Hey guys,

well, first post here, so hello to you all

I'm currently driving a Chrysler 300C Station Wagon (European Model, like the Dodge Magnum) and since it's time to switch to something newer, i've visited a local Jaguar dealer today.

The salesman was very friendly, especially compared to his german competitors and showed me around a 2012 XF Sedan model. The Information that i've got is, that the Sportbrake simply replaces the trunk area from the standard XF, so the view i've to should be representative, right?

Well, the car seems to have a high value interieur and some nice ideas in terms of storage in the center console. After some basic information i was given a 2009 or 2010 XF (with the 6 speed automatic and the old interieur buttons in light gray) for a test drive. During the drive certain questions came to mind and i am hoping you could shed some light on this:

• I am 1.8 meters tall (pretty standard), yet the armrests on the driver's door end about 10 cm too early (actually the door ends) - my elbow hits the B pillar hard. So resting my arm on the door armrest does not seem to be possible unless you're a midget. anyone else with this problem?!
• the steering wheel seemed extreemly slippy. Despite having 30° F outside my hands got sweaty. Also from a general viewpoint the wheel does not offer much grip. Is there an upgrade for this?
• my right leg constantly bumped into the center console onto my right - and thats console's pretty solid and hard which made the 1.5 hour drive sort of uncomfortable. suggestions?
• is there storage space for my sunglasses i've failed to discover?
• The Navigation and Multimedia system is horrible. Response times are slow and even the 2008 dated Nav System in my Chrysler is way better in every detail. No Bluetooth audio, no MP3 storage on an interal HDD, voice control requires endless conversation and took ages to call a phonebook contact, the design looks like it's from the last century. Is this fixed/replaced with the new 2012/13 model?
• The Navscreen also had horrible reflections and wasn't really usable in the late afternoon when the sun was setting.
• During the drive i had this annoying feedback noise in the speakers that mobile phones generate with unshielded speakers. Needless to say this isn't really acceptable. Anyone else with this? The dealer actually gave the blame to the "incomplete bluetooth paring" which is utter nonsense of course...

Apart from this (and 'this' is unfortunately quite alot) the ride was incredbily smooth and enjoyable. fuel consumtion was excellent, reaching 38 MPG on the 3.0l Diesel 6 speed automatic.
Yet the car seemed rather small and not that comfortable compared to my 2010 Chrysler - mainly attributed to the poor armrests and the hard hitting center console. The dealer was closing up when i returned so i wasn't able to ask the above - and in any way i am looking for opinions from actual owners

I loved the general appereance of the XF and the Concept of a performance oriented station wagon so i don't want to give up on the XF just yet. Plase convince me

Thanks guys!!

 

no edit option in this board?

forgot one thing to ask: the xf was equipped with it's standard audio system. the dealer praised it quite a bit and said that it's way good enough and there's no need for the two upgrades.

I found it to be extreemly flat and not even by any stretch of the imagination enjoyable or in fact useable. So... is the 1k euro actually good?

thanks

 

DReffect....sportbrake will not be available in the US. I don't know about Canada availability. The UK forum would probably give you better feedback. I wish we could get the diesel engine here in the US.