So I was invited by Jaguar to attend the XE audition last week in San Francisco. I was able to drive a Sport model for about 30 minutes around town. I did the best I could with what the traffic would allow, but let me just say I was impressed with it's performance. It really seemed to get up and go and it was fun to zip around corners and twisty roads. I really liked using the paddle shifters which I hadn't really done before. One of their drivers took me on a ride through some pylons on a quick couple of laps through a set-up course. It handles pretty well.

I thought the car was well designed and put together. Fit and finish were really excellent. Being a purist however, and I understand what Jaguar is trying to accomplish with it's new design architecture, I found it just doesn't scream: "Look, I'm a JAG! Also, interior materials could have been better quality.

We also saw the new F-PAce there. That is a great entry into the SUV segment. I really don't see how they can sell that one so cheap.....really looked great!

Of the two, I would be a buyer for the F-Pace before I would go with the XE.

All in all, it was a great experience and I even got to make a movie with me in it! And they gave us a great lunch too!

Thanks Jaguar!

 

So what was the movie part about? I am doing the event in Dallas. I really want to check out the F pace SUV. Did anyone get to drive it?

 

Only the XE is available to drive.
F-Pace is there as static display but you can sit in it. I'm interested to see the rear seat room, especially width. It's supposed to be 7" wider than our Q5 so should make it much more comfortable for 3 in the back.

The movie part is optional, based on what others have said. They'll take a few select shots of you and edit into a canned sequence:

 

Meh. I am mostly going so I can check out the infotainment ..lol.. Would have been nice to try out the fpace though. Besides, haven't been to the Bomb factory since it closed a while back. You heading out there pcbrew?

 

My slot is Thursday at 1pm. Was going to go down early and eat lunch at Angry Dog - haven't been there in a long time.

I want to drive the XE - looking for something to replace my 2012 335i and soon and think this may be it as I have been underwhelmed by the driving experience. I hope I can get past the Jag's touchscreen infotainment systems - idrive type controllers are the way to go.
Also interested in F-Pace to replace our Q5 in a couple of years.

 

Then you will love the new system in the jag. It is almost a replica of the BMW system In my 328i from a few 2010. Motortrend did a side by side of the 335i vs XE and from a pure performance standpoint, they declared the XE was a hands down better car. I'm heading out on Friday. Traffick is going to be **** so I don't expect to be able to get on it. I wonder if they have some predetermined route that they will let you drive in.

 

I am going to be down there Friday around 2:30 as well.

Orkney

 

Yeah....you only get to drive the XE. The F-Pace is on display and you can sit in it. The movie was fun.....except the hair and makeup part. They jus edit a few scenes you record into a pre-fab video. I posted mine on facebook and my friends thought it was a real commercial!

Anyway, it was fun to do. The XE is fun to drive and the F-Pace looks like a winner.

 

sounds good. my slot is at 6:30. cant wait to check it out. make up huh?!!...lol

 

So...the XE is a pretty damn good car. It is on rails. Not shy about sliding the *** out. Very light and quick to respond to steering input. Was a champ on the slalom portion of the cone track. Whether or not it has the power to compete in the segment i dont know I have never driven a current M3 to compare it to. I do know that the S version I drove today was not to par with an XF. Couldn't really feel the torque in the middle gears and I had to resort to lower gears to get a strong pull. The good thing is that it has a long first and second gear so you can ride those first two out of the hole and get in and out of the turns and maintain excellent control. The car shines in the handling department. Jaguar got it ****ing bloody right when it comes to handling.

 

Handling is definitely the strong suit of this car. Loved it in the twisties.

 

Good review.

It's really aimed at the 335i/C Class segment and has more power than those models. It's not in the M3/AMG market (much higher $$$ cars), but I have no doubts that there will be a higher-powered M3/AMG "fighter" in subsequent model years. With a simple after-market tune on the 340 V6 you can put well over 400 crank HP in it, which is M3 territory. There will also likely be a new twin-turbo 6 (as in the M3), capable of big power within a couple of years.

