I agree, but this is a real deal killer for some people, so Jaguar needs to listen up. For me, design and performance trump technology--I don't buy cars as entertainment centers.

 

I wasn't even referring to entertainment stuff. I was referring to all the safety features that you find in a BMW, Audi, or Mercedes. Like blind spot notification in the side mirrors, night vision, lane drifting, windshield displays, etc.

... not to mention the lame center console/nav display, which is top-of-the-line circa 2000. (heck, I was in LA last month, and my rental car was a Chrysler 300. That center console/nav display was like a big iPad. I was really impressed.)

I'm not stating these things as complaints. I'm just stating facts. No car is perfect. Obviously, I chose to buy the car despite knowing what it lacks, and that's because the pros completely overwhelmed the cons, in the areas that mattered most to me.

Having said that, my car is supposed to be in my hands by the end of next week!!

 

You know, I feel the same way. Or shall I say I felt the same way until I drove the 650i. The tech is so marvelous I can't get the car out of my mind...despite it's blandness compared to the others cars I'm considering.
Just a few of its tricks:
-it can scan a parking lot and point you to spaces big enough for the car.
-once your phone is connected, you can use your apps.
-you can put a cd in once and never have to again, it remembers thse tracks or only the favorites.
That's just a taste, there is so much more.

So if I get the Jag its gotta be the XKRS. The engine makes noises that always entertain.

 

It's a good thing the 650i has that parking lot scanning feature...because that is one big *** car. (with an ugly *** front end.)

When I started my car search, I assumed that I was going to get the 650i...but then I discovered the XK.

 

You're all right of course, and I expect (hope?) Jag ups their game in the new XK as it goes more up-market. Those who use theirs more for daily or varied use would really appreciate the technology, where those who just drive it on occasion for pleasure probably wouldn't as much.

Bruce

 

You missed the BIG ONE, a McLaren MP4-12C - forget the others.
http://www.mclarenautomotive.com/uk/default.aspx

 

Thats a good one indeed, but if going for a conspiques car, why not look at the koenigsegg Agera R, it has double the luggage space as the mclaren.

Another one worth to check would be the mercedes amg sls roadser imho.

 

For some reason, I'm not attracted to the McLaren. If I find one I'll drive it anyway.

 

Hi Ice,

If I was selecting from your list I would go with the California. The first retractable hardtop Ferrari. But you should try the McLaren, all the auto mags have been raving about it - and they keep putting "exotic supercar" and "daily driver" in the same sentence.

Tony

 

If they could fix the NAV, and provide a HUD display option, and improve their interface with iphones, bluetooth, etc. I expect their market share would increase. My XF SC has blind spot detection. The night vision has not been embraced by BMW users as particularly useful. I drove a BMW with lane departure and did not like the feature. BMW's nav display is great, but the actual NAV program not so much. So if Jag can implement some improvements they can leave the impressions of an old tech behind. The car lines basic atributes are more than competetive with the Germans offerings.

 

Yeah, bummer... haha

 

Oh also, I know what you mean about the seating position. I generally like sitting with my legs more extended and seat reclined, and found I couldn't really do that comfortably in the XK. The car being as long as it is, and with the rear seats being the afterthought that they clearly are, it surprised me when the seat wouldn't go back farther than it did. I just drive in a more upright position now, and I'm used to it enough that when I went and took my truck out, it felt very weird like I was too far away from the wheel. It is strange, as I'm not even all that tall (6'1").

Another thing I noticed with the seat... when you recall a seating position from memory, it doesn't always go EXACTLY back to where you put it. I've found that after my wife drives the car and I recall my settings, there is another half-inch or so of rearward movement in the seat (without causing the seat to incline). That last little bit makes a big difference.

Thats a hell of a list you've got there... have fun!

 

I started with a similar list of cars when I was looking for a car, before I decided on the Xkr-s. I wanted something that performed well, looks good, has all the important electronics, and could be driven daily. I also preferred a back seat for my kids. As others have mentioned, some of your cars on your list are not good daily drivers (mostly due to massive depreciation due to high mileage).
I ultimately narrowed my list Porsche 997 TT S, Porsche 997 gt3, Maserati gran turismo mc stradale, Nissan gtr, and the jag. I eliminated the gt3 due to lack of back seat, gtr due to looks and Nissan dealership/service, Maserati due to relatively poor performance and reliability concerns. That left the 997 TT S and jag-very tough decision because the Porsche performs so well, but I liked the jags looks, sound, exclusivity better.
I have a friend who has a California as his daily driver and loves it. For 2013, they have made some improvements in the motor and suspension- making this car a better choice.
Good luck on your search and let us know what you pick

 

I saw the McLaren near work about a week ago. Burnt Orange metallic color. Bigger car than I thought it would be. McLaren is just beyond words awesome. Where one would get it serviced, I don't know. I don't think there's a dealer in my state.

 

Wow. The DBS would be a no-brainer choice for me.
My friend has one which I got to drive for quite a run so I do speak from a little experience.

I completely agree with the earlier observation that Jaguar is a complete outdated laughing stock around audio & bluetooth connectivity etc.

I have numerous connectivity and audio problems with my car (2008 portfolio ed. XKR). The dealer cant/wont do anything about any of them even though the car is still under select edition warranty:

1) Sirius sat. radio has a feature to remember up to 10 or so favorite songs but the buttons to edit or delete the saved favorites are always grayed out. This means you cant ever stop the car from asking to switch channels anytime any of the first 10 songs you ever saved gets played on any sat channel.

