Driving the XE S from Vegas back to Los Angeles, I thought what one word could summarize my experience with the new Jaguar without offending the stiff upper lip crowd - yehaaw certainly wasn't it. But, hey, I can't make everyone happy nor do I care to do so.

Excitement started at about 11 am last Friday when I got the keys to the Italian Racing Red with black Venom 5 double spoke wheels, a combination of options which adds $1050 to the MSRP. Well worth the money as it makes a clear statement that this car means business. The Jag was dropped off in the parking lot full of BMW, Audi and quite a bit of Mercedes Benz product. Right away one could see that the Jag was in the class of its own. Several guys who saw me pouring over the car came out and had very nice things to say as we opened the doors, popped the trunk and peaked under the hood. Needless to say, I was grinning from ear to ear and thats before really driving the car.

Original plan was to make an extended run through the canyons, take a few pictures outside the Rockstore and then a quick drive down the PCH with more photos. However, the plans changed as my wife expressed a strong interest in driving the XE. This was quite surprising as I distinctly recall her indifference to my 2001 XJR. Besides, she continued, we haven't been on a road trip in quite a while and a short trip to Vegas would do.

Ok, yes now back to the show..errr... the Jaguar. Jaguar has nailed the design. The front end/grille is probably the best in the business. The grille design to Jaguar is what the double kidney is to BMW - you will never mistake it for another car. The body sides are very nicely styled and flow very well. The back end is perhaps the least distinctive feature of the car but it all fits well. I won't dwell on the exterior as its all really just my opinion and one can easily see it all on the Jaguar website.

The interior is very pleasant to look at. The seats with are very supportive, not tight to the point of discomfort but are great at keeping you in place on fast turns, thanks in part to the alcantara inserts. The speedo and tach are in large well spaced out binnacles. The backlighting changes with each driving mode, blue being eco and the sport turns the dash and ghost lighting around the outer a/c vents to inferno red. My wife picked up on that and prepped herself every time the lighting around the vents went to red. Not all is sweet as candy here, and I did have several gripes.

Being a sports sedan with selective driving modes, Jaguar entrusted two tiny little buttons with arrows on them to handle such important duties. Furthermore, the buttons are set in the array of buttons including one controlling the on/off function of the auto engine stop/start. Switching between modes required me taking my eyes off the road to search for the switches. Large, dedicated switches could have been easily placed around the shifter bezel, there is plenty of space. Speaking of the shifter, I get the unconventional dial shifter (reminds me push botton trans shifter on Mopar products) as "distinctly Jaguar" but the modes could be better seen if placed on the bottom of the dial closer to the driver, rather than at the top closer to the center console. I like to sit "deep" in the car with seat cushion close to the floor and seat back rather aggressively reclined. In this position I could not see D or S on the shift strip.

Engine start button is placed well in sight of the driver but its placed where you would normally find the volume control knob which incidentally took me a while to find.

I was also not a fan of door trim panel design. Driver's side is a two level design with window/mirror control on the top level and the seat memory on the lower level - this set up takes quite a bit of getting used to. I applaud Jaguar engineers for moving the seat memory controls to a more sensible placing but a simple strip would have done fine.

The top of the door trip sweeps up and wraps around the front passenger compartment, over the dash making you feel like you are well enclosed in some type of cocoon. Thats all fine and dandy but it did raiser the top edge of the trim panel, making it a bit uncomfortable to rest my elbow. I suppose that raising the lower seat cushion would cure that somewhat but I would rather sit right than find a place for my elbow.

With the sunroof, I really thought that the mesh screen which retracts into the headliner was clever and really upscale design. However, when the sunroof retracts, it doesnt go back far enough leaving a rather significant overhang effectively reducing the sunroof opening.

I know, I know - someone, or perhaps many of those reading this are thinking to themselves: "what an ungrateful *******. got this rare opportunity and rather than being nice is just ripping this car to shreds" Well, not really. All my comments above are really ergonomic in nature and are aimed at interior design engineers.

The great thing is that ergonomics do not affect the actual performance, thank god! At which point I would like to say kudos to the guys that gave this car the ***** it has and the means to put them to use. This car is fast, you feel like you are always in the power curve. Transmission paddles are easy to shift, have just the right amount of travel and resistance. This car picks up and goes, no excuses, no B.S. Cornering is precise, no slop, no wandering. The steering wheel is excellent diameter and thickness.

I found the placement of the fire extinguisher to be very clever - its in the glove box. I don't know if this feature will make it to the States but its cool.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with the power and handling. I loved the aggressive front end. People sit up and notice the design. At the hotel parking lot, very few people outside guessed it to be a Jaguar. We stayed at the Monte Carlo, not the top notch hot spot, but at least one person waiting along side with us for his car got into a black Bentley GT - he was very surprised to learn it was a Jaguar.

All in all, I believe that if Jaguar keeps the lease price points similar to MB or BMW and even Audi (well may be just below Audi) for the appropriate models, Jaguar should be able to do very well with the XE. I really hope the XE goes on to enjoy a bright futre, this car certainly deserves it.

I will try to post pictures at a later time, need to rest from the trip. Thank you all for reading my ramblings.

 

Nice review. I appreciate the honest opinion of the interior. I'm sure some of those gripes would go away slightly as you got more used to the car as an owner. I have only briefly sat in the XE at a car show, but loved the wraparound feel of the dash as it transitioned to the door. I'm already a little worried about eventually scratching the shinny piano black surface around the dial shifter, as well as the heat it absorbs in the sun (Florida).

Also, how was Vegas?

 

Qwick Cat, I agree. It's like breaking in a new leather motorcycle jacket. The first time I got into the car I too liked the wrap around feel. The car seems to envelop you. I still think that the mode switches should be accessible without having to take your eyes or thoughts off the road.

Vegas is good. Cold at this time of the year but also keeps the crowd swelling down. It was just a one nighter. Part of the attraction, for me anyway s that you can walk into virtually any lounge and enjoy a nice scotch while smoking a good cigar without offending anyone.