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Sedans Jaguar XF 2009 Jaguar XF
427 messages, Last post on Nov 12, 2009 at 2:43 PM
You are in the Jaguar XF Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Several weeks ago I did a walk-around and sit-in of the XF and liked it. It looked and felt modern and seemingly a possible alternative to its competition. Well, last Saturday I took the car on a half hour test drive. I did highway and local driving, and by the end I wasn't sold. The car was certainly agile, and performed well, but small things kept the car from feeling special. I was surprised by the amount of road and wind noise. In fact the salesman admitted that a lot of noise was entering the cabin, and thought perhaps a seal around the front passenger door was to blame. In a $62,000 car! The sleek interior design that I loved a week earlier felt overly spartan on the road. The "handshake" that the new shifter performed was entertaining, but not the "emotional" experience that the marketing suggests. And yes, the rotating air vents and rising shifter did feel gimmicky. Rear leg and head room were very tight and the back seat area seemed somehow unfinished. Add the plastic front grille and problematic design of the headlights and the romance evaporated. This is a case where I followed the evolution of the creation of the XF and wanted very much to love it. I think the press - particularly the British press - has been overly enthusiastic about the car. There were 9 available at the dealership three weeks ago, and the same 9 were there this past weekend. I don't know if its the economy, or resistance to the new design, but I was surprised to see a heavily hyped new model available in such numbers for several weeks. So, it's back to weekend test-drives over the coming weeks, and I'm back to the usual suspects. 5 Series and the M45 are at the top of the list. Oh well.
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Replying to: riker2 (Mar 26, 2008 8:14 am) |
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Replying to: riker2 (Mar 26, 2008 8:14 am) |
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Replying to: peedy1 (Mar 22, 2008 5:00 pm) |
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Replying to: lyndonw (Mar 28, 2008 8:01 am)
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Replying to: luvtns (Mar 28, 2008 8:49 am) If you do a lot of miles a year on an expensive luxury car then leasing at 19,500 or 20,000 miles a year is a good idea as the leasing formulas don't really accurately predict future value at high mileage levels. You end up making out much better then if you bought the car financed it for say four years and then tried to flip out of it in 20 months with 50,000 miles. |
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I am a current 5-series owner. I have a 2000 528i and have been thinking of upgrading for several years. I love this car, and really don't like the styling of the newer 5's, so I have resisted. I was told about the new XF and blown away by the styling on my initial investigation. Our local dealer had 3 on the lot, a base, a premium luxury and a beautiful vapour grey SC. I got the initial sales pitch that prob. every new potential jag owner gets--about the elegance, prestige, blah blah. Anyway, finally got to sit in it after the mandatory walkaround and inspection under the hood, in the trunk, etc. The salesperson drove off the lot and tried to amaze with the shift paddles--not too impressed since I've had "tiptronic" for 8 years now. Finally my turn to drive. Seat is supple and comfy. the gear selector is a little weird at first, but doesn't take very long to get used to. She asked to slow way down on the on-ramp to the interstate, then tells me to "floor it". It handled the curve well, but not as tight and solid as my old 5 series. Very quick--when I looked at the speedometer, we were doing 115mph and the car was still accelerating. When I slowed to cruise at about 80, the check engine light came on. I felt bad, but the sales lady told me to drive it the way I did. I asked about a break- in period and if we should have done what we did, and she said no need, just not to drive at high speeds for long periods initially. Of course I was alarmed at the light in a brand new car (68 miles). There also was an annoying rattling in the driver side door, also "unusual" per the salesperson. To sum up, I think the feel is a little light. Plenty of acceleration, but the handling could be better. I am very nervous about the electronics considering it's a Jag and now owned by Tata motors of India. Also alarmed that they use regular non-synthetic oil--meaning a service every 5000 miles (although the manual rec. 10K, the dealer said it is better to change the oil every 5k). Considering the free maintenance at BMW, this would be a cost savings of thousands over 4 years. I really had hoped this would be a better car. The cost is more reasonable than a similar 5 or E, but I doubt reliability will be comparable and cost of ownership will likely be much higher. I think I'll stick with the Germans.
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Replying to: lyndonw (Mar 28, 2008 8:01 am) |
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| It's still much better than you would ever do on an XF lease. I was 99% ready to get the XF and had placed a deposit on one. The lease deals were...well, there are none. They lease at full MSRP with no incentives. The CLS and 550i lease rates you will find are much less. And the CLS generally lists for $10K+ more than the XF. Once I drove the CLS, I was convinced the XF was not worth $200+ more a month in lease paymnets. | |
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Replying to: luvtns (Mar 28, 2008 8:49 am) Case in point. With a MB lease, you're required to do maintenance and the car's computer tracks it and displys when it's overdue. Turn in the lease one day before the 24K mile service is due, and I just save $800...turn it in one day later, they bill me for that. There are lots of strategies to leasing that can make it a better deal. Ultimately, the bottom line is...if you don't mind driving one car for 5+ years, then BUY. Otherwise, lease, but make sure you're gettign a good deal (one great way is to shop other models....in this case, you'll see the XF deals suck). |
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