RE: Driving the 2018MY Jaguars

[Strudul]

Vroom101 said:

Oh, I agree - the old CLS was great. The new one, whilst looking more 'modern', lost some of the elegance of the original. Coincidentally, the CLS was dubbed the 'Jag fighter' when Mercedes first decided to do a swoopy, good looking saloon.


The A7 still looks like a determined defecating Doberman, though.

Dunno, I see quite a similar shape...

[WJNB]

The most amusing yet sad thing about Jaguars is that owners think they are buying pure British like Jags of old.
If you're of a certain age the thought of a dirty diesel in a Jag is enough is enough to make Sir William Lyons turn in his grave.

[lukeharding]

Vroom101 said:

I would suggest your mind is an unpleasant place to spend time . To me, the rear of an A7 looks like a dog that's attempting to take a dump whilst its owner is desperately trying to drag it along the ground.

And yet you're the one imagining dogs taking a dump....is that the sign of a mind that is a pleasant place to be?

haha

[btom]

Jesus, theres a lot of pap being written here.

No one buys a Jag nowadays because its British, the only people who whinge about car nationalities are those who seem to think its an insult to call it Indian owned. As for British media bias, get over your self, it just won a certain award which suggests its appeal stretches beyond (the imagined) bias you claim and is extremely well received in the US and Europe.

We bought our (petrol) F-Pace as it was by far the best car for us, if people don't like it then other makes are available. 10,000 miles in 6 months and its fking awesome, trouble-free rapid transport able to take children, tents, rugby kit and bikes. The IT system is also superb, not as intuitive as BMW but far better than the late 90's crap in the Macan for example.

Starting to sound like a Jag salesman but I really don't understand why there is so much hand wringing about Jaguars, its peculiar and not a little boring.

[W124]

btom said:

Jesus, theres a lot of pap being written here.

No one buys a Jag nowadays because its British, the only people who whinge about car nationalities are those who seem to think its an insult to call it Indian owned. As for British media bias, get over your self, it just won a certain award which suggests its appeal stretches beyond (the imagined) bias you claim and is extremely well received in the US and Europe.

We bought our (petrol) F-Pace as it was by far the best car for us, if people don't like it then other makes are available. 10,000 miles in 6 months and its fking awesome, trouble-free rapid transport able to take children, tents, rugby kit and bikes. The IT system is also superb, not as intuitive as BMW but far better than the late 90's crap in the Macan for example.

Starting to sound like a Jag salesman but I really don't understand why there is so much hand wringing about Jaguars, its peculiar and not a little boring.

It's just other people opinions.

[DPSFleet]

That 4 pot diesel is awful, and very heavy on fuel, a joke! Jaguar? I think not! And before you all start chirping in, I have owned two including the latest "economical" version that does 28mpg! Got rid of the last one after 9 months from new as it was cheaper to run my 3.0 diesel!!!

[ArtVandelay]

Ray_Aber said:

A worthwhile and long overdue expansion of engine choice. The ranges have all needed fleshing out, and the new engines should achieve that. At some point, though, the venerable 5.0l V8 will need replacing - perhaps with a 4.0 Ingenium twin turbo V8?

Jaguar do need to improve their drab interiors though - they are some way behind the German opposition.

As for desirability, I place Jaguar ahead of the Germans in the classes covered here - perhaps with an honourable exception of certain BMW 3 series models (lovely inside, good engines). The styling of the XE has grown on me, and I think it's considerably more attractive than the broken-bonnet BMW, gobby soap bar Audi and melted Merc. The XF is still growing on me, but the outgoing BMW 5 is as elegant (forget the Merc and Audi for the same reasons as their lesser brethren). The F-Pace? WAY nicer than the opposition. What a gorgeous car.


Overall, it's a positive step, and reflective of the fact that Jaguar are still not large enough to cover all the bases that the Germans can. They are getting there though.

From what I've read, the new XF is a step down from the previous generation with regards the interior.

I'd argue the XJ still has one of the nicest interiors of any modern car, though Mercedes top that now with the new S-Class IMO

I love my XJ Supersport, it has everything I need in a car, even if it's a pain to park.

[anonymous-user]

"Another Americanism creeping into the British automotive lexicon is the roll-out of model-year cars before the previous year is even half-way through."

Nothing new about this. It is used globally

[JamesRR]

That XJR is simply stunning. I shall have to have one some day, somehow. Let's just hope it does the usual powerful barge trick of losing value like a piano falling out of a tower block.

[CaptainRAVE]

A really bland line up. Bring back the Jaguar of old. Do people even aspire to own one of these anymore, other than the higher end F-types?

[aston addict]

Always liked the old jags, esp the XJ in the arfur daley days! However the modern range leaves me a little cold - sat in a f pace and whilst it looks good from the outside, the interior was cheap and ugly. And the top of the door trims that turns 90 degrees between the A and B pillar - what chump thought of that? Ruins a decent place to rest your elbow!

As for BMW interiors - gone is the simple elegance of the e30 and even e46, now looks like a love child of a 80s mitsui stereo mated to some hideous creation from DFS with a little neon-ess sprinkled in....

[sheepman]

another thread where the "experts" on here bash everything about JLR, its amazing they're still in business at all if this thread and every one previous is anything to go by

[Cotic]

PrancingHorses said:

WTF is that ugly piece of plastic showing behind the grill badges

It's the radar unit for the adaptive cruise control. All such-equipped cars need it, but Jag insist on putting it in the exact place your eye is drawn to...

[300bhp/ton]

sheepman said:

another thread where the "experts" on here bash everything about JLR, its amazing they're still in business at all if this thread and every one previous is anything to go by

I can't deny their success, these new generation Jaguars obviously appeal to a large and broad market. I just think it's a shame they have left such much of their roots behind, just to be another German wannabe and lookalike.

