[Argyll]

I have recently returned to the Jaguar fold having been a Mercedes man for 6 years and then a complete right turn by running a VW Golf TDI GT for the last three, so the Jaguar has a lot to live up to both from comfort and economy.



I took care to do my homework as the new 2.2 diesel engine is a whole new direction for Jaguar and having bought a number of years ago the Land Rover Defender with its 'new' Td5 engine it turned into a nightmare as they hadn't ironed out all the technical issues and I suffered a number of break-downs because of this.

I bought the car from my local Jaguar dealer, which was a relatively straight-forward process. The showroom was well presented, the sales executives were informed and the cars on display shone under the bright lights. My intenetion was to buy the Polaris White version, but when I arrived to order the car the sales exec I was dealing with had another customer with him, so I took a walk along to the showroom ......... and that's where I saw it, a Cashmere colour Jaguar XF. I was completely taken by surprise at how much I liked it, even if it did mean another £650 added to the price. White or Black is a no cost option in the UK.

I ordered a 2012 Jaguar XF 2.2D SE 190, the 190 being important to the next part of the buying process - the 190 is the hp rating for the engine, however 4 days after I ordered the car I received a telelphone call to say Jaguar were no longer taking orders for the XF SE with the 190 engine, they only now came with the 163 hp. Now, it may not sound a lot, however I reasoned 37 hp would make a difference to the performance of the car despite what Jaguar were assuring me it wouldn't. In the end up and after me complaining the dealership found the combination I wanted an a dealership near Bradford, but it came with another £800 of options I didn't want. We resolved that problem with me and the dealership splitting the cost, I paid £400 and they paid '£400'.



What I like -

I have had my Jaguar for over 3 months now and all in all its a very nice car indeed. Economy is excellent for such a large car getting an average of 43 mpg (Imperial) over 4000 miles. My driving to the museum is 2/3rds rural and 1/3rd city, so its a reasonable mix of conditions. On the motorways, on long journeys I see 52mpg regularly, but the overall figure is reduced due to low city driving economy figures.

The drive on motorways is excellent, plenty of 'Space & Grace' and when needed the 'Pace' is most certainly there if needed, in actual fact its quite surprising how quick such a large car can be with only a 2.2 powering it. The 8-speed auto box shifts seamlessly and is hardly noticable. Brakes are excellent as is the steering, although it took a wee bit of time to get used to it as it can be a bit 'lifeless' at times.

The interior is so nice its a pleasure to just sit in it and listen to the radio (which also comes with USB and MP3 connections). The SE trim doesn't have all the 'bells & whistles' like the more expensive versions such as there's no self-dipping rear view mirror, limited power options on the driver and passenger seats, no carpet set, but that's about it. On the other hand it comes with power adjustment steering wheel column, power air vents, blue interior ambient lighting with touch sensitive courtesy lights.

I've had a couple of small issues with a loose dashboard trim and a rattling bonnet, but they were efficiently and effectively resolved while I waited - they even cleaned off a small stain I hadn't even noticed on the Barley coloured passenger seat.

It looks like a million $'s, and stands out in amongst the masses of Audi's and BMW's. The car has a lot of presence on the road and it gets a lot of looks from pedestrians and other drivers, especially with the 'shark eyes' daylight running LED's.



What I dislike -

In town traffic my driving style, which isn't too boy racer I find I need to set the auto box in Sport for quicker responses at traffic lights and acceleration as its slow to respond from a standing start. This isn't helped by the 'Stop-Start' system, which if you're not watching the lights can catch you off guard and can make you even slower off the lights. That said, you really notice how long you sit at traffic lights with a smug smile with the engine shut down knowing that you aren't burning expensive fuel just waiting.

The standard alloy wheels on the entry level model (to my eye) aren't very nice, a bit on the fussy side for my taste and because of that I had to pay for an expensive wheel upgrade pack to 18" Vela's - but are much, much smarter. I was also annoyed that I had to buy the spare wheel (don't know if that is an optional extra in India) because if I didn't all I'd get was a tin of tyre goop and a small air compresser - not much use if you rip a side-wall and you're in the back of beyond!

I'm not comfortable with the pedestrian protection system, which in essence is a set of explosive gas charges that detects a collision with a pedestrian and blows the bonnet up into a safer angled position to lessen the impact. Apparently Jaguar UK have had complaints from owners who have gone over a 'sleeping-policemen' (traffic calming humps on the road) and the system has activated, the end result being an extremely expensive repair as the bonnet, gas charges, etc have to be replaced and painted, apparently costing over a £1000.

The front seats lack back support on long journeys as there's no adjustable lumbar support in SE spec cars - on my last long journey home of 200 miles I ended up with a sore back about 30 miles from home and it took days to shift. I've noticed this issue before, but I suppose I'll just fit in a couple of extra 'leg stretching' stops on long journeys now.

[ashis89]

Congrats for your new ride. It looks beautiful,aggressive and yet, sobre(due to the light shade). Wishing you many happy miles in this beauty.

[swopsk293]

Originally Posted by Argyll

I was a bit annoyed that I had to buy the spare wheel (don't know if that is an optional extra in India) because if I didn't all I'd get is a tin of tyre goop and a small air compresser - not much use if you rip a side-wall and you're in the back of beyond!

Hey congrats on your new ride! She looks awesome!
Is there space to keep the spare wheel in the trunk?
An expensive car like that, one would assume that Jaguar would at least give the spare wheel as a standard accessory, eh?

