So many threads of problems on these forums makes it seem there are waaay more issues than there are, because the amount of people that don't have problems just do not post anything. The few people that do post are the ones posting shouty threads of issues some with questionable service histories at best. But I see often owners quietly say they never had a single issue and love the car in threads here and there. I have owned my XFR for five years now and had absolutely no issues, and the only unexpected expense was a pinhole leak in a coolant hose rubbed by the accessory belt that cost me $28 from the dealer, and a battery replacement. That is it. My car is in the shop now for the 50K mile major maintenance and plastics change, and I am really looking forward to the next 50K miles.

I decided I am going to change this today. I want to write a memoir of the chronicles of the 5 years and going of owning the best car I have owned and and one of the best I have driven. I want to encourage others to write there stories below of trips and memories that make these cars special and get under your skin.

So my story starts being raised a Toyota guy and graduated to Lexus, I thought reliability was everything and nothing compared. Connection was a afterthought. Feel was a low priority. Special attention to details was only appreciated in build quality. I started racing cars before I even had a license. I was racing in the SCCA, and raced every car I owned. I grew as a person, driver and engineer as a career choice, and combined those skills into my passion for racing. I raced bikes, track and rc cars when I was a child, I started racing karts before I was old enough to drive, as soon as I got my license I was in SCCA solo racing with whatever I could get my hands on. I participated in three SCCA racing schools through the SOLO program during that time. I raced road course events, HPDE events, raced in simulators with my car control skills I gathered the first decade in SOLO to get a nice broad range of car control and road course skills. I knew from day one I wanted to do this forever. Was so passionate about it my brother got into it. He now has a car and a racing license and is nationally ranked in SCCA near the top. I got into business as a young man to make money for the racing to make it easier on us to both race. Interim the second decade, I got my degree in 02' as a professional engineering designer, started learning about chassis design and building, I studied profusely and attended time attack and other various time trial events, studying racecraft and aero. The market crash of 09 happened and wiped my biz. The last 10 years I have designed entire vehicles from scratch from tires to roof, setup chassis's and polished my skills to to the point where I am practicing fuel conservation, tire conservation, endurance racing design, aero, strategy, and product development. I have patents written for equipment that is not available anywhere. I own seven patents six issued. I am not the fastest driver right now, (not much seat time lately) but with knowledge of chassis setup, dedication and love for this I am potent enough because I know how to hit to a goal with my skill-sets. I can sense and isolate whats the chassis issues are by driving, and make adjustments or parts to fix. I can see the potential and get a plan to hit a target.I am driven by the sheer love of racing, I do it when I am not even trying, nor getting paid for it, nothing satisfies me like designing and driving a car to victory. I have never felt happier than doing that. I have nearly 30 years of racing experience.

In business I started rubbing shoulders with higher end people. Subsequently I started test driving higher end autos such as: E55 AMG, E63 AMG, SL55 AMG, S65 AMG, S600, SLK55 AMG, E46 M3, E39 M5, E60 M5, Porsche Carerra GT, tuned 911's, Cayenne, Panemera, Cayman and Boxter, Maserati Quattroporte, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, V12 Vantage, DB9, Vanquish, Rapide, DBS, Audi R8, RS6, S6, RS4, STi, Evo VIII. CTS-V 1st, 2nd &3rd gen, Lexus ISF, LC500, GS460-430-350-300, LS460, Pontiac G8 GXP, Chevy Impala SS, Chevy SS, XJR, F-Type, Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed and GT, GT Supersport, Lamborghini Gallardo, Hurrican, Murcilago, and Adventador, TT Diablo RT, Viper S/C NOS, TT Vette C5-C6-C7, GTR, and my second favorite car of all time Single turbo MKIV Supras single and auto, and old-heads with BB Novas and Darts, Camaros mustangs galore even experienced a Veryon...

