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Post by alf on Jun 15, 2017 16:53:36 GMT
I have had one of these for a couple of days now while Jaguar sort out my air con (apparently it had a small hole in the condenser). To keep it simple, the good, neutral, and bad: GOOD: - Great ride/handling balance - excellent ride quality yet keen and surefooted handling.
- Comfort - a great long distance cruiser, easy and comfortable to drive long distances.
- Feels smaller than it is - like the old version - I don't feel any penalty over a 3 series type car when threading through a gap, you sometimes notice the length when parking.
- Gearbox - works really well, though there is a bit of a pause, GO! feeling from the engine, being a 4 pot diesel of reasonable power.
- Economy - its had a particularly easy time of it, but has averaged 60mpg (my eco driver score, whatever Jaguar mean by that, is over 90%) which just seems like Witchcraft to me.
- Visibility - like on the old car - is superb, both using mirrors and over the shoulder. Important to me.
- Meridian sound system sounds awesome!
- Steering - I assume it's electric, it has a good weight and feel.
NEUTRAL:
- The new interior is OK. I don't love the more plasticky area around the gear selector, bereft of buttons, then a line of small buttons in front of it. The older setup of big flat buttons around the gear selector, with the whole lot in aluminium, looked better and was easier to use. The touch screen is OK. This one is mainly cream (seats) plus a sort of light browny grey leather (dash) with wood, not my cup of tea.
- Engine - it's obviously a diesel, and despite only being a 4-pot has adequate power for simple folk, but it's absolutely nothing to write home about and changes the whole feel of the car in the way engines do.
BAD: - The looks. I just can't get on with it. I find the XE fairly attractive, but the longer rear of the XF and the weird double curve on the rear lights contribute to it having a strangely staid appearance. The front is OK, but from the side, rear, and rear 3/4, it looks a bit awkward to me (see pics). It's more S-type than Aston Martin, which is what I always thought the original XF looked like from the back. To my eyes its the worst looking of the range, contrast that to when the XF first came out and it is some fall from grace. The F Type looks incredible, I love the F Pace (for what it is) and XJ also, the XE looks alright - nice in some specs/colours. This just looks plain and a bit gawky. And it's not just me, my 11 year old said "what's that monstrosity" when she came home from school last night and refused to believe it is the newer version of my car.
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Post by Blarno on Jun 15, 2017 20:15:39 GMT
I often struggle to tell the XE and XF apart now. Seems like Jag have adopted the German photocopier design philosophy.
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Post by michael on Jun 15, 2017 20:23:32 GMT
The rear is a bit awkward but it's still the best looking car in a class.
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Post by ChrisM on Jun 16, 2017 7:35:54 GMT
... my 11 year old said "what's that monstrosity" when she came home from school last night .....
Are you sure she was talking about the car?? I like it, and IMHO Jaguar are the only manufacturer who make good-looking large cars (although Volvo of all people are getting close) |
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Post by Tim on Jun 16, 2017 8:42:02 GMT
I often struggle to tell the XE and XF apart now.
Same here. I really don't like the new style for the rear lights.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2017 8:48:19 GMT
I don't mind the rear lights, and the front is far tidier than when the car was launched.
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Post by Martin on Jun 16, 2017 9:55:55 GMT
The rear looks like the last gen Skoda Superb which is never a compliment It looks terrible. I've always thought it must have been a late change as it looks stretched and like it's from a different model. The new Discovery looks stretched as well, so maybe that's the way it was always meant to be. Sounds like a decent car overall though. |
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Post by boc70 on Jun 16, 2017 10:07:53 GMT
I like it mostly, although I'm normally doing a double-take as to whether it's an XE or XF from the front when I see one. I don't even mind the back. The doors in that photo look like they're from a different, squarer car though. (especially the rear door shutline vs the D pillar/rear wing)
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Post by PG on Jun 16, 2017 10:39:18 GMT
I had a 163 hp diesel as a loaner and did a write up on the old forum. I also found it a great motorway cruiser, but the engine changes the character - as it is bound to do. Mine also had the pale dash and seats and that does the interior no favours. I've sat in an all black interior one and it felt a lot better. I'd live to try one with the digital dash that's available now. I understand what people mean about he side and rear 3/4 profiles, but I like it. As the car is actually shorter then the old XF and there is more rear leg room and boot room, I guess that it is inevitable that it looks a bit "back-end heavy". Side on it reminds me more of a mini XJ with the rear quarter light window being behind the door line. Whereas in the old XF and the XE, the rear quarter light is in the door frame. That changes the whole balance of the car. XJ  XE  New XF  Old XF  In fact if the XE was slightly longer, its side profile would be almost identical to the old XF. |
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Post by alf on Jun 16, 2017 16:55:15 GMT
I have mine back now - the new one rattled all the way to the garage, I could not work out where from. I far prefer the older one inside and out, mine feels like new. And the air con works a treat!
The service manager said the condenser is one of very few XFR weaknesses....
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Post by chipbutty on Jun 16, 2017 22:24:45 GMT
Like everything else, the wheels, trim level and colour make a massive difference. I thought my X260 was extremely good looking from every angle.  Old XFs in R and S trim look fab, but a plain model on 18s looks a bit pish - no change with the new model. |
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Post by ChrisM on Jun 17, 2017 20:45:13 GMT
^
And a standard rectangular rear number plate doesn't do it any favours either, you need the specially shaped one to fit the recess in the metalwork
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Post by Roadsterstu on Jun 18, 2017 14:10:11 GMT
I saw a new shape XF this morning and in Caesium Blue, in the sunlight, it looked fantastic. I just thought the rear end looked a bit too long, though.
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Post by alf on Jun 22, 2017 16:53:40 GMT
I saw a new shape XF this morning and in Caesium Blue, in the sunlight, it looked fantastic. I just thought the rear end looked a bit too long, though. That's the issue, I think - the new design suits the stubbier XE rear end better. And personally I far prefer the XE lights, the XF ones look a bit gash when lit up... It was amazing how much I missed the radar cruise compared to mine also... |
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Post by Alex on Jun 23, 2017 19:53:29 GMT
Looking at the side profiles of all the models, I personally prefer the rear quarterlight on the XJ that makes the long rear overhang look right, whereas the swept back treatment of the new XF just doesn't.
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