Drove the new XJ 3.0D
Discussion
with a view to buying March time,( choice would be LWB Portfolio with a dark interior)and I feel a bit underwhelmed to say the least.Engine and gearbox fine, but the ride was very fidgety on 20" wheels,hated the dials(look like an early PS game) especially the rev counter that blurred as it couldn't keep up when you put your foot down,and the car really lacked any type of quality feel other than the doors closing with a decent thunk.Lots of road noise (maybe enhanced by the lack of engine noise, are the XJ's double glazed?)and all in all the whole experience seemed to miss the mark.
Would a LWB ride any better,the salesmen seems to think no difference, and did any owners on here pick 19" wheels over the 20"?
Maybe I need one for a day rather than a 20min drive....
Would a LWB ride any better,the salesmen seems to think no difference, and did any owners on here pick 19" wheels over the 20"?
Maybe I need one for a day rather than a 20min drive....
Edited by sjc on Tuesday 29th November 23:32
k off.Simpo Two said:
Nice.
I put a perfectly reasonable post up, and got a reply from someone who obviously thinks he's clever and funny, but is actually troll like.I gave it the response it deserved, other than ignoring it maybe,which might have been better, apologies if it got your back up.Triple7 said:
Still looks fabulous on the road in Lunar......I still think you will find it better than a Bimmer/Audi or Merc with regards to quality & road manners. My vote would be the 5.0 n/a V8.
I agree,Lunar/LWB and 20" wheels is nigh on perfect appearance wise, and the rear styling is a grower, although I have a feeling it may date very quickly? .Bmw's and Audi's just aren't me,wife previously had a CLS another of which is a possibilty again, or a Phaeton, but I've been a Jag fan all my life and really want to like the XJ enough to have one.I'll be doing at least 20K per annum in it watching my son play football etc etc, so it has to be 3.0 diesel.
Cheers for you thoughts.
I'm thinking about going for a 5.0 V8 LWB Portfolio some time next year so I was interested to see this feedback.
I've seen quite a few on the road now and they do look stunning IMHO, especially in LWB form.
sjc said:
the car really lacked any type of quality feel other than the doors closing with a decent thunk.
Can you elaborate? What bits struck you as low quality and why? I have only sat in one briefly (at a car show) and it seemed pretty well put together to me. I felt the S-class had marginally better interior quality (more solid feel to the switches; less "movement" in the trim pieces) but there was not much in it.sjc said:
Lots of road noise (maybe enhanced by the lack of engine noise, are the XJ's double glazed?)
I believe the answer is no. I know that the Mercedes S-class and Lexus LS are double glazed. I am pretty sure I remember a Jaguar rep telling me that the XJ is not. Can any owners confirm?I've seen quite a few on the road now and they do look stunning IMHO, especially in LWB form.
sjc said:
with a view to buying March time,( choice would be LWB Portfolio with a dark interior)and I feel a bit underwhelmed to say the least.Engine and gearbox fine, but the ride was very fidgety on 20" wheels,hated the dials(look like an early PS game) especially the rev counter that blurred as it couldn't keep up when you put your foot down,and the car really lacked any type of quality feel other than the doors closing with a decent thunk.Lots of road noise (maybe enhanced by the lack of engine noise, are the XJ's double glazed?)and all in all the whole experience seemed to miss the mark.
Would a LWB ride any better,the salesmen seems to think no difference, and did any owners on here pick 19" wheels over the 20"?
Maybe I need one for a day rather than a 20min drive....
I recently drove one and my thoughts were quite a bit different, but I guess it depends what you are comparing them to. In my case the alternatives being considered are the A7, A8, 730d M Sport and the E350 Sport (S class not considered due to impending facelift/new model).Would a LWB ride any better,the salesmen seems to think no difference, and did any owners on here pick 19" wheels over the 20"?
Maybe I need one for a day rather than a 20min drive....
