First and foremost, I love my XE and don't regret its selection over it's competitors for one second. I'm a car guy, and I did my research so I understand that there are advantages and disadvantages to any model when compared to a competitor.

My biggest issues? No, not the ICT interface, nor the interior fit and finish quality or small back seat. Ya, these things are quirky and can be frustrating but were "known" opportunity costs that I was willing to accept to have a premiere, relatively exclusive handling sports car chasis and drivetrain. Furthermore my late mom was also a jag fan and owner, so in a cheesy way, it was a way to connect to her legacy. In other words, I knew the pros and cons and jumped at the offer when the silly end of year lease deals came available.

That being said, two things have been really frustrating in my first three months of ownership.

1. The FREAKING door armrest. I'm the definition of "average male" at 5'10'' and 180 and I have no place to put my left arm. The back of my elbow just slips off because the darn thing just isn't long enough. It actually gets uncomfortable and lately I find myself resting my left arm way up high on the window sill. I find myself moving my arm from the wheel, to my lap, to the window, to the armrest (until it slips off), back to the wheel etc...
I don't know if I'm the only one, but it drives me crazy. Perhaps as I get more accustomed to the vehicle, I will adjust.
Anyone else find this to be an issue?

2. Utility space and storage compartments in the front. My daughters 18k Kia subcompact blows my XE away, lol. I wish I had a space for my keys or for the change at the drive thru. I think the rising transmission thing is cool, but I would give it up for a conventionay stalk and more storage any day. I don't like crap in my pockets and I find myself putting my keys on that rubber mat below the climate control. That should be a touch open compartment to place little things.
I don't know why this bothers me like it does, but I just don't understand why this wasn't addressed. I know I have the center console, but it just seems inconvenient and I'm lazy.

Again, I love my car and wouldn't change it for the ubiquity of an A or B or M, but those are the two things that I would change if I could.

What about you guys? I don't want to make this a negative thread and give prospective owners the wrong idea, but with that being said....

If you could change one or two things about your XE, what would they be?

 

Transmission programming - drive a Maserati with same transmission and it's light years better than what Jaguar has done.

Brakes - They look cheap and provide just average braking power

Sim Card - Who cares... Just show me a map and give voice directions. All this other crap is just that; crap. Keep it simple and make the screens snappy.

Seat Programming - If it's the blazing hot out, the car should know you want to turn on the cooling function, not default to heated seats. Would be great if a threshold could be set for automatic heating or cooling when the car starts.

 

I will preface this by stating I absolutely love my XE overall and it is pure joy to drive. Wouldn't trade it for another sedan in remotely the same price range. That said here's my nitpicky list of things I wish were a changed.

1) Heads Up Display is just not clear and crisp like on other vehicles. I would also like this to display the name of the song/artist on the radio. Also seems odd the song/artist doesn't display on the center info cluster. The layout of the XM screen on the infotainment system just seems clunky and sloppy as well. Unless I have missed the setting, I wish it would just retain the last screen when you restart the vehicle.... The audio screen for me. I have a routine now... Get in the car, press the start button, press mirror button to close garage door, press the button to deactivate the auto start/stop feature, then press the audio button on the centerstack.

2) The dash on my Prestige looks like it came out of a Chevy pickup truck (seriously it's pretty damn close in terms of the dimpled material used) I think the R-Sport has a better dash though????

3) Radio station presets. Seems very silly to not be able to navigate through all 18 stations from the steering wheel without having to touch the screen for each page. Likewise there is nothing once you get to the end last page. To get back to the first page you have to press the "back arrow" 2 times

4) Agreed on the brake calipers. They just look very unfinished.

5) Mute button on the steering wheel would be nice.

6) Design of the tiny carpet floor mat on the driver's side means lots of rocks and stuff get onto the actual flooring.

7) Trunk will not fit a set of golf clubs across it.

Those are all my "complaints". Very small picky things.

*To note I am also 5'10" and I rest my arm on the top of the door panel and it is not uncomfortable at all to me. I may have a bit more of an upright seated position though.

 

R-Sport is Vinyl dash, but with contrasting stitching. Sales guy was saying it was leather, which he is was wrong on. Funny thing is, he himself bought an XE recently.

 

Ah yes. The radio presets thing. It has a few threads dedicated to it in itself. That was like a "WTF are you serious? moment for me". I specifically included that in my survey to Jaguar

 

THIS! Glad I'm not the only one. I'm 6'2", and in order to not have my head touching the roof I have to have the seat all the way down in the lowest position. Maybe that has something to do with it, but yeah, I don't really have any comfortable place to rest my left arm.


Also the lack of lumbar support. I've got a bad lower back, and really need lumbar support. Yes I know I could have paid extra for it, but chose not to. I'm kind of regretting that. I'm considering taking it to a local upholstery shop and seeing if they can add some additional foam or something to give the seat a little more support. It may even be something I can do myself, I just don't want it to look ghetto.


The heated windshield. Most times I don't notice it, but sometimes I zero in on those stupid lines and it's all I can focus on, lol. We'll see if it proves worthwhile come winter.