But never drove a Jag until I bought mine. (I drove the XJR and F-Type after) Was apprehensive about them honestly because of a shoddy reputation. But the more I read, they were always a company trying to do more with less. They had old equipment and did their best with what they had verging on bankruptcy their whole existence. But that changed for the first time when Ford bought them. Ford dumped 8 Billion into Jaguar's production bring their tech and capabilities up to the 21st century. When Tata motors bought them, they dropped another 13 Billion dollars into them to bring them to the forefront with the latest manufacturing and engineering. Jaguar never really had that. They were always trying to squeeze blood from a turnip. This XFR was the first car that really benefited from all the new machinery, engineering talent and manufacturing prowess they acquired from 20+ billion in investment. No other company had that kind of investment so recently, we all know how fast computers change per year. Tata put another 1 billion a year into them every year after. They were knocking it out of the park in 2010. Competing for the first time pound per pound with the big boys. The problem they never told their customer base they invested so heavily in mass production and engineering. They thought it was the same old Jags. No one knew they were back. I decided it was time to take a chance on them. In 2015 in june I purchased my XFR sight unseen, from a dealer in Maryland with 29K miles. Had it shipped. Never drove a Jag up to this point. Kinda scary if you think about it. It was a leased car. Never owned. I was the first owner of it. I had requested a ton of pics, and did about 6 months of research on the XFR before I bought it. I was asking about the brakes, the service history, recalls and problems with this particular car. After getting a 13k mile XFR sold from underneath me in Utah I pulled the trigger on this one. It was dropped off right at end of sundown as it got dark on my driveway. I remember it looking big. it was Ultimate Black metallic with Nevis wheels. It was awesome. I opened the door. The key fob in my hand felt light. I slid into the seat. Firm but comfortable. Bolsters are nice. A pulsating red light like a heartbeat catches my eye and tempts fingers. Start Stop button. I smile, Nice. I look for buttons to turn on the overhead map lights, and can't find any. I try to press the light, and it comes on to the touch. Wow. neat. Interior is simple and minimalist. Just the way I like it. I hate BMW and Merc interiors for this reason. Not a fan of the weird aluminum cross hatch on the dash but I'll change it later. Steering wheel feels great. Find the heater for the wheel. Ooooh, inviting. Seat heaters on. Press the start button. Engine growls and roars to life with a little overrev like my favorite Aston Martins. Lights come on to a Motorola Razor phone light blue. Gear selector rises out of the console. I adjust the mirrors, wheel and seat and set hold to position one on the memory. My friend is in the passenger seat itching to feel the drive for the first time, is like LETS GO! I am savoring this moment. I do a quick check of the tires, brakes, lights, signals and body. Press the touch sensor and open the glove box to put in my insurance card. Twist the gear selector into D. Close the garage and pull out.

I had already investigated on google maps and found the twistiest road near my house before the car was even delivered. It was State road 82. Looked like spaghetti on the map about 10 miles away. Coming to a stop sign brakes are grabby. Really grabby. But they are 15 inches. Biggest on any car at the time. Pull away, a little harder than I expected. Either the throttle is more sensitive or this car has a LOT of power. Found out shortly after it was the latter. Pressed the throttle down to the floor in first gear the car claws and leaps off the line and buries me into the seat. Not bad Jaguar, not bad. It keeps getting faster with each gear. Third is a bit much for the road I am on, so I lay off. Wow what did I just buy? Little did I know what a beast of a car this was in the corners that were coming a few miles later. By this time it was night-time and no one is on the deserted country road. The headlights are fantastic. Best I have used. Went through a couple small towns and ended up on SR82. Pressed the Dynamic Mode Confirmed button. Steering tightened up and the shifts were faster, suspension sharpened. I hit Trac DSC. I turned the transmission to S. The car became something else. It was comfortable and quiet before and rode well. It was fast. But now it became a scalpel. I sliced through each corner with more and more confidence and speed with each one, and the car didn't even skip a beat or squeal a tire. The throttle is razor sharp and steering was so sharp and has so much feel through it, you can feel what the balanced chassis is doing. The shifts are telepathic, didn't even need to use the paddles. The suspension had no roll, turn in was impressive, brakes stronger than the grip from the continental tires. The rear follows the front and balances on the throttle and has all the grip you can use. The smile on my face grew wider and wider with each corner to the point my smile connected in the back of my head. What has Jaguar done? This thing is a weapon! I can feel the chassis dance and turn in, the throttle balance and torque vectoring diff on exit, it was always in the right gear and had all the power I could use on a road. With the perfect smooth ride, warm leather on my hands and bum I was a racer with class, style and comfort as much as I could get and the pace when I looked down at the gauges was shocking. How is this car be so good at everything? Wow Jaguar, you have done a thing. This is factory stock? Wow.

