Jaguar XF - Was it that good in hindsight?
Discussion
fatboy b said:
I’ve had three facelifts over 7 1/2 years. Two top of the range 3.0 diesels then an XFR-S. The later has had engine problems sorted under extended warranty. That aside they’ve been fab cars. I’ve taken all three down to the Großglockner. They’re epic tourers but when you want to push on, the chassis is still pretty damn good. And a much much better car than all the beemers I’ve had.
Totally agree - great photo - reminds me of better timesEdited by fatboy b on Tuesday 19th May 21:00
fatboy b said:
Max_Torque said:
How anyone with an XF manages with the satnav i'll never know! Literally a £15k Japenese supermini has a better, more intuitive, more useable system, let alone anything of comparable cost from the Germans.........
Normally a lack of understanding of how it works is the case.The rotary shuttle jobby on the Mercedes 'COMAND' system was easier to use than the XF's touch screen when you were driving (but slower when you were programming it while stationary). Other than that they both did their job, but neither was particularly fantastic.
Max_Torque said:
Well, call me old fashioned, but i kind of prefer the thing i'm spending a signifcant sum of my hard-earned on to actually work!
For a lot of people, especially the sort of people who buy cars in the XF segment, decent electronic feature content is actually more important, and more likely to get a sale than how fast the car is, or how it handles. So whilst personally i'd never buy an Audi because they handle like an elephant on a skateboard (R8 excepted), lot of people do buy them because the stuff in them works, and works really well. IMO, Jag missed a trick here, got all caught up in stupid things like revolving airvents and rising knobs, and didn't spend enough time and money making sure the basics were good and worked well, or at least were class average at worst.
There is absolutely no doubt that a screen and some buttons that do a few things are immensely important when the engine is just a delivery van 4 pot or some other generic lump focussed only on meeting numbers set by bureaucrats and project managed by accountants. For a lot of people, especially the sort of people who buy cars in the XF segment, decent electronic feature content is actually more important, and more likely to get a sale than how fast the car is, or how it handles. So whilst personally i'd never buy an Audi because they handle like an elephant on a skateboard (R8 excepted), lot of people do buy them because the stuff in them works, and works really well. IMO, Jag missed a trick here, got all caught up in stupid things like revolving airvents and rising knobs, and didn't spend enough time and money making sure the basics were good and worked well, or at least were class average at worst.
Edited by Max_Torque on Tuesday 19th May 13:53
Equus said:
fatboy b said:
Max_Torque said:
How anyone with an XF manages with the satnav i'll never know! Literally a £15k Japenese supermini has a better, more intuitive, more useable system, let alone anything of comparable cost from the Germans.........
Normally a lack of understanding of how it works is the case.The rotary shuttle jobby on the Mercedes 'COMAND' system was easier to use than the XF's touch screen when you were driving (but slower when you were programming it while stationary). Other than that they both did their job, but neither was particularly fantastic.
pmanson said:
Programming I never found too bad but sometimes I found the instructions it gave were too late or confusing. It wasn't keen on motorway junctions where you had to come off and then keep right on the slip road
I find that to be a real pain with all satnavs. They are passive aggressive knobs like one of those tw4t blokes forever trying to control the work environment and make themselves feel important by destructively withholding the very information they are specifically paid to make available as and when needed. The Satnav knows which lane you need to be in at the next junction. It knows that next junction follows the current one in quick succession so you require that information but it withholds it in some desperate need to be in control. It’s like all those systems that let you zoom out so you can see the greater picture but then after twenty seconds zooms you backnin so that it can keep that information to itself and hold you hostage to just showing you the stuff you can actually see for yourself out of the windscreen.
They are definitely improving in this regard but they remain incredibly frustrating objects in their blinkered nature.
The other feature that would be useful is to allow the automatic suspention of incoming calls from the destination when you are just a few miles away. How do they always manage to call at the exact point you require the information from the screen in order to navigate a junction. And why do people call when you’re running early and have already messaged them an ETA!!
But the early satnav system in Jags, Range Robers and Aston’s was utterly useless. Only being able to enter the 5 digits of a zip code (again, parochial thinking at its best) meant that it could only do what you could already do which is get to within a few miles of the actual destination. At the precise point that you needed professional input from the system specifically in existence to give you that input it revealed itself to have no more knowledge or capability on its specialist subject than you do, thus rendering itself to be nothing more than a fraudster. Getting to with a few miles of a destination out in the countryside might not be that big an issue but in central London it’s the difference between driving a nice car to where you want to be going or driving it into the middle of stabby mcstabville.
