Picked up the car this afternoon and immediately racked up over 100 miles. As promised, here are my first impressions of the gear shift mechanism.
1. This is by no means a short throw shifter. Probably about 50% longer than it needs to given the ease of gear changes, so the mechanical advantage of a longer throw isn't need. I am definitley planning on installing the short-shift kit that's available for this tranny through the BMW aftermarket.
2. Really not much of a friction point on this clutch. It's more a wide friction band (may have something to do with the dual mass flywheel). Perfectly serviceable, but more suited for a luxury application than a taught sporting application (hmmm...). Might be extremely functional for high rpm
power shifting, but that test will occur after break-in.
3. Anybody claiming the pedals are optimized for heel/toe shifting must be afflicted with a lower leg deformity. The brake sits more than a couple inches above the go pedal.
4. For me the gear shift location is just about right, but my seat is within an inch of full travel. For anyone with shorter legs, you'll be bending your wrist down and pushing to the even gears rather than pulling to the even gears.
5. Second gear is far to tall. (MIght just feel that way as a result of early shifting to stay under 4000 rpm).I would have preferred shorter ratios in 2-4, and leave 5-6 as is.
6. The best part of the experience is the sound. The symphony created by a double clutched down shift, is merely hinted at by the automatic. I can only imagine what it will sound like at 6500rpm rather than 4000. The sound generated during the upshift is also user selectable. The delay during shift can be used to accentuate the crackling.

In summary: As good as it should be, but not as good as it could be. Not much different than what we've cometo expect from the media reviews except for the pedal location.
My personal take: Well worth the wait.

A couple of side notes:
1. In normal mode the exhaust sound level is modest and subdued. In active mode it's quite sporty, but by no means obnoxious or offensive to anyone. Certainly a surprise given the sound level discussions. Those may just apply to the Rs.
2. The car feels surprisingly light and nimble for its 3500 lbs. Seems lighter even than the V6S I test drove late last year. I'm wondering if the transmission is creating part of that delusion.
3. I am truly blessed. The Meridian truly is performing well. No rattles, no buzzing, no perceived distortion. It was preset to DTS mode and it sounded ok, but not great. In stereo mode it went absolutely flat, but it came alive in Meridian mode. Best setting for me was just above mid-point for treble, base and sub. (probaby adjusting for my personal audio shortcommings) Creedance, Aerosmith, Steppenwolf and Clapton were at the top of their game today.
4. Car won't be washed until the coatings are put on within the next few weeks. No pics until then.
5. Interesting TPMS story on the Gyrodynes that were installed at the dealership.

 

Glad you picked it up and look forward to hearing more.

 

Nice, thanks for the points of note, looking forward to more and some pics of course

 

Nice!

 

Nice writeup!

Now if we can get an obligatory video

 

After all the wait for your car, we need to see it!

 

Thanks so much for the first impressions. Mine was unloaded from Torino yesterday, and I will get my first encounter on the 27th.

Orkney

 

Even with heavy traffic, I got to work far too quickly. Feather light clutch action offers no fatigue and blipping the throttle on the downshifts kept me entertained. If I was less dedicated to my organization, I would have kept on going this morning.

 

congratulations and enjoy it in good health

 

The two short-shifters I'm familiar with (one I installed, one I didn't due to the design) were both in the linkage. I doubt that anything for BMW would work, but it would be nice to be wrong about that.



My current car resembles that description, but I don't think it has anything to do with its dual-mass flywheel. Those antedate my professional mechanic experience, but from my understanding of their operation, it's not the dual-mass part that affects the feel, but the pressure plate and hydraulics. On the forum for my current car, most who have replaced the DM flywheel have primarily done so to be able to use a much heavier-duty clutch (pressure plate and disc combination).

 

lhoboy, when you post pictures, be sure to include pictures that show both the BRG exterior and camel interior together. I'm still wondering why the configurator on jaguarusa.com doesn't show the camel interior as being available.

 

I never thought Jaguar would bring a manual back and I'm so glad that they did.

Unfortunately, this is one of the reasons I shied away from the brand a couple of years ago and am now peddling a 6MT BMW M3.

I hope that they produce the XK line in manual some day too or at least is some sort of dual clutch variant and not the typical ZF auto.

 

The XK is now out of production entirely. Unlikely to be resurrected until after the F-Type runs its course.

 

I would guess a number would have done so to lighten the rotating mass with a lightweight flywheel to allow faster revving for gear synchronization. The engine does take more time than I would like to rev up for a downshift.

 

Thanks for you input and review as I was curious how the 6 speed drove. Enjoy it!

 

While I applaud JLR for adding the manual...I agree with your views on the overall view. Clutch is far too light, making it a bit difficult to pinpoint the engagement point until you've gotten some seat time. The shifter throws are far too long and not sporty at all.

Then again..I've been spoiled by manuals on the s2000, Civic Si and the NSX. Honda I feel set the benchmark for manuals.

 

I'm also spoiled by the short shift kit on my Gen 1 MINI. This is fixable, though. The clutch is also fixable when I've burnt up the first one.

 

What kind of mpg are you getting, since jaguar hasn't officially released the EPA estimates?

 

It will actually increase as the engine breaks in... Should be much more noticeable once you hit 2000-2500 miles.

 

+1