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Actually if you wouldnt mind, tell me what you think of the in gear pull using the paddles. I have the 6 speed XKR, my missus has the 177KW XE. I have to say that using the paddles in the XE is a little disappointing but that might be the engine and not the box. The thoughts of a V8 driver for the 6 cyl XE would be interesting.
I'm still driving my 2012 XF 5.0 and I'm highly interested in the XE. I'm not looking at the new XF since I enjoy the smaller sedan size but I truly love the V8. I'll probably switch in 2018 but I'm glad the early reviews are very positive. I'm interested to see what the 6-cyclinder Ingenium engines look like about the time I am ready to buy.
I'll be very interested in your detailed review. I'm on the list for DC w/ perhaps a dozen others, so may not get as lucky as you, but keeping my fingers crossed.
Neato - getting mine dropped off Friday AM as well. I am keen to see what it's all about as well. Expect severe attention whoring and much posting about my drives this weekend. I hope to do at least one family snapshot with the F-Type and the XE.
Orkney, one or both of us should take the new XEs to the cars and coffee. Its Saturday morning... Of course, its gotten to be so big you need to be there before 5:30am to get a parking spot...
After a quick 15 minutes with the car, I can say that I am pleasantly surprised.
I was given the "S" model to play with for the weekend. Coming from an F-Type R I honestly wasn't expecting too much, but the S has some pep and the drive into work was fun.
My initial nit picks... The seat back is too soft. I think many people will like it, but again, coming from the FTR, I am used to a very firm seat. The seat bottom is nice, a little softer than the F-Type, and comfortable.
The seat controls are on the seat! I think they belong there. I could never figure out why some models have the seat controls on the door panel. That being said, the way the armrest is on the door, when I place my arm and hand where they naturally wants to lay, my fingertips are at the seat memory buttons... I have to reach up to the "upper level" to find the window controls. This just doesn't seem ergonomic to me. As much as I use the windows (Fast Food, ATM, Mailbox) versus how many times I use the seat memory functions... I'd say the positions of these buttons should be swapped.
I wasn't provided an owners manual and looking through the on line literature, I'm eager to see if my test car has the HUD feature. It looks cool online, but I haven't seen it in any menus...
Finally, it is a BRIGHT and sunny day today. The sun roof is nice. I decided however that I wanted to close it due to the glare of the noon day sun. Even when it is completely closed, I can still see through the cloth privacy screen and notice the sun in the sky. I'd love to have it that when it is closed, it is DARK.
I'll be working this afternoon, but taking it out tonight and of course all weekend long.
Oh, almost forgot, the paddle shifters (in Sport and Dynamic) are just as quick shifting as in the F-Type! I have yet to try them in anything less than Sport and Dynamic...
Sweet. If you have the HUD you will have a fitting under the windscreen in front of you which interrupts the "riva hoop". You get into the HUD settings by pushing the menu button on the steering wheel then scrolling down. Once you are into it you can shift the readout up and down, left and right.
I actually thought it was a bit of a **** before we got it, but now I pretty much rely solely on the HUD. It goes very pale if you wear polaroids though.
You kill me man, almost identical cars down to the #hashtag on the door and the New Jersey plates. We also both have some kind of truck like vehicle in the back ground of our initial photos.
Good show sir! Have you figured out how to get the motor to pop and spit like a mini F-Type? My first happened a bit on accident. Not as easy to trigger as on the F-Type Manual, but I am learning how to do it.
I have not got mine to snap, crackle, and pop... Does it have an active exhaust? Since there is no owners manual in the glove box, I'm reading on line about the features. These appear to be Euro spec cars as the US website does not have an "S" model.
I do not have the HUD feature, but I am very interested to try the semi autonomous parking. I've never had a problem parking myself, but the videos of it just intrigue me to no end.
I sent you a PM regarding Cars and Coffee tomorrow. I'll do my best to make it there.
I sure hope they can pop the exhaust at least some, or I have done something terrible to mine. I enjoy that mine seems to remember dynamic mode in between drives.
One HUGE improvement over the F-Type... When you turn the XE off, the RADIO stays on until you exit the vehicle. The F-Type, you turn it off, the radio stops immediately.
Excuse the terrible cell phone photo from the dark garage, but... They look good parked together...
I just got in from a spirited little romp with the XE. The more I drive it, the more fun it is.
You can chirp the tires from both 1 - 2 AND 2 - 3... It is a very peppy sports sedan.
I finally got to spend a little time playing with the semi-autonomous parking feature. It took me a little time to fully trust it, but WOW, it's really cool. Not only will it assist in parallel parking, but also backing into a perpendicular spot. You still need to select R or D and operate the brake and gas, but it tells you exactly when to do what and it does all the steering. It parks VERY well too. Neat feature I'd probably use very seldomly, but it is the first car I have driven and I just had to play with the feature...
Great pictures from Cars and Coffee. I was hoping the supercharged, 340hp XE would be more than just "peepy", but compared to your F-Type R that may be tough to judge
Great pictures from Cars and Coffee. I was hoping the supercharged, 340hp XE would be more than just "peepy", but compared to your F-Type R that may be tough to judge
well, keep it in context... I definitely am spoiled by the R, but the XE is definitely quicker than the BMW 3 series I test drove last year. They felt a little sluggish. The XE is fun and feels sporty.
To put it in further context, there are no vehicles in this class (Audi S4, BMW 3/4 series, MB C-Class) available with V8s, much less 550HP versions.
The 340HP XE has more power than the BMW 435i and is about equivalent to the Audi S4. With a currently available tune, the 340HP engine puts out power about equivalent to the top-of-the-line BMW M4 (over 400HP).
Latest XE Extended Drive