Equus said:
fatboy b said:
Max_Torque said:
How anyone with an XF manages with the satnav i'll never know! Literally a £15k Japenese supermini has a better, more intuitive, more useable system, let alone anything of comparable cost from the Germans.........
Normally a lack of understanding of how it works is the case.The rotary shuttle jobby on the Mercedes 'COMAND' system was easier to use than the XF's touch screen when you were driving (but slower when you were programming it while stationary). Other than that they both did their job, but neither was particularly fantastic.
I also have an ‘18 plate Mini Cooper S. Still a good-ish satnav, but I think the XF’s 10+ old tech beats it. It also beats the newer Jag tech as far as the satnav is concerned c
Lee Jones Jnr said:
Was the XF regarded as something spectacular at launch? Just wondering what inspired the thread.
Ive got one. Respectable enough, comfortable and well equipped and essentially invisible.
The sat nav works as well as most cars. The car is fine.
It was regarded as a revelation (for Jaguar at least) at the time by the Motoring Press. Similar to when Ford announced the Ford Focus.Ive got one. Respectable enough, comfortable and well equipped and essentially invisible.
The sat nav works as well as most cars. The car is fine.
Fairly well justified imho. Jaguar did a cracking job with what they had.
NelsonM3 said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
Was the XF regarded as something spectacular at launch? Just wondering what inspired the thread.
Ive got one. Respectable enough, comfortable and well equipped and essentially invisible.
The sat nav works as well as most cars. The car is fine.
It was regarded as a revelation (for Jaguar at least) at the time by the Motoring Press. Similar to when Ford announced the Ford Focus.Ive got one. Respectable enough, comfortable and well equipped and essentially invisible.
The sat nav works as well as most cars. The car is fine.
Fairly well justified imho. Jaguar did a cracking job with what they had.
I suppose it was the start of a ‘new era’ for Jaguar, the start of a more modern range and the end of twee nostalgic motors.
NelsonM3 said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
Was the XF regarded as something spectacular at launch? Just wondering what inspired the thread.
Ive got one. Respectable enough, comfortable and well equipped and essentially invisible.
The sat nav works as well as most cars. The car is fine.
It was regarded as a revelation (for Jaguar at least) at the time by the Motoring Press. Similar to when Ford announced the Ford Focus.Ive got one. Respectable enough, comfortable and well equipped and essentially invisible.
The sat nav works as well as most cars. The car is fine.
Fairly well justified imho. Jaguar did a cracking job with what they had.
fatboy b said:
NelsonM3 said:
Lee Jones Jnr said:
Was the XF regarded as something spectacular at launch? Just wondering what inspired the thread.
Ive got one. Respectable enough, comfortable and well equipped and essentially invisible.
The sat nav works as well as most cars. The car is fine.
It was regarded as a revelation (for Jaguar at least) at the time by the Motoring Press. Similar to when Ford announced the Ford Focus.Ive got one. Respectable enough, comfortable and well equipped and essentially invisible.
The sat nav works as well as most cars. The car is fine.
Fairly well justified imho. Jaguar did a cracking job with what they had.
DonkeyApple said:
pmanson said:
Programming I never found too bad but sometimes I found the instructions it gave were too late or confusing. It wasn't keen on motorway junctions where you had to come off and then keep right on the slip road
I find that to be a real pain with all satnavs. They are passive aggressive knobs like one of those tw4t blokes forever trying to control the work environment and make themselves feel important by destructively withholding the very information they are specifically paid to make available as and when needed. The Satnav knows which lane you need to be in at the next junction. It knows that next junction follows the current one in quick succession so you require that information but it withholds it in some desperate need to be in control. It’s like all those systems that let you zoom out so you can see the greater picture but then after twenty seconds zooms you backnin so that it can keep that information to itself and hold you hostage to just showing you the stuff you can actually see for yourself out of the windscreen.
They are definitely improving in this regard but they remain incredibly frustrating objects in their blinkered nature.
The other feature that would be useful is to allow the automatic suspention of incoming calls from the destination when you are just a few miles away. How do they always manage to call at the exact point you require the information from the screen in order to navigate a junction. And why do people call when you’re running early and have already messaged them an ETA!!