[Argyll]

Originally Posted by swopsk293

Is there space to keep the spare wheel in the trunk?
An expensive car like that, one would assume that Jaguar would at least give the spare wheel as a standard accessory, eh?

Yes, there is a wheel well - the spare wheel option as I discovered includes all the accessories needed to remove a wheel. A jack, wheel wrench, locking nut key, etc all kept in a poly-foam tray that's fits into the centre of the spare wheel as per most cars. I stupidly thought the jack, etc would be included with the car regardless of the spare wheel option and was going to buy a wheel & tyre through ebay, but that wasn't to be.

If you do decide not to buy the option, at an expensive £150, the boot carpet is another shape which dips into the redundant wheel well space increasing your boot capacity - as Jaguar market the omission. Quite frankly I've never been happy at having to buy an item that I consider goes without saying, but here in Europe it appears manaufacturers are getting away with it with many of them going for this penny-pinching saving.

Argyll.

[mobike008]

Note from Moderator: Thread moved to Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing.

[bigron]

In one word , Brilliant.The car looks splendid and the new XJ styled headlamps mean business. Very refreshing over the regular 5 or E. Some interior pics would do well too. And the best part, your thread topic was simple and to the point rather than making it sound like another series of the LOTR or Harry potter if you know what i mean. Ride safe.

[_raVan_]

Congratulations on your XF I love Jaguar cars (and the Audi A8 too), and the color of your car is great! Though personally, I always loved the Jags in Black.

Do post some interior pics. This comes with the LCD instrument cluster, isnt it?

[arvi86]

Heartiest congratulations on a wonderful buy! As you rightly stated, the Jag will stand out in a crowd, more so than the oh-so-common German trio. The 2012 XF with its brilliant XJ-inspired headlamps looks nothing short of stunning. Thanks for sharing the experience with all of us.

If possible, would you mind sharing a whole lot of exterior and interior pictures to savor your stunner?

[Argyll]

Many thanks for the kind compliments guys, they are much appreciated.

I'll get some interior shots this week and a few more exterior ones as well.

Argyll.

[Rehaan]

Hi Argyll,

Thanks for sharing. Will read through it soon, but for now i just wanted to mention that it is important that you upload pictures directly to the Team-BHP Server. Please click here (Uploading photographs directly to Team-BHP) to see the guidelines on how to do so.

Thanks,
R

[shankar.balan]

Absolutely lovely car in a really tasteful shade too! Well done and all the best!

[Argyll]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Hi Argyll,

Thanks for sharing. Will read through it soon, but for now i just wanted to mention that it is important that you upload pictures directly to the Team-BHP Server. Please click here (Uploading photographs directly to Team-BHP) to see the guidelines on how to do so.

Thanks,
R

Thank you Rehann - I attempted to use the system you're asking me to use, however I seem to have an issue opening the links to do so. That said, I'm used to other car related web sites I moderate on a member of which use the 'insert image' function at the top of the thread reply bar, which I did in this case not realising I'd be in contravention of a site rule being that it was there.

Once I've figured out why I'm not accessing your recommended method I will replace the images above using it, but in the meantime I will refrain from adding any more images.

Argyll.

[Argyll]

Some more images as promised (at long last! ) -

[Argyll]

That's my car now 6 months old and whilst it is a very nice vehicle to use on motorway and expressways the 2.2D engine struggles a little in town work.

I find that if I leave it in 'Drive' it just isn't quick enough off the lights, whereas selecting 'Sport' resolves the issue completely. Of course the down side is the fuel consumption goes up and here in Scotland our diesel costs £1.41 per litre (£6.35 / Rs 531.7 per gallon) and every drop counts in todays economic belt tightening.

The other issues have been - and this one is the main problem, the car experiences what I would call 'fuel slap'; a 'thump' from the fuel tank if I brake or accelerate quickly almost like there are no liquid dampening baffles inside the tank to stop the fuel 'bouncing' from back to front and vice-versa. I have taken the car back to the dealership and they've told me its a recognised issue and ordered a 'kit' to be fitted next week once I've reduced the fuel level in the tank to almost empty.

The other issue and a small one granted, but nevertheless annoying, is the black paint inside the single exhaust tail-trim is flaking off exposing the bright metal underneath. Jaguar's resolution is its to be repainted, so I'll allow one attempt, but if it occurs again I will not accept anything less than a new replacement.

On the plus side the car is a joy on fast roads, and whilst not being as fabulous as the V6 or V8 model it still goes a long way towards that famous "Space, Grace & Pace" and with a sensible fuel consumption to match it.

[dezrskb]

Originally Posted by Argyll

. I was also annoyed that I had to buy the spare wheel (don't know if that is an optional extra in India) because if I didn't all I'd get was a tin of tyre goop and a small air compresser - not much use if you rip a side-wall and you're in the back of beyond!

The front seats lack back support on long journeys as there's no adjustable lumbar support in SE spec cars

First of all congrats on your new buy ! It looks beautiful and good color choice.

But really !! For such an expensive car, you don't get a spare wheel? Is it a cost cutting measure or is it designed in such a way as to really exclude the spare wheel to contain the weight / aerodynamic profile / whatever technical crap they explain?

Also about the lumbar support. Again, look at the feature they have chosen to exclude / include to differentiate between the trims !!. Surely for a car of Jaguar's status, no adjustable lumbar support is truly unbelievable !! So I guess if one really needs lumbar support because of back / spine problem, he is forced to buy an upper trim with plethora of few more unwanted features !Pity!