So, I have my XF at the dealer getting the fuel filler-neck and passenger airbag replacements done and they gave me a base-model XF as a loaner.
It has the turbo-4 and I thought I would hate it, but actually, I don't.


It's a lot lighter and smaller than my XF and I really noticed that in many ways while driving. It handles and brakes much quicker and I can just throw it into a curve with little body roll or the feeling of heaviness. The turbo motor seems to spool quickly and the acceleration feels surprisingly strong.


So, all in all, I find that I don't disagree with the positive reviews of the driving dynamics. I'm also sure that it would be very impressive with the 340 V6 and particularly so with the 380. And if it had the 5.0 V8 it would probably measure up well against the F-TypeR.


Now the down-side...



The entire interior is awful and seemed no better than what I would expect to find in a Toyota Corolla.



The seats may or may not be leather, all the trim is piano-black plastic, the dash is nubbly vinyl, the sunroof cover is a thin sheet of cloth, etc. There's no sense of richness or exclusivity. Other than a leaper in the middle of the steering wheel there's no sign of it being a Jaguar.


It does seem to be pretty well equipped with Nav, rear camera, and a Meridian sound system. It just didn't seem to have any character.


So, good job on the mechanicals, poor design on interior. Or generally what all the reviewers have been saying.


But if they upped their game wrt the interior I could be convinced to think about one when my XF shuffles off to Buffalo.
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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

 

I drove a fully loaded version with the 380hp engine that was part of the press fleet before they came out. I agree completely about everything you said and the higher output engine and suspension made it a go cart. Quite fun to drive but not really fast. But too small and lacking in the interior for me.

 

That's why it's inexpensive... I too dropped off my XF for an airbag recall and the XE they dropped me in was amazing from the outside, but the interior was awful at first glance, and it rode fairly well, but it just feels like a Jaguar branded Chrysler 200 with only a little more pep. Here's the way I really like to think of it: it's the beginner's Jaguar with all the fancy toys that might entice a would-be buyer to be a buyer of an otherwise "Out-of-Reach" brand.


The dealer acted embarrassed to loan me the XE (I'm just glad they had a loaner for me)



When taking the girl for a ride in the XE she had said "What the **** is this?" fairly often about the interior.