..and I'll say that I was pleasantly surprised! Flat handling, great acceleration, nice interior touches.... elegant looks too. I think I'm hooked!

I just may pull the trigger on Monday.

 

Great acceleration - absolutely!

 

the wonderful handling surprised me.... pulls through the turns nicely... flat...felt as good as my F type. maybe better! having the lighter v6 instead of the v8 could explain that sensation.

 

You are lucky to have gotten to try one.

I remember trying an XE S when the car first came out and that model wasn't offered in the US. It was a Mexico spec'ed car that Jaguar had decided to send to the US to showcase the car. I drove less than 5 miles on interior roads. I was super impressed.

For about 6 months after that I called the dealer every two weeks hoping to find a RWD R Sport to test drive, because I was told that would be the closest, but they never got one. At some point, I went in and drove the 4 cylinder premium/prestige cars and was completely unimpressed. So I just gave up on Jaguar ownership and bought an extended warranty for my 328i and decided to hold on to that.

Now it looks like the XE S is available in the US, but same story. I call the dealer and they say they don't usually get R Sport or S cars unless they are ordered, because they typically don't lease very well. So if I want one, the only way would be to order one without being able to actually drive one.

I'm not sure what to do.

OP, did you buy it?

 

Well, between the 4 Jaguar dealers around here, I think there was a total of 2 XE S around..... and just a handful of R-Sport models too. And 100% are all wheel drive.... well yeah, it's Michigan, and more snow a'comin' tonight.

Come see me in the spring and you can take mine for a drive! I did get AWD, which was not initially what I wanted, but I took a page from the practicality playbook. The handling is still quite sweet! Thought it handled better than the ATS-V around town. On a track, YMMV. But I have an F Type for that monkey business.

I didn't think the car leased too badly. Lease factors were pretty low. I was able to get some incentives too, including JCNA $1000 for attending the Jaguar experience.

 

So you did take the plunge. Congratulations!

What is the Jaguar experience?

The sales guy I spoke to today asking about the XE S said they would be willing to do $500 off MSRP + any incentives available at the time of delivery. (No incentives available right now.)

 

I did. Haven't brought it home yet...waiting about 4 weeks until the weather calms down a bit.

Jaguar experience was this "ride and drive" on steroids that they ran in September. Took over a convention center, created an elegant indoor experience, with the full line of vehicle models on display with product experts galore, including the Project 7 and the E-Pace, then opportunity to drive various vehicles, two small autocross areas (inc F-Type R), top notch food, and make-up artists from LA & NY who prepped you for various scenes that were filmed and edited into a James Bond-like video of your "audition" of driving a Jaguar under pursuit from evil enemy agents.

JCNA followed up with an email of a PIN-based rebate after you made your best deal.... kinda like the FCNA discount.

 

That sounds like a load of crap if the dealer said that. My local JLR dealer has several R Sport S cars in stock. For my locale, a RWD could fall under the pretense the dealer told you. I don't think they stock any RWD Jags unless it's a V8.

 

There's only one dealer in this area so no competition and that may be the reason. They seem to only have low end cars on the lot. And they aren't selling that well. The car has been out for almost 3 years now and I hardly ever see one (< 10 sightings), and when I do it is usually one of those base ones. Both of the sales people I dealt with initially while waiting for an R sport to show up no longer work there.

 

When i looked about 45 days ago: 4 dealers, total XE stock of about 150 cars, 100% AWD, only a pair of S models. Sport was more...this is a guess, but i am thinking 20-25 units.

 

I think the high end Jags will lose to BMW/MB because of rear seat room and interior design with the average buyer, hence the resistance to keeping them on the lot. With the low end ones they can compete on price/features. The sporty ones would only appeal to an enthusiast, yet there is a chicken and egg problem because they are essentially asking someone to take a leap of faith on a $50K++ purchase since they do not have them available for test drives. I think that's crazy. The low end cars do not handle as well, the seats aren't that comfortable, and they actually feel cheap, so no one is going to order a high end model based on a test drive in one of those.

 

You are right, the base cars do not handle anywhere near to that of the S model. I was stunned at the difference. Total shame that the car's dynamic design does not get into the hands of every model.

 

If you are buying a new car, fly to a locale that has the selection you'd be interested in. There's no difference buying in one state vs. another. Your local dealer isn't going to offer you anything more if you bought from them or someone else.

You may be able to discount your flight off the car if you buy. Talk to the sales manager before you head out and see if they'll oblige. I bet they will!

 

Hi. That early XE S might have been what you call of 35T in the States - i.e. the base supercharged 6. We have had the XE S in Australia for 2 1/2 years but we are only just now getting it in the 380hp engine.