The steering feel is better than everything I have driven above, but the Porsche 911 and V12 Vantage Aston Martin. The chassis is sublime really. Most people don't know the XFR is 50/50 weight distribution and makes a balanced chassis dubbed by many as the finest stock drift car in the world. It's because it is so balanced and the power is so approachable. Speaking of power, the power is up there with the best and the throttle response is close to if not the best. The ride is the best in this class of car, the transmission is the best in this class, and the engine note is great albeit too quiet from the factory. The brakes are landmark. Powerful, reeling in the speed like Thanos pulling a planet. The seats and leather are top notch, as is the stereo. Best stock stereo I have heard from a manufacturer. My criteria for my new car was, Black, 500+HP, Ventilated seats, Adaptive Cruise, great stereo and good handling and brakes. The AMG's of the time were dull and not good handlers crap interiors and stereos, and the M's are maintenance hogs with the same problems, Audi RS had lots of issues with carbon fouling and blown transmissions, CTS-V manual was one of my choices but the interior was cheap and the stereo sucked, the feel was dull, rode ok but looked a bit of a chiseled unfinished sculpture, and was more expensive. The G8 GXP was too old, slow and wasn't on this level of tech, The Panemera Turbo was out of my price range then but exactly what I wanted sans all the buttons and abhorrently hideous as medusa exterior. The XFR was the best looking, classiest, best handling, best ride, best chassis, best interior and stereo and best price and best brakes and engine.

Since I have owned it, I have come to appreciate the engine's and transmissions ability to go from lazy to razor in a millisecond, effortless passing any vehicle regardless of what it is just by blowing on the throttle. It is so frustrating driving these days everyone on the road driving like brats closing a gap just because you are trying to get over and turn, to blocking you from passing and going your way, every second counts. The XFR can accelerate and pass the cars gently and smoothly without downshifting, so fast their drive-trains don't have time to respond to the throttle; by the time they see you and try to accelerate to close the gap the XFR is already three cars ahead of them past the gap. They can't do anything about it! It is so effortless and peaceful driving such a high performer, that no car can block against it. Any hole in traffic I can just point and shoot with no regard to the other drivers trying to block you. I love it. You can't describe this to someone that hasn't driven a Jag. It doesn't make sense to them. The best part is it does it without revving up high, or downshifting making any racket or fuss, it does it cruising lazily along, just press the accelerator quickly a little bit; and the timing, cam profile and ZF quickshift trans accelerates the car so fast no one can respond quick enough to block. This makes the driving experience so pleasurable and stress free, just put on your fav tunes and zip away the miles ebb and flow in traffic.

Then when you do want to put your foot down, almost no one is prepared to accept the fact that a Jaguar just cleaned their clock easily. I was on a turn lane for a freeway on ramp. A C5 Z06 with exhaust is in the lane next to me. Hmm I bet he would be pissed lol. I discretely pull the left paddle and put the car into 1st gear. hold the Trac DSC until off, and when the light turned green, I gently pulled off the line. Just as I suspected, just as the cars were lined up straight on the on ramp, he shifted to second and hit it full throttle. Little did he know I was still holding 1st gear quietly as my car is silent even revving up in the range with the stock exhaust. I anticipated the hit and nailed the throttle as soon as I was straight. We hit it at the same time. He was power-shifting banging gears 2nd, 3rd, 4th as I can hear his loud exhaust barking behind me, and my Jaaaaaaag had him in 1st. I straight walked him by 4-5 car lengths by 3rd. I saw the coast was clear so I stayed in it like the meme, 2nd, time to party, 3rd, **** him off, 4th, make him sell it. I pulled more cars. He is a couple of bus lengths back there as I yell poooowwwweeeeerrrrrrrrrrrr! bwhahahahahahahahahahahaha! Oh my few things in life tastes as sweet as blowing away some high powered sports car in a luxobarge. I'm reasonably sure there was a C5 Z06 on craigslist that night lol.

Or the time you see a caravan of exotic cars in a canyon road, they try to dust you and you are keeping up to them like a horse fly on #2. Who are you trying to pull? Not me NOT toDAY. Bye Felicia!

Or the time my friend with a 2JZ GTE Single turbo car gets pulled by a Jaaaaaaaaaaaaagggggggg. They are like, "oh snap that boat just took me out! wth?" Oh so fun. Oh the excuses.

Then there are moments that I loved taking the Jag on a trip across the country for a family reunion, and jamming the tunes, cruising letting the miles pile up. It has been a great car and a great experience. As more of my friends experience it, they too agree it is special. But they don't really know. You really have to drive one. Porsche is the only car company that can make something as compelling as this that I have driven. Its the only car I would consider replacing the Jag with if I do ever get rid of it. As of now, I have no such plans. I plan to enjoy the next 50K miles thoroughly. Thanks for reading. Share your experiences. Lets make this community balanced with both sides of the coin. Have the good on here as well as the issues. Will better represent the cars and the passion that goes into them, they clearly are built by passionate people who are amazing at what they do...

