loosely fitted if you poked about a bit. On both of ours the centre console wood panels didn't come close to lining up properly and on my Uncle's early 3.0, the whole centre console is loose and floppy. The column stalks also felt flimsy, as did the paddles.
All that said, I think the interior design will go down as one of the great cabins for ambience. Stunning design when the car came out.
The new model, the X260, can't hold a candle to it and is borderline shoddy in terms of build quality.
One of my gripes on the interior was the sheer volume of trim that should have been aluminium to pull off the design but was just painted plastic. I also felt the gear selector was cheaply executed, not enough weight to it and the movement was sloppy with too much free play. A lot of trim was actually quite loosely fitted if you poked about a bit. On both of ours the centre console wood panels didn't come close to lining up properly and on my Uncle's early 3.0, the whole centre console is loose and floppy. The column stalks also felt flimsy, as did the paddles.
All that said, I think the interior design will go down as one of the great cabins for ambience. Stunning design when the car came out.
The new model, the X260, can't hold a candle to it and is borderline shoddy in terms of build quality.
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