Help With Change Of Car

[boyracer1]

Last year in October I traded in a 2013 BMW 1-Series m sport 120D for a 2011 Jaguar XF 3.0d S. The main reason for the swap was I found the hard thumping ride of the 1-series not to my liking. Yes it handled very well but the ride on the shocking roads that I use became intolerable especially as it had developed a bad rattle behind the dash. So above everything else I was looking for comfort. Before the car swap I did my research, and always the Jaguar XF was a car mentioned and ranked very highly in various related articles. I went to test drive one. I was charmed. I bought it. I don’t know what I was thinking on the test drive, but boy this is one hard riding car. Better across the ground than the 1-series, but only marginally. It’s not a step change by any means. It still thumps and jarrs on my scarred roads. Needless to say I’m pretty angry with myself. I failed in my remit. I don’t want to be swapping cars every 2 minutes pouring money down the drain. I don’t need the latest technology and I’m happy to drive an older car. I just want something that meets my requirements that I can love and keep for a long time. I happen to love everything about the jaguar except the hard thumping ride and it’s a flaw you just can’t forget about.

I’ve been doing more research. Absolutely anything is a possibility. 90% of my driving time I’m alone so I don’t need a big car but I’m happy to drive a big car. I’ve considered anything from a Citroen C3 (not really, but apparently very comfortable) to a Mercedes s class and everything in between, anything I’ve seen mentioned as having a good ride quality in articles and forums. I’d say probably an s class is leading the race currently but it is a very big car for town driving when basically any car is big enough for me. So what I’m asking is what cars have people driven that are fantastically comfortable for town driving and driving on terribly scarred and pot holed roads?

Now I know I’ve said comfort above everything, and this is so, but as you can see from my car history (the BM and jag are my only cars ever) I am a bit car proud. I’d love to enjoy my comfortable car whilst also looking reasonably good if at all possible. Also it must be automatic and the more power the merrier as long as I can get at least 25mpg (what I get in the jag). I’ve heard mk1 and mk2 Ford Focus have good ride quality, Nissan Quashqai, Honda CR-V, Volvo XC60, e class, scirocco, and many others. I just don’t want to make another mistake. Does anyone have experience of these cars? Any other cars you’ve driven that just wafted over potholes, ridges and manhole covers?

There’s also a plan B. Spires comfort suspension for the Jaguar XF. From what I’ve been able to find it’s 15% softer and at £1500 it’s an expensive experiment to find out if 15% is enough. I’d prefer 25-30%.

[longblackcoat]

If you like it, buy the S Class - no more difficult to park than an E Class, they ride beautifully, and they depreciate like a falling log. I’ve averaged 35mpg over the last 10k miles and have loved it.

An alternative might be a Lexus LS - not really my thing but others like them. Personally I’d avoid 7-Seties if you’re after ultimate comfort; Audi A8 is the obvious other candidate.

[boyracer1]

I’d be very interested to hear from anyone that has a Jaguar XF with spires comfort suspension?

[kieranblenk]

For ultimate ride comfort I'm sure the Citroen C6, an S Class or a FF Range Rover is as good as it gets. Skoda Superbs on smaller wheels are pretty good too.

Try and get a test drive on roads you know are bad and use it as a point to focus on, you should get a better idea of what you can live with that way.

[boyracer1]

longblackcoat said:

If you like it, buy the S Class - no more difficult to park than an E Class, they ride beautifully, and they depreciate like a falling log. I’ve averaged 35mpg over the last 10k miles and have loved it.

An alternative might be a Lexus LS - not really my thing but others like them. Personally I’d avoid 7-Seties if you’re after ultimate comfort; Audi A8 is the obvious other candidate.

Yes I should have bought the s class first time round, but I didn’t really consider it. The depreciation is a beautiful thing just as it was for the jag. It was 46k new and I picked it up for 10k 7 years later and other than the hard ride it’s worked perfectly; daylight robbery. The LS isn’t really an option just due to costs. The youngest a8 I could afford would probably be 2012 and of everything I’ve read they don’t ride too well at all. Latest a8 said to be much better but way out of price range. I’d be looking at a W221 s class probably 2011-2012 with the diesel. In everything I’ve read they ride luxuriously but I did read just one bit where it was said they can be jittery around town; has this been your experience? I could live with a bit of jittering I suppose it’s mainly the thumping and crashing I hate.