 

Awesome post, well worth the read! I have a 2011 XF 5.0 Supercharged with 185K miles on it, and she is still hanging in there. Over the life of the car I have changed the water pump twice, AC compressor, coolant crossover pipe under the supercharger, and the plastic air intake. The rest was all routine maintenance. At 86K the engine developed timing chain noise. I mentioned the noise during the 100K service and they said it's only a matter of time before catastrophic failure unless I have it fixed. I thought, damn, everyone was right about Jags being unreliable. I noticed the noise was eliminated by raising the idle, for about 20 seconds on warm restarts before driving off. Sound was totally gone. Been doing that every warm restart ever since and almost 100K miles later, neither the tensioners nor guides have given up yet.

Around 115K I had a pulley/tune installed, thinking man, I'm really rolling the dice on this tensioner/guides issue...dozens of blasts down the drag strip and out in Mexico has made me think the issue is way overblown. I don't usually agree with anecdotal evidence, just my two cents on the issue.

I researched the issue and saw some posts about oil starvation, low level readings at oil change time, and also outright tensioner/guide failure. So I said, well, better check the engine oil level every week. I began to notice that the engine was wanting about 1 qt every 3000 miles. With no low level warning, it has been my reservation that oil starvation is the root cause tensioner/guide failure. I have seen some uprated guides and see that the new ones have a hardened contact on them. It's clear the new parts correct excessive tensioner plunger travel. Ever since then, my suspicion is that the guides are worn in mine enough to cause some slack on warm restarts, but not enough to allow the chain to jump a tooth. If it ever fails, I intend to tear it apart and see what the engine looks like after as many miles as mine has.

My experience driving the car is much the same as yours. I am just in AWE that this car can be bought for so little money when it is absolutely NUTS the level of performance/luxury you get for the price. Except for the infotainment system...will forever be the weakness of the car for me. I would absolutely recommend this car to anyone, with a few precautions, mostly what was stated above. KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR OIL LEVEL, and please report back here if you have loads of miles on it, there is precious little data out there on this engine. I don't care if I'm right or wrong, lucky or unlucky, although it would be nice to know. If you're a mechanic, engine builder, tuner, or just don't mind infrequent wrenching...perfect car for you. We do need some shops that want to seriously step up the upgrades to this engine. A TVS 2300 series would suffice, come on guys, someone take the challenge! Kidding, I know it's far from easy.

Thank you for the time you took to post this!

 

your car is gorgeous! and your story is captivating - maybe worthy of you being scouted for occasional submissions to major magazines
you make some great and inspiring points - the 20% of problems is a much louder voice than the 80% of brilliant engineering and seldom paralleled craftsmanship
ironically resale values are a major point of contention on the forums where we continue unfounded "truths" or create new ones, driving down our own values
I'll admit I've spent more time worrying and considering potential future problems with my car than I have had seat time to enjoy it. I've had 3 years of ownership with only 12k miles applied.
Every time i think of selling it for reasons of future repairs or to get a car with a higher potential performance ceiling or etc - I get a gentle reminder that i have a car that's faster and quicker than new machines with 2 less doors! (ahem - mustang gt350 for example)
I've brought on my only real problem and it's not the car - it's the wheel and tire package. If i personally had opportunity to start my jag journey again, I'd immediately have found a perfectly spaced set of forged 19'' wheels that would be compatible with those massive brakes and then the same summer tires i have currently but with 5% more aspect ratio front and rear - 90+% of my ownership frustrations would have been averted
i find myself dreaming of a newer design 8 speed transmission, but my 6 speed shifts amazingly and i liken it to a well oiled smooth bolt action rifle
i marvel at the low end torque - even more so when i climb a steep hill in say 4th or even 5th gear at 1,500 - 2,000 rpm and it gains great speed with less than 1/3 throttle. then i consider that I'm in a gear paired with an engine so flexible that it can also bring the car, without shifting, to speeds more than 100mph ABOVE whatever my current speed was - kind of makes me dizzy to understand that quite honestly...
I've done much less Jaguar driving that most on the forum, but I'm 3 years in and i feel incredibly special ever time i drive this machine! It has never left me stranded or embarrassed. It has taught me much about appreciation for a fine thing such as itself, and i value it personally much more than the market does financially. I am glad the 2 previous owners absorbed $50k in depreciation and left me with a machine that doesn't know anything but that it's the nastiest and coolest cat on the road

 

Love the story. What a wonderful post!

I've had my 2010 XF 5.0 V8 SC for well over 7 years now and love it. No serious issues - has been exceptional!
Always brings a smile when I drive it

 

Great post, thanks for sharing. Those front splitters actually look pretty sharp...any info on those?

 

When a Jaguar arrives, everyone notices.