I was confused by your the XF comment. The XF is BMW 5-series/MB E-Class competitor. It also depends upon which XF you're talking about, which I assume is your V8, so no surprise there. The V6S XE should out perform the V6 XF in all respects.

 

I went to the Dallas version today. Very well done from an event standpoint. I really liked the XE based on its price/performance point. I had a little trouble getting in the car with that big old wing of a vent hanging out so far. But once behind the wheel I was quite happy.
I was told that these were not US spec cars and that ours would be *slightly* different -- but what???
Too bad the F Pace was not available to drive. That was a classy looking SUV. I would highly consider both cars for my next Jag...

 

I think most of the very small differences are cosmetic. You can go to the Jaguar UK sight and see the XE options and then compare them to the XE in the US. The first thing you will see if the sub-models are all labeled differently. There in no "S" version in the US...

 

I also spent the day at the Jaguar event today. Had a blast. If it comes to your city (Miami is next), I highly recommend it.

They had the entire Jag R model line onsite, including the new F-Pace SUV. You could not drive the F-Pace, just the XE.

You got to drive through part of the city to an autocross layout for a few hot laps. Very nice! Started with a long straight, heading into a wide sweeping turn. As S-curve took you into a 160 degree turn, back into a set of switchbacks.

The car handled very well despite my limited driving skills, which says a lot about it's solid suspension set-up. Would make a nice commute car so my XK8 can rest a bit.

 

Also, I went back to check out the sound and infotainment in the cars that they had in the building. Much to my surprise, neither the XF nor the XE had a CD changer/player and when the girls got out the spec sheets, they could not find anything either. So the only tunes will be from AUX connection (not even CD quality) or bluetooth (again, not CD quality), or XM / FM radio. Really weird to leave out something as simple and standard as CD players. Opinions?

 

I had to say I was pretty surprised when I got my missus' XE and it didnt have a CD player. But really, I play through USBs almost exclusively anjd the kids have their stuff on the phones which stream anyway.

I had the CD to hard drive setup in the second XF which I thought was just a PITA, USB is sooooo much easier and the quality is good.

If there had been internet forums back then, I'm sure there would have been similar messages when cartridge players were phased out, and cassette players too.

 

I get what you are saying...however, from a purely audiophile standpoint, it is blasphemy!!! The amplifier has to work soooo much harder to boost the signal from a USB or streaming sources that it looses the punch it might have. Think about it this way. In our XF's or Xk's, the iPod connection was the way to go. However, the ipod has something like 2 watts of power going out. The amplifier has to upconvert that signal. However, when you have a CD in your stereo, a decent stereo unit already pushes something in the range of 70 watts per channel (not sure of the actual specs in our cars...just using that as a point of reference) so the amplifier can take those 70 watts and boost the signal significantly higher and create a richer sound field and more accurate reproduction of the signal than it can with a 2 watt signal. I don't know how many people realize that the car has no CD player and I don't think it's a small thing to leave out of a 50K car.

 

I used some Apple lossless files played through Bluetooth and I felt it was quite good. And I'm pretty picky and can usually hear the difference between 128k, 320k and lossless files.

 

Yeah not to disagree with anyone and as I said I thought it was odd, but I can tell you that this unit ***** on anything that I've heard in a Jag before. I have had the B & W setup in the first XF ad the XKR and I find it weak and tinny, though it is crystal clear for acoustics and I'm told it is good for Jazz.

But aside from a very rare flirtation with some acoustic guitar, the B & W system is hopeless IMO for anything that I would want it for, it is muddy and has no crispness to it. The standard Jag system that I had in the 2012 XF wasnt any better. I had been spoiled by volvo systems that were massively better by comparison.

The XE (360W Meridian) is at least on a par with the best of the volvo systems, and the B & W just isnt in the same ballpark as it. It has punch, it is crisp, clear, sounds just awesome. And the volume even using USBs is great - once it is dialled to about a third it is plenty loud enough, anything over that and it is getting too loud for anyone over 40, even those of us who have had their eardrums conditioned by 80's punk and 90's bigbeat techno.

My only complaint is that the volume goes up in quite significant increments so it can be hard finding the maximum enjoyable level.