But the early satnav system in Jags, Range Robers and Aston’s was utterly useless. Only being able to enter the 5 digits of a zip code (again, parochial thinking at its best) meant that it could only do what you could already do which is get to within a few miles of the actual destination. At the precise point that you needed professional input from the system specifically in existence to give you that input it revealed itself to have no more knowledge or capability on its specialist subject than you do, thus rendering itself to be nothing more than a fraudster. Getting to with a few miles of a destination out in the countryside might not be that big an issue but in central London it’s the difference between driving a nice car to where you want to be going or driving it into the middle of stabby mcstabville.
I have a 13 plate A4 as the motorway steamer - same issue - same half a sat nav and no DAB.
So much for Audi being premium.
My first experience of an XF was as a courtesy car when my S-Type was in for service. Absolutely horrible. Noisy, bumpy, tinny. Felt like a van compared to the S-Type.
Some years later I needed a new car and for the first time ever there was no car I actually wanted to buy. The XF proved to be the least worst of the options, winning finally on the interior. I got the colour I wanted, and most of the spec. I tried very hard to like it. I would go out in the evening and look at it and try to convince myself I liked it. The main failure was the horrendous ride quality on 19" wheels. Switching to 17" helped a bit but it was hardly a Jaguar. Didn't look like one either, apart from the badges. Fast, but unrefined. You could hear the engine at tickover. Fortunately after 9 months it got written off.
Some years later I needed a new car and for the first time ever there was no car I actually wanted to buy. The XF proved to be the least worst of the options, winning finally on the interior. I got the colour I wanted, and most of the spec. I tried very hard to like it. I would go out in the evening and look at it and try to convince myself I liked it. The main failure was the horrendous ride quality on 19" wheels. Switching to 17" helped a bit but it was hardly a Jaguar. Didn't look like one either, apart from the badges. Fast, but unrefined. You could hear the engine at tickover. Fortunately after 9 months it got written off.
Simpo Two said:
My first experience of an XF was as a courtesy car when my S-Type was in for service. Absolutely horrible. Noisy, bumpy, tinny. Felt like a van compared to the S-Type.
Some years later I needed a new car and for the first time ever there was no car I actually wanted to buy. The XF proved to be the least worst of the options, winning finally on the interior. I got the colour I wanted, and most of the spec. I tried very hard to like it. I would go out in the evening and look at it and try to convince myself I liked it. The main failure was the horrendous ride quality on 19" wheels. Switching to 17" helped a bit but it was hardly a Jaguar. Didn't look like one either, apart from the badges. Fast, but unrefined. You could hear the engine at tickover. Fortunately after 9 months it got written off.
Out of interest what did you replace it with?Some years later I needed a new car and for the first time ever there was no car I actually wanted to buy. The XF proved to be the least worst of the options, winning finally on the interior. I got the colour I wanted, and most of the spec. I tried very hard to like it. I would go out in the evening and look at it and try to convince myself I liked it. The main failure was the horrendous ride quality on 19" wheels. Switching to 17" helped a bit but it was hardly a Jaguar. Didn't look like one either, apart from the badges. Fast, but unrefined. You could hear the engine at tickover. Fortunately after 9 months it got written off.
Does any car have a sat nav as good as apple
Car play with google maps?
Even my current 2018 A3 which has google maps as the sat nav isn’t as good as the google maps on my phone
As for the XF, the original was a looker, the facelift almost as good but the current one looks like it was designed with a ruler by an accountant. And the fact that some still come with halogen headlights screams penny pinching to me
Car play with google maps?
Even my current 2018 A3 which has google maps as the sat nav isn’t as good as the google maps on my phone
As for the XF, the original was a looker, the facelift almost as good but the current one looks like it was designed with a ruler by an accountant. And the fact that some still come with halogen headlights screams penny pinching to me
Simpo Two said:
My first experience of an XF was as a courtesy car when my S-Type was in for service. Absolutely horrible. Noisy, bumpy, tinny. Felt like a van compared to the S-Type.
Some years later I needed a new car and for the first time ever there was no car I actually wanted to buy. The XF proved to be the least worst of the options, winning finally on the interior. I got the colour I wanted, and most of the spec. I tried very hard to like it. I would go out in the evening and look at it and try to convince myself I liked it. The main failure was the horrendous ride quality on 19" wheels. Switching to 17" helped a bit but it was hardly a Jaguar. Didn't look like one either, apart from the badges. Fast, but unrefined. You could hear the engine at tickover. Fortunately after 9 months it got written off.