[boyracer1]

kieranblenk said:

For ultimate ride comfort I'm sure the Citroen C6, an S Class or a FF Range Rover is as good as it gets. Skoda Superbs on smaller wheels are pretty good too.

Try and get a test drive on roads you know are bad and use it as a point to focus on, you should get a better idea of what you can live with that way.

Ah yes the famous Citroen ride quality. I’ve read a lot about it. I don’t think I could go with the c6 due to looks, but a c5 I could probably get away with. I’d like to own a rangey but just out of my budget I think. That’s a good few times I’ve heard Skoda Superbs have a comfortable ride, I’ll definitely take them into consideration.

Absolutely any future test drives I’ll be hunting out the worst roads I can find, or even on the roads I use if it’s in my local area. I was certainly nowhere near thorough enough In my test of the jag.

[ZX10R NIN]

Not sure what your budget but if you want a very nice riding car that's been ravaged by depreciation that has the ride quality of an S Class then here's your answer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the LS460

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Honda Legend Just look at all that sidewall

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[boyracer1]

ZX10R NIN said:

Not sure what your budget but if you want a very nice riding car that's been ravaged by depreciation that has the ride quality of an S Class then here's your answer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or the LS460

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Honda Legend Just look at all that sidewall

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Thanks for your contributions. Definitely thinking outside the box. I’d be happy to own any of those but realistically the best I’d get out of any of those is 15mpg and that’s just going to be too costly. I need minimum 25mpg really. Good to see stuff I’d never have thought of though!

[boyracer1]

I wonder is there any everyday hatchbacks that have a really impressive ride quality.

[Summit_Detailing]

E-class in SE spec (2014>) or Avantgarde spec (>2014) both offer sensible tyre width/sidewall ratio for decent ride over the elastic band tyres of AMG-line cars.

Superb is a good shout from a previous post above, not in Elegance or L&K specification, reason as above.

cheers,

Chris

[Sheepshanks]

What make, model and size of tyre does the Jag have?

[Pistonheader101]

Why not change the wheels and tyres to smaller alloys and larger profile tyres

[aka_kerrly]

ZX10R NIN said:

Not sure what your budget but if you want a very nice riding car that's been ravaged by depreciation that has the ride quality of an S Class then here's your answer:

Or the LS460

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Honda Legend Just look at all that sidewall

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I like your thinking!!!!!

That said, a question or two for the OP, what size wheels & tyres is your Jag currently on? Would you consider swapping an inch or two smaller wheels and some 45 or 55 profile tyres, this would have a huge impact on how the car behaves over bumps & pot hole riddled crap.

Have a play around on this site using some of the OEM Jag XF wheel specs & tyres
https://www.willtheyfit.com/

[boyracer1]

aka_kerrly said:

ZX10R NIN said:

Not sure what your budget but if you want a very nice riding car that's been ravaged by depreciation that has the ride quality of an S Class then here's your answer:

Or the LS460

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Honda Legend Just look at all that sidewall

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I like your thinking!!!!!

That said, a question or two for the OP, what size wheels & tyres is your Jag currently on? Would you consider swapping an inch or two smaller wheels and some 45 or 55 profile tyres, this would have a huge impact on how the car behaves over bumps & pot hole riddled crap.

Have a play around on this site using some of the OEM Jag XF wheel specs & tyres
https://www.willtheyfit.com/

So it’s the 3.0d S on the 20 inch wheels and 35 profile tyres. They’re currently wrapped in Davanti 640 tyres cos it came with a full new set. I’ll probably put Dunlop sport maxx rt2s on when they need replacing, assuming I kept the car. Dropping down to 18s has absolutely crossed my mind but it’s another expensive gamble. In other forums people have complained about the Jaguar XF hard ride even down to 17s. It is a hard riding car and my roads are especially bad. Strangely I find it quite a bit more supple on my morning drive to work at around 6.30am. Every time. The BMW was the same. My guess is that the pressure in the tyres is lower due to the colder night and standing on cold ground giving a softer ride. When like this I find it pretty much good enough. Maybe I don’t need such a transformative ride and a drop to 18” wheels will be just enough.

