XF / XFR

[JVaughan]

Help .... looking for the next family car (well, mine to be honest, but suitable for family travel too). In the past Ive had a V70 T5 and loved the performance before taking the Diesel company car route for a new years, So, children not so little any more and my hankering for a nice big powerful car has returned. Im not a fan of BMW or Mercedes, but do like the look of the XF.

So, opinions on best model to have ... 2.7 or 3.0 diesel ?
is the XFR a massive step above the other model ?

Running costs / horror stories (or supportive comments)

[fatboy b]

A budget would be useful, along with annual mileage. Aim for a facelift if you can afford it, as it has an 8 speed box over the original's 6.

The sweet sensible option is the 3.0 diesel @ 240 bhp, but the S pushes this to 275, but depends on mileage, as short trips can cause DPF issues (as in all modern diesels)

Edited by fatboy b on Wednesday 10th September 17:01

[The Leaper]

JV,

I have no experience of a Jaguar with a diesel engine.

I ran a first edition S-Type 4.0 V8 for over 3 years, followed by a second edition S-Type 4.2 V8 for over 10 years and close on 130,000 miles. I changed to an XF 5.0 V8 Portfolio Plus (not the XFR)in June 2014. This car was just 5 years old, 31,000 miles, came with a full JMD warranty, year's Mot and full year's VED.

I consider the XF with this engine a very significant step up from the S-Type 4.2 V8 which was pretty good. The XF is more powerful (385 BHP), and the engine feels far more eager. IMHO the entire XF range is a big step forward for Jaguar.

There is only one drawback and it's that the ride is a bit more crashy than I expected. This is despite the fact that this car has the optional 19 inch wheels as opposed to the standard 20 inch. With everything else being far better than the S-Type I can accept this.

This particular model is, obviously, not up to the same performance as an XFR but 385 BHP is enough for me, and published stats do not show a huge difference between the two models.

This model was only available to order...it was essentially for the USA market , but was available in the UK if asked for. There are not that many around.

Fatboy recommends the second edition of the XF which is certainly worthy considering. I did consider this but I found the 8 speed box was always hunting for another gear which was annoying. The earlier model like mine has a 6 speed box which I think matches better with the 5.0 V8. Obviously, this is a personal preference.

Hopes this helps with your decision

R.

[JVaughan]

Sorry .. Price range .... Probably upto £30k but realistically looking at £20-25k as £30k is right at the top of my budget.

Edited by JVaughan on Wednesday 10th September 23:27

[jamieduff1981]

The R is a great car with very good economy considering the performance on tap. XFRs tend to be very well specced too so you'll get a lot for your money.

As big diesels go the Jag engines are very refined. They're still diesels though and come with complexities and a reluctance to rev which does hit home how pointless the big headline torque figures are in isolation. My wife test drove the 3.0 V6 diesel on her own and concluded 'nice car, let down by the diesel engine' so we ended up buying the petrol V8 which is a wonderful engine you simply won't tire of.

Both cars are a compromise - the diesel sacrifices enjoyment, performance and 'feel good factor' for better fuel consumption. The V8 sacrifices fuel economy for driving pleasure.

There is more to it than just the engine so I'd suggest trying both before assuming one is a faster or slower version of the other. I'd also strongly recommend going to the higher end of your budget to get the 8 speed gearbox rather than the 6. I own both. The 6 was a nice gearbox in its day and works fine. The 8 speed is a game changer though and well worth paying extra for.

[JVaughan]

Ok, cheers for that. Off looking at the weekend to get an idea of what exactly the trim levels give in terms of comfort & ergonomics.
A friends just threw the Monaro into the equation but this has subsequently been dismissed on for lack of opulence !!

I'm keeping the TVR so I'll still have my V8 fix if a diesel is chosen

[fatboy b]

Shame you weren't looking a few months back. I had my 2012 3.0s Portfolio up for sale for about £27k. I p-ex'd it in the end.

[threadlock]

The Leaper said:

I found the 8 speed box was always hunting for another gear which was annoying.

My main dealer has given me a few XFs as courtesy cars. My XKR has the 6-speed 'box and the XFs have had the 8-speed 'box.

I almost always use the paddles in my XKR and six gears is plenty. If you plan to leave drive in auto all the time then the 8-speed would be fine but if you want to use the paddles for a bit of driver involvement then 8 gears seems ridiculous. You'd always be changing gear. I tried this in the first XF I had and quickly gave up. Personally, I'd choose the 6 speed gearbox if I ever thought I'd be choosing gears manually.

[8bit]

I've never driven an XFR but I had a XFS 3.0 as a courtesy car while my own XKR was at the dealer for a few days earlier this year. This is coming from a complete V8 petrol addict - I loved the 3.0 diesel. It's as smooth as a smooth thing in a big bag of smooth. Acceleration is just indecent for a diesel. It even sounded OK. Economy wasn't that great but mostly I was just driving around town or giving it some stick to see what it could do.

Definitely drive both before you make up your mind.

[jamieduff1981]

threadlock said:

The Leaper said:

I found the 8 speed box was always hunting for another gear which was annoying.

My main dealer has given me a few XFs as courtesy cars. My XKR has the 6-speed 'box and the XFs have had the 8-speed 'box.

I almost always use the paddles in my XKR and six gears is plenty. If you plan to leave drive in auto all the time then the 8-speed would be fine but if you want to use the paddles for a bit of driver involvement then 8 gears seems ridiculous. You'd always be changing gear. I tried this in the first XF I had and quickly gave up. Personally, I'd choose the 6 speed gearbox if I ever thought I'd be choosing gears manually.

Couldn't disagree more.

The 8 speed gearbox is simply superior. It does absolutely everything better. It changes faster, wastes less power/fuel and there is no tangable difference in gears 1 through 6 - you just have the benefit of adding 7 and 8 which bring high speed cruising RPM right down. If you want to drive fast on the paddles then 2nd through 5th are more than enough for any British B road. Nobody is forcing you to use all 8 gears and with both the XFR-S and V8 F-Type neither need more than 2nd through 4th for any spirited public road driving. For cruising though, the 8th gear reduces the cruising RPM and improves fuel consumption significantly without compromising the acceleration in between.

The only reason to choose a 6 speed over an 8 speed is if you either can't afford a newer 8 speed car, or prefer slower gearchanges and like visiting petrol stations more often.

Edited by jamieduff1981 on Thursday 11th September 13:53

[8bit]

I'm with Jamie, at least on the XFS diesel I drove I thought the gearbox was excellent, always had power available, was quick to change when in D or S auto and using the paddles felt no more arduous than on the 6 speed on my XKR.

I did find myself wondering how well it would work on a petrol engine but the reports seem good and I'm sure Jaguar wouldn't have fitted it if it didn't work well.

[B3NNL]

Had my S tuned at DMS Southampton which took it up to 305BHP and over 600ft/lb torque! Absolutely phenomenal, so much so that it would out accelerate my mates GT3RS 30-70mph when we used to do the ring together.
Awesome piece of kit.

[ChasW]

Not owned either but had long drives in both of around Thruxton. The XFR was awesome but the diesel was not that far behind. Tried the XKR as well but did not like it as much as the XFR. Probably down to not feeling comfortable as helmets were mandatory and I felt really cramped.