Critique: Jaguar XF 3.0 Sport - It seems that every time you read a review of a Jaguar, it is never a model that most people buy. It u...
It seems that every time you read a review of a Jaguar, it is never a model that most people buy. It usually has a V-8 is powerful enough for law enforcement to be on a first name basis with the supercharged driver. Its exhaust is strong enough to force the homeowners association to convene an emergency meeting. The price tag is enough to send someone to a private college for a year and a half. It would be a chance to make fewer trips to the gas station as Nordstrom. Maintenance costs will compete with the property taxes of the owner. Jaguar will probably make less than 10,000 units of this model during its lifetime for the whole world .
This review of a Jaguar will be very different from the one you usually read in other automotive publications. This supercharged Jaguar V-6 (although law enforcement can still get to know you). The price tag is enough for One year in a private college. The neighbors will be fine with the sound it makes. The owner can afford to shop at Neiman Marcus Nordstrom instead. Maintenance costs will likely rival mobile phone bill the owner. And Jaguar will sell more than 10,000 of it in the world this year .
Such was the case when I was a Jaguar XF 3.0 Sport for a week. Rather than assume the personality of a successful businessman who could waltz in Bloomingdale as it was his second home, I found myself chauffeuring my friends to their various commitments in Northern California. It turned out to be good for the examination of the car, but it resulted in not having the time to visit all the high-end shopping malls.
In other to get panoramic pictures during my time with the XF, in one day I was driving from San Jose to San Francisco to Stinson Beach (it is beautiful) in Petaluma (I got sick of seeing Tomales Bay miles) Sonoma (racecourse proved to be closed) in Calistoga (the expressway, it is transformed into a construction site and was reassigned to a baseball field) in Napa (where there are really good food), then back to San Francisco. In the process, I take at least 250 miles in a day on the car. During this trip, I learned a lot about the car, both good and bad.
The powertrain, with its 3-liter supercharged V-6 that makes 340 horsepower with the ZF gearbox 8-speed, was excellent. Jaguar announces that the car can go from 0-60 miles per hour in less than six seconds, and I believe them. When I had to spend some slow trucks on a two-lane road, the powertrain had no trouble going down a few gears and delivering the power required to overcome quickly. Personally obtain XF with the V-8-5-liter is useless in my opinion. Regarding the handling, during the walk from San Francisco to Stinson Beach, there was a lot of winding roads. So I put the XF dynamic mode, put the transmission in Sport mode, and Jaguar made its rapidly to why there are W-rated tires on it. In other words, it is very good. During my time with the car, the XF has returned an average of 23 mpg, which came in line with EPA estimates. There is also a start-stop system which may have helped to that number.
People liked the looks of the XF, especially the white with black wheels combination of my test car colors. Since the lifting of the XF for model year 2012, the design has become totally timeless. When driving through San Francisco and Berkeley, people on the sidewalk felt the need to look at the car. Furthermore, in a totally unscientific experiment, I parked in my driveway (instead of my 530i E39) and observed how people looked at the car as they drove by. Almost every time, the driver always felt the need to get a better look at the car. When the car is gone, most of my neighbors did a double take on the press vehicle that replaced the Jaguar. (I'm sure my neighbors think the XF is in store for the moment.) In addition, other drivers tend to move on the Jag when I drove up Route 1.
However I came in some parts of the car did not like. There is no way I can sweeten, but the user interface is horrible. He is the only aspect of the car that gives you an idea that the XF goes back to 08. I like to make fun of the difficulty of using BMW iDrive, but after using iDrive in the X3 my father, he became surprisingly intuitive. Meanwhile, the touch screen system in the XF dashboard is slow, and it takes forever to scroll through the different radio stations. The navigation system does not have the sophistication of systems from other manufacturers, giving me a rather roundabout way to get from San Francisco to Berkeley. The same touch screen system to be used for work climate control. To turn on the heated seat, you must press the button on the seat of the dashboard, then select the level of heat you want on the dashboard. On the other hand, music streaming from an iPhone 6 using Bluetooth worked well, while the basic sound system Meridian sounds good too.
Since I was driving several people when I got the car, I got a lot of comments regarding the interior. The at-least 12-way sports seats before have not loved by all, especially since you can not just slip into them due to the strengthening. (I will not recommend if you are over 0 pounds.) No one complains comfort rear seat; I heard no complaints after sitting there for two hours. Fold the rear seats to accommodate more cargo is another unorthodox process. You must open the trunk, pull a lever on the trunk of the ceiling and pull the rear seats down. The opening created is not large; it is better for objects such as skis and narrow suitcases. But most potential XF owners only care, as they will probably have another car for the job.
While driving the car, I was constantly on edge that the poor state of some roads and highways of Northern California would put too much pressure on the W-rated tires on wheels Jaguar 20 inches. Fortunately, a spare tire is included with the Sport XF 3.0, it is not full-size. In addition, when filling the car (with bonus, of course), the fuel pump tends to close after ten seconds if the fuel tank is far from complete. This was a problem at the two gas stations, I filled. I found myself researching the problem and it is quite common. The proposed solution was not to push the nozzle all the way, but I did not get to try this particular solution.
The XF 3.0 Sport is perfect for the person who always wanted a XFR, but did not want to face his cost of ownership. After all, fuel, maintenance, depreciation and insurance costs add up seriously. The V-6 has three quarters of the performance of the 5-liter V-8 while obtaining reasonable fuel consumption. Also, when I had the XF Sport 3.0, most people mistaken for the XFR largely through body kit, the standard Black Pack with its black grille and other exterior trim bits, and the wheels 20 inch dark gray which were at a point an option on the XFR.
on the other hand, if I had to make an XF, since I'm not one to get the sport package, I would take the XF 3.0 portfolio at the same price because it is the best choice for long cruising distances and idling in traffic, with its 19-inch wheels, has the best Meridian sound system standard (825 watts against 380 in my Sport test car), and more comfortable heated and active cooled seats included. However, other people will not give the portfolio without the gray bits of black and dark finish looks the same as sport, but ultimately it comes down to personal preference.
At an MSRP of $ 58.100, the XF 3.0 Sport is squarely within the range of the BMW 535i, Mercedes E350, Audi A6 3.0T (which also has a supercharged V-6), and Lexus GS350 price. However, you can usually negotiate $ 3,000 to $ 4,000 on the price (even if 5000 Jaguar USA provides incentives too $) on sport or the XF Portfolio 3.0, which softens the case for XF. All in all, you can get an XF on the doors of the concession for less than $ 60,000, while having more features than a Mercedes or Audi the same price.
Ultimately, the XF 3.0 is an excellent choice if you wanted the Jaguar experience, but were afraid of the cost of ownership. It is very fast returning well over 20 miles per gallon. The spectators will think your XF is much more expensive than it really is. Homeowner associations across the country will not hurt you if you have one. And above all, in a district of Mercedes E-Class and the BMW 5 Series cars, people take knowledge of the person with XF in the driveway. Just be aware of your conversations will be longer than before. Some people can go on and on Nordstrom.
Satish Kondapavulur is a writer for Clunkerture , where about a fifth of the articles are on old cars and where its Lemons unique racing dreams ended once he realized it was impossible to run a Ferrari Mondial. Its last weekend involved seven different conversations with neighbors about the reasons for the XF has disappeared
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