2) Making phone calls from car is impossible as the phone contacts list is screwed up: numbers list OK but the contact names are random garbage characters.

3) No Bluetooth music streaming support. Other brands consider this basic bluetooth functionality: its omission is unforgivable in a $100k+ luxury car.

4) I paid an extra $750 to have the Audio Connectivity Module fitted, just to get a USB socket (that even cheap cars these days pretty much get as standard). I was thinking that as I couldn't stream music I could at least leave a thumb drive in the car with my entire music collection on it. I wish I hadn't wasted my money. Its unuseable because it doesn't use the display at all. The only way to find the track you want is to use the steering wheel control to skip tracks one by one, or folder by folder. Totally impractical if you have more than say 2 albums on the thumb drive. Its literally useless and totally unworkable for a large collection.

My car is still covered by select ed. warranty and so far I've been to my dealer and contacted Jag North America about these issues with no satisfaction or even a commitment to do anything on any of them. All they will say is that they are already aware of the Bluetooth problem but currently have no plans to work on the necessary firmware upgrade. Jag N.A. said they only know of work on updates for current year cars. Really? Talk about **** you now we have your money.

I've even tried to find out if I can switch the head unit out for a 2009 unit, as it seems all my problems dont exist in the next year unit. I don't want to "buy and try" even though the units look identical, but I can't get a definitive statement about compatibility either way, even from Jag N.A. The best they'll say is that they guess it wont be compatible. The fact that they can't give me a straight answer is ridiculous. As a software developer myself that has worked on autmotive systems, I find hard to believe that there would have been such a significant design change in a mid-term model, but I'm not going to risk the price of a new head unit (I think $7k) just to find out.

I'm amazed Jag would even think its OK in the first place push out such a dysfunctional pile of crap car system in their flagship model, then furthermore wash their hands of any responsibility to resolve any issues, and not even be able to answer reasonably simple tech. questions aobut their own products.

I love Jags, this is my 3rd, but I would be very reticent to buy another because of the attitude I have seen around this.

 

Does any of the above apply to the newer 2010+ years? And didn't I read somewhere that the DBS and 2010+ XKR are very close performance wise, or was that the XKR-S? I heard the average Aston owner keeps his car for only 2 years...not sure why.

 

I've had no issues with my 2012. . If I didn't read this forum, I would say the electronics are good in my car! The b&w stereo is awesome, 6 disc cd player works well, no issues with nav, back up camera/parking sensors are good, bluetooth works well, haven't tried mp3 yet. Maybe these features aren't as important to me, so I'm not as critical of them. Also, coming from a Porsche 996tt that had nothing except a crap stereo, the jag seems good in this department. I do drive a mb GL 320 as well and I think the jag's electronics are on par, except no voice control on jag
Bruce, Xkr-s does outperform the DBS, but that Aston is a head turner.

 

Drove the SL550 yesterday and gotta admit the Jag is becoming harder to keep as #1 on the list. First, it was more comfy with legroom. Love the way the seats hug you when the car turns. It felt like a true coupe but instantly turns into a vert. It felt more agile to me and that was a shocker. My sales guy wasn't fully learned on all the tech but I test drove a CL at another dealer so I know the SL is full of toys. I liked it.

Then as I was leaving, an XK passed me on the highway. The car is just down right sexy. I may have to stop driving all these cars and just give in. I'd have to rip out the back seats but I don't drive people around anyway. Decisions, decisions.

 

The only thing that really bugs me about the electronics in my car is the lack of a regular aux. jack. I just find that... annoying. Since there is one of those proprietary Apple jacks, the cynic in me says this has something to do with that (since it seems likely to me that most people either own i-devices already, or would just say screw it and buy one because thats what the car has). I use a USB drive, and the software allows for browsing by folder so it must have been updated when they added the USB port as standard. It'd drive me crazy if it worked the way JustNiz describes... IMO thats a very legit gripe especially after putting down extra money for a different interface to be installed.

That said, while the electronics work for me and don't bother me at all, yeah they are way behind which is definitely surprising. The stereo itself I actually like (and especially nice that they don't bundle the "good stereo" in some 8000$ options package like so many other manufacturers. How many people say "Yeah 65k+ for a car sounds reasonable, but I don't care about a nice stereo so you can leave that out"), but the interface and controls are just... not up to date. The E550 I drove did so much more stuff, and just felt more modern doing it. When I was done getting the demo of all the stuff that car could do I almost felt like I needed a nap. For me, it didn't matter because most of that stuff I'll never use and don't care about anyway, but no denying that it sticks out like a sore thumb when compared to other brands. Surprising, since I have to wonder what the holdup is.

 

TheMCP:
Just FYI, there are adapters out there that you can plug onto an apple connector to turn it into a regular 3.5mm, for connecting non-apple mp3 players etc. to Ipod docks, such as:


or


I'm looking at various options using products exactly like this to bodge something together to cover my cars audio shortcomings.

I read other posts here that some people have successfully fitted the Audio Connectivity Module onto later year cars than mine even though they already have a USB input as standard, just to get the extra aux input. Its not cheap ($350 or so for the kit and about the same again for labor, as the head unit has to be reprogrammed too). This option is somewhat more slick than just adapting the Ipod input though, as it also adds an AUX: option to the list of selectable audio sources on the car's screen.