JLR and push for options results in flawed cars that nobody would want to own.

I recently test drove 2019 F-type R coupe that was not equipped with a blind spot monitor features. The car wasn't a stripper base model by any means, it was an R with a number of other optional features.

This is just insane. Why would JLR make such necessary feature optional on R!? Blind spots are VERY SERIOUS issue with coupe, there is no excuse to not include this on R.

 

I could live without BSM on the coupe but absolutely not with the convertible when the roof is up. That missing rear quarterlight glass is a killer for me. And yes, I rotate my head when driving ;-)

And for me more egregious is the options packaging - oh you want the vision package ? Have to take the locking wheel nuts and license frame.... I know JLR aren't the only ones doing it but....

 

I don't have vision/BSM/backup camera/parking sensors on my convertible. While I would recommend them due to poor visibility, hasn't made the car any less enjoyable. Finding the lines for angle parking is a bit of a challenge when turning right into one, as I have my seat low and can't see the front corners of the car. But it's manageable. But I don't drive into big cities much.

I was shocked/pleased that when I found the one XE in the whole country with the options/color I wanted, it didn't have the wheel locks/LP frame.

 

Backup cameras are now required for new cars in the US, and I can't imagine the coupe without that and side-traffic detection.

What gets me is that if I special order, why am I still subject to bundled options? Volvo was the same way, but avoidable with Overseas Delivery. JLR does not have an Overseas Delivery program (I suppose that should be programme). It might have to do with right-hand versus left-hand drive, but I'd have seriously considered it. I'm overdue for a vacation.

 

 

Once you have the blind spot monitors, you will be spoiled without them. There is an SVR convertible at my dealer and it has everything except the BSR. I suspect that’s the reason its been sitting on the showroom floor. The person ordering it must have thought it came with the vision package but no; its an extra $500 option on top of that (or is it $200?).

Can this be retrofitted?

 

Yes. The wiring in the body is already there, so you need a new rear bumper harness, the sensors (and two sticky pads to place on the bumper which mask the signal to prevent false readings), the LED connectors to each mirror (requires drawing 2 new wires through the mirror from the door connector which already has the pins, and tapping into a ground in the housing), new mirror glass with the LED module attached, and then enable the option in the car configuration file/CCF with a computer.

 

After a few years, I still don't really check the BSM indicators. Habit from years of checking the mirror and turning my head isn't going to fade away quickly.

The backup camera and cross-traffic detection? I got used to them pretty quickly. I can't see much of anything when I back out of a parking space, and the local populace are as entitled and my-time-matters-more-than-yours as any group I've ever met. A little extra help dealing with people who rip through parking lots and step in the path of moving vehicles is quite welcome.

 

I never use the BSM, I find it annoying and unnecessary. I am one of those increasingly rare drivers who adjusts his exterior rear view mirrors so that there are no real or at least serious blind spots. I know many disagree with this and it's a matter for debate and yes there may just be a tiny blind spot around the rear 3/4 spot on the F-Type no matter how you adjust your mirrors. Also it may be different/worse in the 'vert with the top up, I don't know.
I find the reversing camera to be useful every now and then but I don't use it a lot and I never rely 100% on it.
But the cross-traffic detection is a completely different ball game, it is the only "driver aid" on the F-Type I find very useful and would specify every time. When backing out of a parking spot with SUVs, trucks etc either side it is literally impossible to see anything coming across your bows until you have poked the rear end well out into the conflict area. It has saved me from countless potential bingles and/or embarrassing moments.

 

No kidding, although I think you've got your bow and your stern confused.

There are times I have trouble even finding my car in the lot due to all the SUVs, and I pay attention to where I parked.

 

I agree 100%. To me flawed cars means it's missing something that almost everyone would want, so now becomes undesirable due to missing an option everyone expects these days. It's not a matter of "need". A high end vehicle missing one of these options is rather ridiculous, and will be more difficult to sell and re-sell. Maybe it's weird, but I actually think about resale when ordering a car. Last car I ordered to spec, I added the optional sunroof -- I don't personally need one but I knew some day I'd be selling it and didn't want to deal with all the people refusing to even look at a car without one.