+1 - totally agree.

 

You may be surprised... Jaguar has the worst CAFE average of any mainstream automaker in the US. The steering change is 100% fuel economy driven, as was the auto stop/start. Jaguar has nothing particularly efficient in its current US offering and until we see the XE and the Ingenium power plants the brand has to make continual incremental improvements which is exactly why this particular change is happening. As a general rule, electric steering won't have the feel or feedback of an hydraulic system. The type of power assist has no impact on accuracy, but it does impact feel and feedback. The Porsche steering in the 997 is generally held out as one of the better systems for feel and feedback, and having owned two of the cars I can say the hydraulically assisted F Type system is pretty close.

 

Never heard of electric steering feeling better than hydraulic in any car. The steering in my 2013 911 wasn't as good as in the 2011 Cayman. I doubt BMW or Jaguar cracked the code when Porsche didn't. Think the new AMG GT is sticking with hydraulic. And from what ive read the mpg savings is more like 1+ mpg which is significant if you're only doing 20 mpg to start with

 

You guys are right to bring up the CAFE issues with Jaguar.
This is, as swa points out, principally an issue with the mix of models in the Jaguar lineup.

I still think that the best way to improve fuel economy would have been to lighten the F-Type. It's ironic that Jaguar touts the lightness of the all-aluminum construction and has invested enormous capital into aluminum supply and production, yet the car is not actually lighter than its average competitor.
Rather than complexify the vehicle in pursuit of economy, it feels like it would have been much better to take a page out of Porsche's best practices and focus instead on leaning-down the design to reduce material waste and lighten the vehicle.

But yeah....I'm starting to be a broken record on this!

 

Fuel economy regulations are no joke. If I remember correctly Aston Martin took a Scion (Toyota) IQ and rebadged it:



So it can meet fuel economy in its fleet since all of its cars get probably 15 mpg!

 

Anyone else notice this style change to the center info center thing? Or is it a changeable option on ours I haven't seen yet?

 

The instrument change is new. Probably just a software upgrade but doubt they'll do it to the 2014 or 2015 models.

 

My primary experience with the BMW steering unit over the past 12 years has been with the JCW Cooper and the 1000 lb weight advantage may be responsible for it's superior steering responsiveness and direct feedback through the steering wheel.

All the reviews I have seen have acknowledged the steering accuracy, but a couple of auto critics have bemoaned the lack of feedback through wheel citing superior feel from both 911s and M3/4s.

 

+1.

 

You are most certainly not alone. It's one of my hot buttons too. Perhaps a consulting contract with the Lotus organization would yield dividends in that regard. I believe they have carved out a niche business of providing consulting advice to other manufacturers, and they are the masters of lightweight.