How do you like your XF? I juggled the idea of getting one over the Panamera due to price alone...
Overall I'm very impressed so far. Really enjoying the driving experience and general ownership.
Here's a breakdown of positives and negatives in greater detail.
Positives:
1.) The drive is absolutely fantastic. It is the best handling and steering executive saloon in its class that I've driven. It handles almost like a sports car as oppose to a heavy saloon, and whilst there is a slight degree of body roll, the feedback and steering response is excellent, and the turning agility and steering correction on point. The vehicle also hugs the road and feels much more planted than other similar executive vehicles.
The brakes are also decent, offering a nice degree of modulation, stopping power and response.
2.) The drive is also extremely smooth and soaks up gradient changes, bumps etc effortlessly. Perhaps it's the double wishbone suspension, but the ride is so much more comfortable and smooth than I ever expected it to be, especially given its on 20" low profile run flats.
3.) Noise proofing whilst not new 5 series levels, is overall very good. Even doing high speeds on a motorway, with your music turned off, road and outside noise is very unintrusive.
4.) Whilst the car isn't going to give you supercar speeds, and doesn't have the quickest 0-60 in the world, it is still plenty fast and has torque for days. In fact there's so much torque that even with an entire car full of overweight family members, the thing still pulls like there's barely any weight in it.
I live in a very hilly area, so the torque is just perfect. It bombs up steep hills, fully loaded, without a care in the world.
The car is also pretty wheelspin happy which makes it that little bit more entertaining to drive. That said, switching to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires has greatly reduced the amount of wheelspin I get, and provided much better traction overall. I still haven't dared completely turning off the traction control yet, as I'd probably be drifting all over the place, I do however leave it in Sport+Dynamic the majority of the time.
In that sense, I'm glad I got the diesel over the petrol. Whilst the petrol is slightly quicker in its 0-60, not only is it not nearly as torquey as the diesel model, but the fuel economy is also
far worse.
5.) Whilst the infotainment system isn't without its issues and hang ups, it is very pretty looking, slick and modern. The graphics are ace, and the sat Nav pinch to zoom, swipe to move or to go to the next screen etc, on the whole is very responsive. It is also super bright (even at 50% brightness it's brighter than you'd need).
Likewise, the TFT digital instrument cluster, whilst a little on the smaller side, is also excellent. I love the use of graphics, the way it all changes colour and design when you switch driving modes, the way information (especially sat Nav instructions and turns) show up in the left most cluster, the way you can have your sat Nav displayed over the entire thing etc.
6.) This car is incredible value for money when purchased used. The discount I got for a barely used, only 1 year old vehicle, was quite frankly outrageous. The result of which I was able to get lots of nice creature comforts and options on top, including heated steering wheel, heated seats (front and rear), 14 way seat memory, panoramic sunroof, upgraded infotainment and audio, automatic wipers etc. Most people who see the car and know the list price, tend to think I paid far more for it than I actually did.
7.) I personally love the look of the car. I know it's subjective, but I've always admired the look of the newest Jags. They're some sort of British, Aston Martin, German mash up, that just looks very modern, clean and appealing. Whilst the interior isn't as snazzy as the German rivals, it still looks slick and sporty with the way it all lights up and has lit lines throughout.
8.) The interior and boot space is very generous and spacious. You get a lot of legroom and headroom, and the boot, whilst not the most efficiently shaped, can fit an absolute crap tonne inside it.
I don't know if the car is less wide than the 5 series, 3 GT, E Class etc, but it certainly feels less wide. I'm able to squeeze it through tighter gaps so much more confidently, and I pretty much never touch or overrun road/lane markings in this car, which is something I'd unknowingly do on rare occasion in the other cars on motorways after a bump or gradient etc.
9.) I love using the mobile phone app to not only preheat my car before a journey, but to track journeys, mpg, fuel usage etc. It's a geeky little thing, but cool and convenient nonetheless.
Negatives:
(bare in mind most of these are first world nit picks.)
1.) I think the new 5 series and E class have slightly better interior cabin quality, solidity and by a tiny margin, technology. Eg, I love the wireless mobile charging tray in the new 5 series, prefer having the Sat Nav screen slightly higher up for better line of sight, and prefer nudging the gearstick left to engage Sport mode instead of turning a jog dial like in the Jag. The former just feels a bit more tactile, fun and sporty.
2.) I also still prefer BMW's iDrive infotainment just on the basis of being able to know everything from muscle memory alone.
Jaguars InControl Touch Pro (10.2" upgraded infotainment) is flashier and more modern, like using a giant iPad, and 95% of the time it's super quick and slick (at least on the latest software), however now and again it still hangs or lags, and you can't really press the buttons on the touch screen on muscle memory alone. You still have to very quickly glance at the screen before you touch a particular setting, mode or panel.
3.) The audio quality whilst very good and better than default systems in most executive cars, is not quite as good as some of the most premium upgraded systems I've heard. Whilst the bass is excellent, and it has both bass and subwoofer options that can be tweaked to pack a whollop, in my opinion the overall balance is too bass centric, and the tweeters and treble aren't quite as crystalline or spacious as I'd like. I actually keep bass at default levels, but put the treble up to counter balance the warmer nature of the sonic presentation.
On the plus side, the instrument separation and imaging is still very precise and detailed, and everything sounds really dynamic and engaging. I just feel there's an ever so slight lack of air to the sound. If they included an EQ option instead of just treble, bass and subwoofer options, this could have been remedied.
4.) MPG has been surprisingly good for me, bare in mind I'm driving the diesel variant. In general driving and motorway driving especially, even pushing high speeds, it barely drinks much fuel at all. However during major traffic, when you're barely inching forward over long spells, fuel economy ends up being pretty lacklustre, and the auto start stop function does little to remedy this. This is a car that prefers to be driving, not waiting around in traffic. Though to be fair, there's always eco mode for when you're in heavy traffic, though in eco mode the car is considerably slower and less throttle responsive.
5.) The noise from the engine lacks in theatrics, which isn't too surprising given its class and executive nature, but unless you really floor it or pull down your windows, the raucous isn't quite there. it's more of a subdued roar or high rev whine than shoutyness and pops and bangs.
6.) Rear visibility is pretty poor. Not the biggest issue, but a negative nonetheless.
7.) The AC vents are not the most powerful in the world. Whilst in the X5, max AC feels like a jet turbine fan to your face, in the Jag you barely feel it.
Anyway, I know I really went on, but those are my one month impressions thus far.