I use in control apps quite a bit for Spotify, I just wish it was a little less clunky. Your phone needs to be plugged in, the homescreen needs to be unlocked, etc.


Overall though, I too love this car. Just a couple of minor gripes here and there. I know there are a couple of other things, I just can't think of them right now.

 

I have the 2017 35t Prestige and I cannot believe the heated windshield is another $375 on top of the $2000+ comfort and convenience package. Worse, the heated windshield IS part of the similarly priced cold weather package on the Premier (although cooled seats are not).

I have the tech pack and the upgraded radio does not have the preset issues, or I would be griping about that too.

Last complaint, the 2018 Prestige comes with the lane departure and forward collision standard, but my 2017 does not have it, but it does have the speed limiter. Really, speed limiter in a sports sedan? Who was not thinking?

 

The aluminium made body is easily dented and the paint scratches so easily. My GTI has been through Chicago traffic hell, hailstorms, snow, mud, rocks and doesn't have a scratch, or dent. My garage kept Jaguar already has scratches some how and a small dent... -_-.

I also agree with the arm rest on the left, I noticed that right away when I test drove the car. It's something I thought was minor and I'm pretty used to it now.

I wish the virtual dash was available for the 2017s, but not a huge loss.

SIM card sucks.

Sound system is great, but I did think the system in the new Audi products sounds better at loud volumes.

Anyways, apart from the seemingly weak paint and body, everything on the car is pretty much amazing for its price point.

 

Our XE is my missus' daily drive but I love it to bits and pinch it often (I have it today). My issues with it are very minor and I wouldnt have the equivalent Bimmer or Benz or Alfa even if they didnt have these issues, as I think that the styling and driving of the Jag suits me perfectly and it is overall a lovely car.

My gripes...

Arm rest - what works in the bigger XJ isnt always going to work in a smaller car;
standard setting for gearing in 25T could be sharper. It is better with dynamic engaged;
the home button is on the wrong (far) side of the screen;
HUD is a bit washy;
engine note sounds better outside than in;
rear diffuser looks a bit cheap, and stock exhaust tips very cheap;
artificial dash cover smells chemically if the car is left in the sun;
also the gear puck gets scorching hot if the car is left in the sun.

 

The trunk is much too small. Also, the spare tire is just a 50-mile donut, and no one keeps the Pirelli tires in stock, so if a tire blows while you are traveling between cities you are well and truly screwed.

 

I thought the trunk is a decent size. I was able to fit a microwave and luggage in there along with other bags

XF sportbrake exists for cargo capacity!

Good to know about the tires. My GTI has the same tire but in 18 inch and I was able to get those on the spot.

 

I think because not everyone lives in a cold area, plus european brands tend to offer more pick and choose with their options. Also the lines on the heated windshield can be bothersome to some

Makes sense, cold weather: cold weather feature. Cooled seats is more of a feature in warmer climates. I for sure didn't want to spend 2k on cooled seats in Chicago for a garage kept car.

2017s do have lane keep assist, which steer your car back in place if you trail off the lane. Yes it doesn't have forward collision unfortunately. Something I noticed in the new 2-series I drove in Switzerland which was a very cool feature.

Speed limiter is great in Europe where cameras rule the roads! I got a ticket for going 1 km/h over the limit in Switzerland...

Not so much here in the states though!

 

Vinyl or not, it looks very good compared to the dash in the non R-sport models.

I sat in one of the more basic XE's and the dash looked straight up cheap. I was shocked compared to how it looks on the R-sport. That alone is worth getting the R-sport.

 

I have used the speed limiter a few times in the XK. Sometimes you just can't afford to be pulled over for whatever reason. I wonder if it logs that it was set in a computer somewhere?

 

Overall capacity isn't a gripe for me with the trunk, but it certainly has to be one of the few 4 door cars out there where you can't get a set of golf clubs in it, even at an angle. Back seat has to be folded down or remove driver and 3 wood.

 

Love my XE although would have preferred some wood dash components. Only major gripe is she drives it more than me (she loves it compared to her CLA250) but I'm ok with that as I love driving my XK8 and at least I know when the MB lease is up next year, we will get another Jag in its place

 

In that case yes. It isn't a very long trunk...

 

I've been in a loaner XF now for the past few days with the digital dash and to be honest I'm not a fan of it. There are minimal config changes you can make to it. It's REALLY nice when you set it to display the map, but other than that it just doesn't offer many config changes like I would have expected. There are a couple themes to select but that doesn't change the info displayed or change the layout. The speedo does switch to the right and tach goes in the middle automatically in Dynamic mode. No way to switch that back though if you so desired. At least that I have found anyway.

 

Love the car over all ,three things are bugging me , I wish they had a sleeve for the cup holders to take out for cleaning and slightly reduce front road noise also if your using a child car seat you wont be able to fold down the center of the back seat .

 

happened to me , I had to slap a continental tire on because no one had those in stock on a weekend , come to think of it I do not feel the difference in anything except it was $150 cheaper .