[aka_kerrly]

A quick scan of ebay an there seem to be 17inch Jaguar XF alloys as well.

Do many people swap springs on XFs? I have used Eibach pro springs on 4 different cars and would recommend them. They typically only lower by around 20-30mm max an have an amazing ability to reduce body roll & improve the handling yet feel more supple on small/medium sized bumps better than OEM.

[ZX10R NIN]

If you want better economy with some a softer ride that'll realistically see 25-30 mpg real world the I give you the Infiniti M3.5h in GT Premium spec.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Depending on what brakes you have on your Jag you could go down to an 18 inch wheel & then you'll be able to add some sidewall.

[Sheepshanks]

boyracer1 said:

Strangely I find it quite a bit more supple on my morning drive to work at around 6.30am. Every time. The BMW was the same. My guess is that the pressure in the tyres is lower due to the colder night and standing on cold ground giving a softer ride. When like this I find it pretty much good enough.

Just guessing - maybe it's colder oil in shock absorbers?

Running tyre pressures as low as possible used to be suggested, but it's risky these days as there's so little sidewall to proect large alloys from potholes.

I've got a 2005 model Merc C Class on 16" wheels and the ride on that is terrible - like there's just no suspension travel. It was horrendous when I got it (at 5mths old) on the original Bridgestone Turanza tyes - it was like driving on iron rings. It was a lot better on Michelins Primacy's, but still surprises people how crashy it is when they travel in it.

boyracer1 said:

Maybe I don’t need such a transformative ride and a drop to 18” wheels will be just enough.

You mentioned a few SUVs - missus has one of the last of the mk1 Tiguans. Came with 17" wheels and is very comfy. I put 16" winter wheels and tyres on it and its noticeably softer, although it becomes a little too bouncy.

[boyracer1]

ZX10R NIN said:

If you want better economy with some a softer ride that'll realistically see 25-30 mpg real world the I give you the Infiniti M3.5h in GT Premium spec.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Depending on what brakes you have on your Jag you could go down to an 18 inch wheel & then you'll be able to add some sidewall.

Got to say mate that Infiniti is one hell of a shout. I like it a lot and 5.5 to 60, lovely. My one reservation is that I have read reviews and forum comments about various Infiniti models and actually read they’re not that soft, more on the firm side. Mind you might be still considerably softer than my XF. Do you have any experience of aforementioned model yourself? Yes the minimum wheels I could go to on the jag is 18s.

[boyracer1]

aka_kerrly said:

A quick scan of ebay an there seem to be 17inch Jaguar XF alloys as well.

Do many people swap springs on XFs? I have used Eibach pro springs on 4 different cars and would recommend them. They typically only lower by around 20-30mm max an have an amazing ability to reduce body roll & improve the handling yet feel more supple on small/medium sized bumps better than OEM.

The only thing I’ve read is a few that have took on spires (jaguar specialists) comfort suspension for XF. It maintains stock ride height and I doubt you could lower this car very much at all, it does fill its wheel arches well. I’ve not encountered anything else in forums and the likes. Due to size of brakes with my model the minimum wheels I can drop to is 18s.

[ZX10R NIN]

boyracer1 said:

Got to say mate that Infiniti is one hell of a shout. I like it a lot and 5.5 to 60, lovely. My one reservation is that I have read reviews and forum comments about various Infiniti models and actually read they’re not that soft, more on the firm side. Mind you might be still considerably softer than my XF. Do you have any experience of aforementioned model yourself? Yes the minimum wheels I could go to on the jag is 18s.

I don't have experience of the M model but I have driven Q70's (which is the facelift M model) know the Premium spec Infiniti's have a softer suspension setup they always have more sidewall & a softer spring rate than the Sport models which are stiff, the drivetrain is very good (I sourced a Q50 S 3.5h which has the same drivetrain to a family member & they're over the moon with it & averaging 33mpg) smooth swift but the ride is a fair bit stiffer on the Q50 than it is on the M.