Edited by sjc on Tuesday 29th November 23:32
Aesthetics - The A7 edged this one for me. The XJ probably has more presence from many angles, but the rear still leaves me unsure every now and then. The A7 on the other hand might be mistaken for other Audi's from head on, but to my eye there wasn't a bad angle to view it from. Both look alot better in the metal IMO. The A8 was pretty much eliminated due to its bland looks unfortunately.
Road Noise - The A8 and XJ were pretty good. Not perfect, but given they were on 19/20" alloys and low profile tyres i hadn't expected perfection. My experiences in S Classes have been better, but ive never been in one with similar boots on. The A7 (poor above 50mph) and the BMW (run flats?) lagged way
behind.
Ride and handling - None were as supple as an out and out lux barge. But IMO the boots were partly responsible. I think you'd really need to go 18" Max with higher profile tyres if you're looking for "glide" rather then "ride". Having said that neither I or my passengers had any complaints about the ride quality. And the XJ was the better of the bunch, but not by much over the A8. Where it came into its own was the way it drove. The BMW was the closest match and had the better weighted steering wheel (although that could be my conditioning as a long time BMW driver). But the XJ drove like a much smaller, more agile, lighter car when compared to the rest.
Interior - I found your comments about the interior most surprising. The others had better tech (if you're prepared to tick the options boxes) and the Audi's switch gear probably feels more solid. But we sat in the cars back to back several times (checking cars at various dealers to decide on colour/spec/etc) and after sitting in the XJ you couldn't help but notice the plastics in the other cars. Over the several days I visited local dealers, everyone that tagged along thought the XJ made the interior of the other cars feel cheap by comparison. It even compared favourably to an Audi UK A8 which had been specd up to £100k.
And yes I am trying to put my money where my mouth is. Currently looking for a car in Black/Black or Lunar/Black.
Edited by 5to1 on Wednesday 30th November 20:38
Edited by 5to1 on Wednesday 30th November 20:43
Those comments are interesting, as they differ so much to my own! Maybe it's a car that you appreciate more the more time you spend deciding/driving/owning. I'm quite prepared(and indeed hope) to have my initial opinions turned on their head with an extended test,and it's possible I was expecting too much in not getting the "must have" feeling immediately.
AmitG said:
I'm thinking about going for a 5.0 V8 LWB Portfolio some time next year so I was interested to see this feedback.
Actually the way you've described it was pretty much my thoughts,and I think the dials could have prejudiced the way I perceived other things in the car, as it felt as if I was sitting behind an old Sega driving game!sjc said:
the car really lacked any type of quality feel other than the doors closing with a decent thunk.
Can you elaborate? What bits struck you as low quality and why? I have only sat in one briefly (at a car show) and it seemed pretty well put together to me. I felt the S-class had marginally better interior quality (more solid feel to the switches; less "movement" in the trim pieces) but there was not much in it.Are we all in agreement that the LWB is a more imposing, better looking car?
sjc said:
Actually the way you've described it was pretty much my thoughts,and I think the dials could have prejudiced the way I perceived other things in the car, as it felt as if I was sitting behind an old Sega driving game!
Are we all in agreement that the LWB is a more imposing, better looking car?
I really liked the dials Are we all in agreement that the LWB is a more imposing, better looking car?
I initially thought they were a bit of a gimmick, but when I found that the display can change according to context (i.e. you can have different things on the display depending on what you're doing) it suddenly made sense.IMHO the LWB is much better looking than the SWB. The XJ's roofline is much lower than the competition. The LWB version accentuates this even more. It looks brilliant.
I'm still unsure about the rear and those blacked out C-pillars. I wonder if the C-pillars are made that way for ease of construction, or to avoid the issues which the X350 had (corrosion at the joint between base of C-pillar and rear wing), rather than for any design reason.
Personally I don't like the privacy glass, but it seems that you have to have it. The Jaguar dealer said that you cannot order the car without it.
AmitG said:
IMHO the LWB is much better looking than the SWB. The XJ's roofline is much lower than the competition. The LWB version accentuates this even more. It looks brilliant.