================================================== ===========
Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car
Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, and
Torque is how far you take the wall with you

 

Another thanks for this thread. I pulled the trigger 2 years ago on a 2010 XF S/C, only 42k miles on it when I got it. The PO took almost $50k for the depreciation hit! Sure enough, the water pump took a crap as soon as I drove it home! It has a couple of niggles, like the ZF lurch and the stupid TPMS, but other than the water pump and the battery, I haven't had any other issues. At 65k miles now and am getting ready to service the tranny and diff, which will hopefully help with the lurch thing. This past summer I tried it out at the drag strip. It's bone stock except for a stainless intake to replace the cracked stock one. I was expecting 12.8's in the 1/4 mile because that's what all of the magazines said. Nope, best time in 80+ degree weather is a 12.46, with consistent 12.5's. Seriously, she's so consistent I could bracket race with it. I'm hoping to put a tune on it before spring and shooting for 11's. I'm faster than tuned 5.0 Stangs, Camaro SS's, a hair slower than 2018 Corvette Grand Sport's (only because I have 700 lbs more than him), and faster than most Dodge Charger/Challengers that don't have a Hellcat logo. And I have my kids booster seat in the back! I absolutely love it and plan on keeping it a while longer.

 

Adam thanks, actually I found the 6sp is the only one that can be built to handle over 1200WHP. The 8 speed is limited to around 700-800. Turns out the ZF6HP28 in the XFR is the exact same transmission as the Ford 6R80 in the 12-15 Mustang GT. ZF builds both trans and there is only like two differences physically and they are small and don't matter.

Actually I made them they are a mock up of a real splitter that I am getting made in sheet aluminum. The real one will be tied to the chassis and a little tidier looking. There is very little available for the car performance wise, I think this car should compete pound per pound with a CTS-V. I want to upgrade the cooling, and build the drivetrain so I can make a big number. I think the rest of the car is capable. The CTS-V made 806WHP with the same blower. I think we should be able to hit 750WHP. That would be awesome. I am well underway to preparing my car to be able to track it at my favorite tracks like Sebring and Daytona and Road Atlanta. Why not?

 

Thank you. I am investigating switching the TVS1900 to the new Eaton R2650 right now as we speak. It does look possible with a little machining and clever cooling mods I have planned soon. I am waiting until I build the drive-train to handle it. Stay tuned.

 

Subscribed^^^

 

I took out a sporty bike last year, I think it was a triumph ~600cc that had no fairings. The rider seemed pre-occupied and I was feeling bored so I got everything into sport mode and rolled into the throttle when the light went green. I love how much torque and power you get off idle. There is no need to power-brake in this car. You gain nothing from it. So the car was at idle in 1st and went 4 sec to 60 and went through three gears. He sees me take off and hits it as soon as I go, he wheelie a bit off the line and kept it down and redlined each gear. I still pulled away. He was miffed and was staring at my car at the next light like this big cat had violated his mother. Still giving me stink face the light went green he took off and blasted in between all the cars and banked into the freeway entrance. Couldn't handle getting beaten. I love these new tires. Ya I know a liter bike would have disappeared and star trekked me. That's not this time...

 

I pulled up to a light that had a Challenger the other day. I look over and there is a little demon badge on the side. Nice. I look further back, and see Pirelli on the tires. A little smirk appears on my face. "He has got no chance!" I say out loud to my wife. She was like, "what?" I said, "He has no chance to beat me with those crappy tires he has on the car." I turn off the TSC. The light turns green. I go from idle and roll into the throttle. Little bit of spin but my car hooks with the better tires and pulls in front nicely by about a fender. I have it rolled to full throttle by second. Still in front he is spinning. Car shifts to third. Still in front by a fender. Shift to fourth . Still in front and the Hellcat finally hooks and pulls even to me when it is time to slow down. Sir Charles hath smoketh a hellkitteth. Slowing down I turn right and he goes left. Time to get a tune and put all the mods I have on the car and some better tires that these. Be nice to beat one that actually hooks in all the gears. This car is awesome.

Another time I ran into a Hellcat on the freeway and my family is in the car. My son points out the Hellcat. We pull in front of some traffic, and when it is clear he hits it when he is next to a G35. They both go at it and the G35 gets obliterated. I am following the Hellcat pass the G35 too and dusted him. The Hellcat slows down and waits for me. I just cruised by him and he hits it. He leaves me in the dust but I don't hit it or want to risk anything with my wife and kids in the car. And he has got me by 197HP. My son is smiling ear to ear as he pulls a few buses on me as I lay off the throttle.