In the market for our first Jag, although I own a Land Rover Disco/LR3 and know the brand well (pain included). Wife and I are in need of a second car, and the idea of an F-Pace is appealing to her.

At the moment, I'm trying to compare a 2018 35t Premium vs 2020 25t Prestige.

Both are available with around 45,000 miles and look in decent condition for just under $20k USD (and both in grey).

I'm wondering if the 25t engine is noticeably underpowered vs the 35t, or if the 2018 premium trim is bland against the 2020 prestige (2020 seems to have a slightly upgraded looking screen/infotainment, but otherwise the interior looks similar).

Are there any known issues with either, or were either in a particularly reliable patch as far as Jag engines go? Perhaps by 2020, they had the 25t four cylinder 2.0L engine dialed in a gremlin free?

Ps, located in Southern California.

Thank you kindly. I'd love some input from the brains trust.

 

1st, you have to go drive them. One will be a clear winner, I’m thinking.

Make sure you are getting CarPlay. Comes with the wide screen infotainment/tech package. Can’t be retrofitted without a bunch of Ali crap.

There are a bunch of nice features available that don’t necessarily come with trim levels so you need to look at what each car has but, it’s definitely worth it to trim up as much as you can. The S really is much nicer.

Adaptive Cruise
Rear climate
Rear seats that recline
sill plates with the lit “JAGUAR”
interior lighting that can change colors.
digital dials or not (I prefer not)
Widescreen infotainment
heated or heated and cooled seats, front or front and rear.
Wheel size, the 22’s are much nicer.


The 3.0 SC motor certainly has its cooling pipe issues. Do a search in this forum and on YouTube. Not cheap but not catastrophic if you are well informed.
The early 2.0T’s had timing chain tensioner issues but maybe by 2020 that fixed that.

 

Thanks for the input Rob.
You mean the S is much nicer because it comes with more features, or because it comes with the bigger 3L six cylinder 35t engine as standard?
I just drive a 25t. It was actually much perkier than I expected it to be.
Do either the 25t or 25t engines has a reputation for reliability/unreliability in the scheme of the Jag power units?

 

The S and the 35t are the same motors with different “tunes”. The S is 380 hp and the 35t is 340hp. But in actually driving, the S is much more responsive.

 

I might be getting slightly confused... of this 2017-2020 era;

- 20d = diesel which everyone says stay away from.
- 25t = Jag's own I4 Ingenium power plant, 2.0L turbocharged four cylinder w/ 247hp.
- 30t = The same I4 as above, but tuned to 296hp.
- 35t = 3.0L turbocharged six cylinder w/ 340hp (available on the S and up).
- S badge = same engine as above, but tuned to 380hp.

...and of course the eight cylinder, but we are well and truly out of our price range here.
Is that about right?
Did any of the these engines have a better or worse reputation than each other (like the diesel)?

 

You are correct on the engine lineup.

As to reliability, I think the 2016- 2020 era are all still too new and we have not seen any specific failures other than cooling pipes on the V6 and V8. We have plenty of data on the pre 2015 motors, both V’s and L4’s and their timing chain tensioner issues. In either case, if coolant leaks and chain rattles are ignored, it’s not going to end well.

I was not aware of the cooling pipes issues when I bought my first Jag which was The Jag but it was CPO and I figured what the heck. Love the car, let’s see what kind of trouble I can get into. Certainly couldn’t be as bad as the e92 and various Audi’s I had owned. Got on the forum and quickly learned about the pipes and the rear differential issues on the F Types. Had a new pinion seal installed in warranty and 90,000 miles later I’m still waiting for the pipes to fail.

When purchasing the Paces and the XE, in every case, the cars were trade in after experiencing the crossover pipe failures. PO’s lose, my gain. Have had to do rear manifold pipes on two of them and while not cheap, really did not detract from my enjoyment of the cars.

As a matter of personal preference, I do not consider any 4 cylinder turbo motor an option if a larger displacement engine is available, no matter which manufacturer. I prefer driving a car with more torque capacity and, in general, the larger motor trim levels are much nicer.

The difference between the 35t and the S is way more than just the 40hp on paper. The responsiveness is just much more agile and effortless.

I know it’s silly but, I really enjoy the lit sill plates. Makes the car feel extra special.

 

After a little more research, I tend to agree with you re power. I've driven both the 25t and 35t, and the 25t is fine for the city, but feels undernourished in comparison. Plus the 3.0 / six engine does seem rather tried and tested these days - having been used in previous years.

I've actually stumbled upon another 35t Premium (2017), though this one is the elusive British Racing Green over a black 19" wheel and grill package - a color combo that I love! Still only an 8 inch screen, but I'm starting to think that the "fuss" of options bundled with higher trim packages is just a distraction from the 3.0L six cylinder engine.The car has 65k miles, but is also much cheaper, and according to carfax has been religiously maintained and serviced in South California. It's $20k (USD, after tax, transfer, rego). The carfax also says it's had the "Coolant bypass pipe/hose replaced" at 40k/miles, so that issue already appears to be taken care of under wty.

Then there is an "S" / 51k miles (2018) in Carpathian Grey with black pkg, which is also a great looking combo. But it's $30k, for heated seats, auto parking, a softer interior, collision detection, and a few other tech features. Same engine, etc.
I'm not sure that is worth an extra $10k...?

The only things I think I'll be disappointed with going with the cheaper car, is the non-soft leather steering wheel and the the halogen headlights... but looking on ebay, it seems both can somewhat easily be replaced with soft-grain leather and xenon HID headlights. Those lovely lit sills you speak of also seem to be easily plug and play installed.

Re the 40hp difference on paper, seeing as we are already out of warranty, I'd probably go down the path of the VAP software tune, to bring it up to 415hp and improve responsiveness etc.
That's my logic. Feel free to tear any of it apart.