Personally I don't like the privacy glass, but it seems that you have to have it. The Jaguar dealer said that you cannot order the car without it.
You can have the LWB's without rear privacy tint,but not on Portfolio spec IIRC.Personally I don't like the privacy glass, but it seems that you have to have it. The Jaguar dealer said that you cannot order the car without it.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to see the SWB & LWB at the same dealership, with the same colour/size wheels. The SWB cars also appear to have the privacy glass deleted more often then not, which makes a direct comparison hard.
The two best looking cars I've seen are a Lunar Grey/Jet Black (lookers Park Royal) and an Ultimate Black/Jet Black, both with 20's on I believe. These were both SWB, but that doesn't mean a LWB car similarly kitted out and polished wouldn't look better. Having seen pics before we went to see the XJ my friends were Luke warm about it, however their jaw dropped after seeing the Lunar Grey car at Lookers.
WRT the virtual instruments I hope JLR will exploit this further. I see your point about the dials, but the ability to present context based data was a big plus for me. However, IMO they need to use this in a less rigid manner. Why have a full 12" display, if you are going to largely stick to 3 circular dials within which to present info.
The two best looking cars I've seen are a Lunar Grey/Jet Black (lookers Park Royal) and an Ultimate Black/Jet Black, both with 20's on I believe. These were both SWB, but that doesn't mean a LWB car similarly kitted out and polished wouldn't look better. Having seen pics before we went to see the XJ my friends were Luke warm about it, however their jaw dropped after seeing the Lunar Grey car at Lookers.
WRT the virtual instruments I hope JLR will exploit this further. I see your point about the dials, but the ability to present context based data was a big plus for me. However, IMO they need to use this in a less rigid manner. Why have a full 12" display, if you are going to largely stick to 3 circular dials within which to present info.
Edited by 5to1 on Wednesday 30th November 22:49
AmitG said:
sjc said:
Actually the way you've described it was pretty much my thoughts,and I think the dials could have prejudiced the way I perceived other things in the car, as it felt as if I was sitting behind an old Sega driving game!
Are we all in agreement that the LWB is a more imposing, better looking car?
I really liked the dials Are we all in agreement that the LWB is a more imposing, better looking car?
I initially thought they were a bit of a gimmick, but when I found that the display can change according to context (i.e. you can have different things on the display depending on what you're doing) it suddenly made sense.IMHO the LWB is much better looking than the SWB. The XJ's roofline is much lower than the competition. The LWB version accentuates this even more. It looks brilliant.
I'm still unsure about the rear and those blacked out C-pillars. I wonder if the C-pillars are made that way for ease of construction, or to avoid the issues which the X350 had (corrosion at the joint between base of C-pillar and rear wing), rather than for any design reason.
Personally I don't like the privacy glass, but it seems that you have to have it. The Jaguar dealer said that you cannot order the car without it.
Seriously? You really can't have one without the Chav/Drugdealer/Celebrity Wannabe glass option? What's next - gold plated diamond encrusted wheels, a Khan bodykit complete with neon lighting and a row of pumpin' subs in the boot?
This will not do
Simpo Two said:
Whatever it takes to get the 'young' market I suppose.
Strange you don't get a choice though - how hard can it be?Salesman: "Has Sir considered the privacy glass option on his new Jaguar?"
Da Yoof: "Yo bro max it up cuz is gettin respect on da street an well Gangsta innit"
Me: "No thank you"
Jaguar steve said:
Strange you don't get a choice though - how hard can it be?
Salesman: "Has Sir considered the privacy glass option on his new Jaguar?"
Da Yoof: "Yo bro max it up cuz is gettin respect on da street an well Gangsta innit"
Me: "No thank you"
Steve, it's only compulsory on the Portfolio in LWB,it's an option on all spec below that and on SWB's.Salesman: "Has Sir considered the privacy glass option on his new Jaguar?"
Da Yoof: "Yo bro max it up cuz is gettin respect on da street an well Gangsta innit"
Me: "No thank you"
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