The sunglasses holder does not come close to holding my RayBans, but it works great for my regular glasses. I do smoke, however I do not use the ashtray (probably once every two months for when I pull into a gas station with a lit cig and don't want to throw it on the ground).

I do love the automatic steering wheel when you open your door. It does go up a little slow, but being 6'6" and trying to get out when the steering wheel is where I like while driving is impossible. Probably my favorite feature of all is the automatic windshield wipers, being in South Florida and you'll go from monsoon to light rain to nothing and that never ending cycle, it is great to be able to concentrate on driving without having to adjust the speed on the wipers.

 

Love the toys even if I dont use them every day , havnt got the s/glases holder or pedel adjustment

 

I live in the Northeast, I am assuming you live in Florida? DSC/traction control is far from useless when little white things called snow flakes start falling.

 

Okay, I guess. I used to live in the NE. Drove around in a 1981 Toyota Starlet RWD with no such thing as traction control. Of course it had 57 hp, so you could barely spin the tires on the snow.

I just wish that I could permanently disable the DSC/TC feature since I don't need it. I like to spin the tires once in a while.

 

The only useless thing for me is the telephone facility. I hate mobile phones and only carry a cheap one in the car for emergencies.

I would like to have had -

the heated front windscreen as my car is outside all the time,

the built in sat nav, I dont need it, but it looks good,

a sunroof, though I haven't seenan S Type with one yet,

and there is a feature I have seen on a Ford Mondeo which is a small LED at the door handle so your not having to feel about for it in the dark.

 

Careful what you wish for! My 2003 has that feature and each winter fewer and fewer of the heating 'wires' actually work. Right now it's like looking through bars in a zoo cage on the driver's side and even fewer work on the passenger side. I understand that this fault is not covered under warranty and a new windscreen (at well over $1,000) is not guaranteed to work for long either.

 

I forgot about the telephone button on 2000-2004 S-types. It is useless as it isn't bluetooth compatible. The radio is a weak link in that car as well. The standard stereo isn't very good

 

I actually agree somewhat with both comments... I'm a Northerner myself.. I'm not a big fan of electronic nannies, but I have noticed that the Jag's threshold is set pretty high before it steps in meaning it will allow a certain amount of wheel spin.

FloridaJag: Turn the DSC off with the dash button and you will get all the wheel spin you want... Did a great many snowy donuts with the DSC off last winter in parking lots...You know, Winter Driving Training.

 

Not sure about the 2000 to 2002 radios since they are Ford but the 2003 and up radios are made by Alpine and can be made bluetooth. The phone button activates the phone module (if one is installed). In early cars it was paired to a wired Motorola phone that plugged into the module. You can replace the phone with a bluetooth module. If you really wanted to do it though you would also have to check what model phone module is installed. There are early ones that need to be upgraded to make the bluetooth module work. The cost to retrofit these when the car doesn't have them is REAL expensive. I looked and looked for a used one and finally gave up... got a BlueAnt device for 30 bucks and it works just fine for me...

 

I have the 04 with phone and the button seems to do what I'd expect

I don't actually use it when driving as it's life-endangering but hey. Can be useful for passengers and also the car is sometimes stopped

 

Dude you have a 3.0. Big difference.

 

haha, hold the front page: the 3.0 and STR handle differently in snow!

(may as well delete the "in snow")

 

Please explain.

 

Do I really need to Mikey? Well, its pretty simple, significant more torque, wider tires-worse in the snow. If you even tap in gas in the STR with snow on the ground it has a very good chance of spinning out/losing control with no traction control, it is a sled, and dangerous to drive because of this. Therefore, a vehicle with less torque aka 3.0 is probably a lot better in the snow/ wet weather. Now I haven't driven one, but I have driven many other RWD 6 cylinders and are they are easier to manage in inclement weather. Sooooooo logic would tell me that the SType 3.0 would follow suit with being significantly better than the STR, hence the comment about traction control not being that important.

 

Through work I had an 2000 Mondeo that was 5 years old and the feature worked brilliantly. I have bought a top cover off ebay for £12 and it works fine on the odd frosty morning I need it.

 

I'm not trying to start anything, but, have you tried winter composition tires? If you go with a narrower tire with a winter tread and rubber composition you may find drastically improved driving.... Then again, if you can get a winter beater to drive and keep it out of the snow and salt, even better. I was a skeptic when it came to winter tires, was of the old school thought that all season was good enough. I talked my girlfriend at the time into putting winter tires on her Jetta Turbo and holy crap what a difference. That car drove better in ice and snow than my Jeep Cherokee at the time.

 

Ya I hear ya about the snow tires and a narrower winter kit. Just bought the all seasons and would rather not spend the $$$ especially since I have the wifes Saab front wheel drive vehicle when needed. We got back from our honeymoon in October, and we had out first snowfall, I was SHOCKED how good the DSC/traction control worked in the snow, and the fact the vehicle is pretty heavy probably had something to do with it. I just kept the RPMS as low as possible, hands 10 and 2, and white knuckled the steering wheel the whole way home. Granted, it was only a a couple of inches, but usually that is when it is most slippery. If need be I can work from home on the days we have big storms, so I guess I can deal with it. PLUS the rims and tires are TOO PRETTY to take off for a few months! I used to have a "beater" Ford Explorer Sport when I owned the Porsche, but have since gotten rid of it.

 

There's not much difference in low RPM torque and HP between the 3.0, 4.2 and 4.2 supercharged engines. Sounds like you're a little leaded footed to me- the wide summer/four season tires just make it worse. My 4.2 is undriveable on four season tires in the snow with or without traction control. I would think the 3.0 is the same.

My very first car was a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger with a much modified engine. I can't imagine a more unbalanced combination for winter driving, but I had no choice but either drive it during the winter or walk. Decent snow tires and imagining a raw egg between my foot and the gas/ brake pedals did the trick.

 

I've always wanted a Sunbeam Tiger even though at 6-foot-7 there's no way I can fit in that car with the top up. Man, those cars are gorgeous (and fast). Haven't seen one on the road in at least a decade....

 

Useless features: Jaguar Navigation system where growth in urban and rural areas come up as undefined or unfound. Hate the 02' non-touch nav part and the update disk is 200 bucks for more roads in Mexico and Canada... What about Washington State? Useless... so I use my TomTom (love it)

One cupholder... What about the passenger? They have to use the one in the back seat center.

Rims that require jaguar lugs nuts. Lugs are $20.00 a piece. That's 100 per corner on the car. That's a nice rim package at just about any tire store for winter packages.

On that note, I just put on some Michelin Xice2's on my cat and I can only say one thing about them... GRIPPY is GOOD!!!

Everything else is loved by me at this point...