I guess you can’t account for the grandads who like the old magic carpet ride. My XFR-S has a much harder ride than the XFs you’ve experienced and it’s on 20” wheels. Fantastic ride and handling. Some years later I needed a new car and for the first time ever there was no car I actually wanted to buy. The XF proved to be the least worst of the options, winning finally on the interior. I got the colour I wanted, and most of the spec. I tried very hard to like it. I would go out in the evening and look at it and try to convince myself I liked it. The main failure was the horrendous ride quality on 19" wheels. Switching to 17" helped a bit but it was hardly a Jaguar. Didn't look like one either, apart from the badges. Fast, but unrefined. You could hear the engine at tickover. Fortunately after 9 months it got written off.
Flumpo said:
Simpo Two said:
My first experience of an XF was as a courtesy car when my S-Type was in for service. Absolutely horrible. Noisy, bumpy, tinny. Felt like a van compared to the S-Type.
Some years later I needed a new car and for the first time ever there was no car I actually wanted to buy. The XF proved to be the least worst of the options, winning finally on the interior. I got the colour I wanted, and most of the spec. I tried very hard to like it. I would go out in the evening and look at it and try to convince myself I liked it. The main failure was the horrendous ride quality on 19" wheels. Switching to 17" helped a bit but it was hardly a Jaguar. Didn't look like one either, apart from the badges. Fast, but unrefined. You could hear the engine at tickover. Fortunately after 9 months it got written off.
Out of interest what did you replace it with?Some years later I needed a new car and for the first time ever there was no car I actually wanted to buy. The XF proved to be the least worst of the options, winning finally on the interior. I got the colour I wanted, and most of the spec. I tried very hard to like it. I would go out in the evening and look at it and try to convince myself I liked it. The main failure was the horrendous ride quality on 19" wheels. Switching to 17" helped a bit but it was hardly a Jaguar. Didn't look like one either, apart from the badges. Fast, but unrefined. You could hear the engine at tickover. Fortunately after 9 months it got written off.
I was going to throw the keys back to BMW FS last Autumn and toyed with replacing my 640d with a used XF-S, on the basis that I'd decided I was going to pay off the 6er or spend the same on something of broad equivalence but with fewer miles. Looking at and driving XF's I was genuinely staggered. The ride was a revalation in comparison to my RFT-equipped 640d, they didn't creak or rattle and that diesel V6 felt no less strong than the BMW lump. My decision to stick with what I had was purely down to the fact that I'd had the 640d pretty much from new, so I felt I knew the car and where it had been. Otherwise it would have been the XF all the way. No one was more surprised than me that the XF was so good.
I needed a Jag in my life though, so decided to finally take the plunge after 3 years of searching and bought a ''88 3.6 manual Sport pack XJ-S. I now seem to drive that more than the 640d, even though it's only meant to be a weekend toy. Ridiculous!
I needed a Jag in my life though, so decided to finally take the plunge after 3 years of searching and bought a ''88 3.6 manual Sport pack XJ-S. I now seem to drive that more than the 640d, even though it's only meant to be a weekend toy. Ridiculous!
DP33 said:
I was going to throw the keys back to BMW FS last Autumn and toyed with replacing my 640d with a used XF-S, on the basis that I'd decided I was going to pay off the 6er or spend the same on something of broad equivalence but with fewer miles. Looking at and driving XF's I was genuinely staggered. The ride was a revalation in comparison to my RFT-equipped 640d, they didn't creak or rattle and that diesel V6 felt no less strong than the BMW lump. My decision to stick with what I had was purely down to the fact that I'd had the 640d pretty much from new, so I felt I knew the car and where it had been. Otherwise it would have been the XF all the way. No one was more surprised than me that the XF was so good.
I needed a Jag in my life though, so decided to finally take the plunge after 3 years of searching and bought a ''88 3.6 manual Sport pack XJ-S. I now seem to drive that more than the 640d, even though it's only meant to be a weekend toy. Ridiculous!
I have to say the xjs has grown on me massively, pre Covid I was doing man maths for something like this:I needed a Jag in my life though, so decided to finally take the plunge after 3 years of searching and bought a ''88 3.6 manual Sport pack XJ-S. I now seem to drive that more than the 640d, even though it's only meant to be a weekend toy. Ridiculous!
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