Greetings all,

I am just getting to know my car and I would like to share my initial thoughts with you. I would greatly appreciate any feedback you might have:

1) Ride: not to beat a dead horse but I am frankly astonished on how good the ride on this car is given its sporting intentions. I have the 19" wheels, but this car rides better than my 128i (with 17" wheels) and 1000x better than my old 996TT (also with 19" wheels). It's practically an E-class.... ok, that's an exaggeration - but this car should be easy to live with.

2) Manual transmission. I am a little conflicted here. If memory serves, the 2016 base model I drove was overall a better "shifting" experience than in my car. That transmission just seemed more precise than the one in my car. My car is not awful (better than my 996TT for sure) but not as graceful as I remember. I think the short throw shifter will be a huge help and I am going to order one. I have also read that some owners have had issues with a weak clutch/flywheel set-up on early 2016's. My car is also a 2016 but a bit later build (I don't know the build date but the VIN is 28056) and the clutch feels really strong: you really need to push to disengage it so I think the clutch springs are good; however, there is not a lot of feel for the friction point. Anyhow, I am going to do the max accel test (WOT 1st and then quickly shift to 2nd) to see if the clutch starts slipping in second just to confirm that my clutch is indeed OK. Paradoxically, I actually find the clutch so strong that I seem to need to rev the engine quite a bit to keep her from lugging. I am a little surprised by this to be honest... does anyone have any commentary/opinions on this?

3) Exhaust note: awesome but I must be getting old because I prefer the "quiet" mode!

4) Stop-Start: I thought this would drive me nuts, but it does not. I have yet to turn it off.

5) Steering feel. Now that I have spent more time with the car, I am getting used to the rather dramatic change in assist with speed. My previous cars have hydraulic steering with much higher efforts, so I am getting used to this car. Seems pretty decent but I do prefer (or are perhaps am just used to) higher efforts...

6) Interior/exterior fit and finish: just shames the Porsche and the BMW. Jag has done a great job; I love the brogue and the seats are wonderful.

7) Power: this car seems to be deceptively fast. My 996TT feels like a rocket comparatively, but it actually isn't. I am getting used to this...it's a bit of a Q ship.

Overall I really love the car and am looking forward to logging many miles with her! (Once I address the manual trans imperfections..)

Peter

 

 

Yep, I am always in Dynamic mode...

 

At age 50 I do not mind the overall exhaust/sound level, not even in Dynamic, after all, it is one of the best sounding cars (personal opinion), but I could do without the exhaust pops and bangs, or the increased exhaust level when starting.

 

Under what circumstances are you experiencing this? (Engaging clutch in first from a standstill?)

 

KVO - I do love the sound, I just prefer the understated sound when in "quiet" mode. You're right - the overall sound, however, is amazing!

Unhingd - yes, that's exactly right. I find the vehicle lugs a little when launching and/or creeping around a parking lot or up to a stoplight. When this occurs, the vibrations are transmitted right through the shifter to my hand as well. (Aside: I put in an order for the short shift kit last night)

 

It's not the engine lugging. The clutch is chattering from getting burnt or having uneven wear. Usually the result of allowing the clutch too much slippage during aggressive launches. Good news: A new clutch and flywheel will resolve your "lugging". Bad news: You need a new clutch and flywheel.

 

Unhingd - thanks! Your diagnosis makes sense.

Hopefully, I can convince my local Jag dealer of this and I am surprised this wasn't caught during the CPO road test (I bought the car out of state and assumed everything was OK - my bad) . Are there any other "tests" I can run to convince my local dealer that this is a legitimate issue? My limited experience has been that no one seems to know anything about manual transmissions anymore - especially on this car.

 

I I really wish there was a way to measure how many miles you've been in Dynamic, versus not. I'm at basically 40, 000 miles, and I'm pretty confident 39998 miles have been in dynamic.

as for the exhaust note, the base model in Dynamic sounds better than the 380 horsepower model in Dynamic, **I believe**. The two sound incredibly different. The s has that muddy exhaust note. The base is not as low pitched & to me sounds more classic, or elegant or refined. I'm sure this could be a source of of unnecessary debate and squabbling, so I will remind that it's just my stupid opinion