At the Audition Event in the Washington DC area we had a chance to drive and XE in a slalom course and appear in a video :
Jaguar: The Audition

 

Excellent!!

 

That was awesome. I hope they do one in Boston! I'd like to have that same video with me lol.

 

My son and I went to the DC event as well. Great event and drove both the 2ltr and 3ltr XE. Both on the road were very capable with good pep. The 3ltr on the parking lot course they set up had a lot of under steer. Especially on the second corner which was a bit annoying. Otherwise I liked it. Now the F-Pace was very very nice as well.

 

I got to drive a f type R AWD, an XJR, and an XE S (what you would call a 35T R sport I think) on a Jag track day. While it wasnt as fast as the 5 litre cars in the straights, I thought that the XE S was the easiest to drive hard in the corners (at my skill level).

 

We went to the DC event. It was a blast! Our instructor for the street drive and the autocross was Formula 1 and Indycar driver Roberto Guerrero!

The first "experience" was looking at the whole lineup of cars in a dark room with a bunch of lights shining on the cars. Man, Jaguar has a really gorgeous lineup. Ian Callum is a genius. IMO, the only car that's starting to look pretty dated in their lineup is the XJ.

Eventually we got to drive the F-Pace on the street. I assume we were driving a base gasser model. It was pretty nice inside. I didn't really feel like I was driving a "Jaguar" but I am not offended by the idea of a Jaguar SUV. I thought it drove a little bit too firm. I also don't really like the sound of the exhaust--it is too loud for a family car, even just driving around town at low boil, it makes a lot of noise. Plus I just don't find the sound of a V6 that pleasant to listen to.

Both the XE and the F-Pace, I was susprised that the downshift using the paddles was not as quick and "blippy" as my XKR or the old XF. I'm not sure if this is the same as the F-Type, but if they are not going to provide a manual option, this is not acceptable. I don't know if I just didn't have it on all the right modes or not, though. Roberto was controlling the modes!

 

I dont use the paddles driving the XE, but in the f type downshifts are enormously faster than in the XKR. That and the steering is really what you notice getting back into the XKR after the f type, and I was really doubtful about an 8 speed box to start with.

 

After driving my XER Sport for a month now I have to say I am not impressed at all. IT drives nice but feels very cookie cutter like and doesn't feel like a Jaguar at all. For its weight it does feel very very light and thats amazing but the road feels " Lumpy & Rough W/20's" and the shifts with paddles doesn't feel anything like my old 2010 XFR even thou they say it rev matches. I understand the F-Type has Quick Shift feature i the SW but I thought the XE would be more aggressive when in Dynamic TRAC OFF or TRAC DSC.

And whoever allowed the Auto engine off feature to be enabled in these modes needs to fix this i the next SW update because who would use that during a race or spirited driving? I feel I have to hit too many buttons to let her rip.

 

I am on the fence about the Dynamic Mode steering. I like the other Dynamic mode settings, but the Dynamic one feels too artificially stiff. The standard is good "Jaguar" feeling steering; a slight improvement over my XK's.

I plan to set up my Dynamic Mode to retain the standard steering and give that go.

Could be I haven't had much chance to really push the Dynamic Steering mode?

 

I am glad I'm not the only one who noticed the problem with the paddle shifters. How could they make it worse than the old XF? And why??

The only way I could even consider an XE is if it came with a proper manual transmission.

 

Is your car RWD or AWD? Also, regarding the lumpy and rough comment, does your car have the dynamic suspension/adaptive dynamics pack? I would have preferred having 18" wheels. I have no idea why all cars are using bigger and bigger wheels and tires. My first car had 13" wheels (a 1988 Nissan Sentra), second car 14" (a 1998 Honda Civic). Now I have 18" wheels on a 2015 BMW.

When looking at the car at the dealer, I did get that feeling of cookie cutter with respect to the attention to detail. Of course, that is different from the actual quality of the materials, which I was not able to judge just based on appearance.

 

I have a little over 2K miles on the car and it getting faster and sounding better IMO. Maybe I am growing more use to it? Cars really goes like stink on the HWY. Seeing the speedo go 100+ in the HUD is really cool!

 

Where in the Boston area can one safely (in terms of both traffic and traffic cops) drive 100+ mph?

 

There's plenty of open stretches on 495, 90, etc... Average speed on a lot of 495 near my house is already at 80 mph.

 

Maybe after the break-in period you feel increase in performance/sound?

XE really feels good on a highway.

I was driving on I-93 North at 7am last weekend and raced with 2016 WRX STi.

We did 60-125 and I passed him ~2 car lengths. I was pleasantly surprised since STI is much lighter.

However, I hit the limiter at 125. I don't know what is the point of having that....

 

What's you opinion on Dynamic Mode Steering vs Standard?

 

I appreciate having it. Do not use it that much.

I feel it has a way too strong self-centering tendency. It is useful if you are doing some high-speed manouevres but through the lower speed corners it does not enhance feedback for me.

(I recently took a trip to Kancamancus Highway and had a chance to truly evaluate XE's dynamics)

 

For me, it often feels too artificial. They could've just had it so there was no power assist when the mode is on; would've been more natural feeling steering...

 

Yes I agree. Hydraulic steering would have been the best but I understand that it is a thing of the past nowadays.

 

What is the dynamic mode steering?