As odd as it sounds, I'd rather they remained a smaller business and stuck to what they did well. For example, if Caterham started building 100,000 cars a year. You'd lose the key thing that is their core appeal.

Why JLR transformation isn't as big, I still personally feel it has had a similar kind of effect.


For instance, when the current new XJ was launched, I remember seeing one on a trip out with my partner, I pointed it out and say, hay, there is the new Jaguar. Her reply was, you're joking, it looks more like a newer Omega than a Jaguar.

Which I think pretty much sums where they are now. They are aimed to appeal to people who might want an Audi, Merc or BMW. Whereas previously they were aimed at the people who didn't want an Audi, Merc or BMW.

[HighwayStar]

CaptainRAVE said:

A really bland line up. Bring back the Jaguar of old. Do people even aspire to own one of these anymore, other than the higher end F-types?

Bring back the Jaguar of old... That would be the old XJ's that weren't selling in any meaningful numbers whilst potential customers said they were dated and Audi, BMW, Merc and Lexus delivered what they wanted.
It never ceases to amaze me when people think bringing back those old cars would be successful when the weren't in their day. A small percentage of members of tiny forums may put their money where their mouths are but I'm fairly certain Jaguar wouldn't exist now.
As for the guy suggesting they could've gone a different way and made less cars... hmmm. Less economy of scale means paying more for the car which would bring the usual PH how much!!! That should be x £'ssss, I wouldn't pay that for a Jag etc.. Well businesses are about making money. Their cars are not for me but I'm glad they are successful making and selling cars that people actually want.

[Cotic]

300bhp/ton said:

I think JLR and Aston do it more so and worse, BMW have more just kept the grill design, rather than entire shape of the car.

And from my stand point, the Jags are just fugly and bland and certainly no better looking than the competition, just arguably fuglier.

At the significant risk of setting this thread up for besquillions of photos, are there any current production cars you actually do like?

[Ray_Aber]

ArtVandelay said:

From what I've read, the new XF is a step down from the previous generation with regards the interior.

I'd argue the XJ still has one of the nicest interiors of any modern car, though Mercedes top that now with the new S-Class IMO

I love my XJ Supersport, it has everything I need in a car, even if it's a pain to park.

You're absolutely right. My comment didn't mention the XJ interior, but I should have; how can Jaguar come up with swoopy brilliance in the XJ, then go black and bland in the XE/XF/F-Pace? The XJ should have been the platform to kick on with interiors, but that simply did not happen.

PS I hate the Merc E type slab dash. Just saying. It may be well built, but it's like being under a large wave (Jaws, Teapuho'o) before it breaks....

[300bhp/ton]

Cotic said:

At the significant risk of setting this thread up for besquillions of photos, are there any current production cars you actually do like?

Some, but not many I'm honest.

As unlikely as winning the lotto is, if I did. There are actually very few new car dealerships I'd be visiting.

I like the S550 Mustang. I think the MINI's, although not as good looking as past MIN's still look good. Many US market pickup trucks, but including some from Toyota and others not just US makers.

GT86/BRZ, MX-5, some Subaru's, some Volvo's. Jeeps. And others. Not saying I'd want to buy any or all of these. But they are cars I don't personally object too from my own taste point of view.

If it was money where my own mouth is:

-Mustang
-Wrangler
-MX-5
-GT86
-Ram
-Raptor

There are others.

[Limpet]

HighwayStar said:

Bring back the Jaguar of old... That would be the old XJ's that weren't selling in any meaningful numbers whilst potential customers said they were dated and Audi, BMW, Merc and Lexus delivered what they wanted.
It never ceases to amaze me when people think bringing back those old cars would be successful when the weren't in their day. A small percentage of members of tiny forums may put their money where their mouths are but I'm fairly certain Jaguar wouldn't exist now.
As for the guy suggesting they could've gone a different way and made less cars... hmmm. Less economy of scale means paying more for the car which would bring the usual PH how much!!! That should be x £'ssss, I wouldn't pay that for a Jag etc.. Well businesses are about making money. Their cars are not for me but I'm glad they are successful making and selling cars that people actually want.

Completely agree with this post.

You get this all the time with MINI, about how the original was a classic and BMW made it a fashion accessory and ruined it blah blah. No, they took a modern interpretation of an antiquated product that was well past its sell by date, and more importantly (last year rush aside), that nobody was buying, and they marketed it absolutely flawlessly, creating an entire brand around the product.

I really like the Jaguar range (ridiculously shouty F Type exhaust note aside). The cars look good (achingly so in the case of the F Type Coupe), they seem pretty well made, and they are nice places to sit. Reliability depends who you speak to, but lets face it, BMW, Audi and Mercedes are hadly bastions of flawless engineering these days. Audi Multitronic owners and BMW N47 owners faced with crippling bills due to fundamentally flawed engineering are testament to that. I personally know of a case of Mercedes diesel injector failure on the way home from the showroom. The invincible German engineering thing has been little more than marketing fluff for a long time now.

Panning our own stuff and talking ourselves down is a thing in the UK. You just don't see it in other countries and cultures. Jaguars are not perfect, but neither are Mercedes, BMWs or Audis.

[300bhp/ton]

Cotic said:

At the significant risk of setting this thread up for besquillions of photos, are there any current production cars you actually do like?

BTW - Keeping this 'Jaguar' based. I like, I mean really like all Jaguars from the Swallow days right up until and including the x358.

I love the look and style of the S-Type and currently own an X-Type. As well as being a past Jaguar owner. But I wouldn't own an XE or XF for the simple fact I don't like how they look inside or out.