I had planned to order an XF R-Sport with rear wheel drive, but am giving it a second thought based on my dealer's claim that he only orders AWD in his US Northeast location. This post is to just air it all out and invite comments.

The vehicle I am trading has AWD, but it frankly seldom mattered, I don't drive in snow all that often, and do have a 4WD SUV in the family if things get really sloppy. I realize that AWD does have an array of positive non-snow effects, but hell, my Porsche 911 is RWD, and I've never felt that it needed it. And besides, I expect most of my XF travel to be more for comfort than speed.

Yeah, I know the AWD does contribute to stability and performance, but is it really worth the $3K and slight mileage penalty?

 

awd is alot safer in snow and rain

 

Resale value of non-awd vehicles in the snow belt is really seasonal. I would never drive my XJ in snow and thus I need another car. You also can't always predict the weather. You can easily get stuck in 2-3" of snow on a moments notice. My parents and lots of my friends have FWD/AWD luxury cars for that reason.

The only reason that I would get the RWD version is to get the big V8.

 

Picture it, Atlanta 2010, I was rounding a freeway entrance on-ramp in my 2008 Infiniti G35x in the rain. I was going maybe 40mph. I'm not sure what happened, but I felt the car slip. Within less than a second, the AWD light flashed and I felt the car snap back into position and I went around the curve without further incident.

From that point on, I was sold on AWD. I WISH that Jaguar had offered AWD back in 2008 which is the year of my present XJ. I would have bought AWD with no hesitation.

 

That's very like TC / DSC (standard in S-Types and many other models I think).

 

AWD makes the car handled much better overall. We drive our XF in snow=runs great. Dry pavement equals great cornering/handling. Why do you think high end power cars use AWD in order to handle that power. Just my opinion. I say yes to AWD. I love my new Cadillac XTS with AWD. Handles great.

 

If you are an expert car handler, no AWD is not necessary. If you do track days AWD will make you better. If you are a regular turn the key and drive to and from driver, yes AWD will help you in rain and snow. Never turn down AWD as most cars are turning to this as a safety issue. I made my step-mom get an AWD as her Grand Marquis did not have it and at 81 did not think she should be shoveling her car out of sticky places as I have caught her doing. Besides the newer lower end cars have this option and they cannot get out of there own way.

 

Granted I live in a northern climate, but I'd never buy another car without AWD. Maybe if I lived in San Diego or someplace where it never snows I'd be happy without it, but I do like having it. Sort of like heated seats, once you'd had them you miss not having them.

 

I live in the Northeast US with plenty of snow. And I drive my 2010 XF supercharged year round. I've frequently driven in snow storms, and it's my daily driver year round
I do put snow tyres on it which Make a big difference. But those plus snow mode and it's fine

Agree that resale down the road will be easier with awd. And it will certainly help in snow. If it's an option I would likely take it. But it wasn't on the 5L V8 cars

 

If you're anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic region you'll need a snowplow. My area got about 30 inches. It will take me most of Sunday at a minimum to dig out.

 

Same here. AWD can be nice but it is far from a fail safe. What never fails is seeing AWD and 4WD vehicles in the ditch during every snow storm likely due to over confidence. One thing that is for sure is tires make all the difference in the world. That cannot be overstated. I'd take a RWD vehicle with good snow tires and a locking differential over a AWD/4WD on all seasons.

 

Thanks to all for your comments. I fell for the hype and did order AWD, not thinking about snow... we have a Subaru for those infrequent needs. Frankly, it was a decision made following a trip home during a pretty wild rainstorm where I did enjoy the stability of my Merc w/4MATIC. Whether I would have noticed a difference if it were RWD is an open question, but sometimes placebos help.

FYI, mine is due in early May and will be labeled a 2017.

 

Nt

 

> In the NE - absolutely

Not after the winter we've had this year...

================================================== =
You dreamed of a big star -
He played a mean guitar -
He loved to drive his Jaguar...

So welcome to the machine

 

From that point on, I was sold on AWD. I WISH that Jaguar had offered AWD back in 2008 which is the year of my present XJ. I would have bought AWD with no hesitation.[/QUOTE]


Jaguar DID offer a really excellent AWD car in 2008 and 07 and 06 and...right back to 2002: the X-Type; and only people who have owned one seem to know how good they are (we have had 5 in my family). The handling is superb in wet, in snow and in dry conditions. The AWD Jags would always be my preference over the RWD models (and I've had those too).

 

Although I live in the San Diego area, I did not really want AWD, as it has an effect on fuel mileage and is of little use for me in day to day driving.

That said, I did have a 2011 BMW 5 Series GT with AWD. Not once did I notice a difference in rain, and not even in very light snow on a trip to the mountains. The vehicles here come with all season tires or summer performance tires, and I think that has a lot to do with handling in inclement weather. Maybe with winter treads the vehicle would have been better but that requires a set of 4 winter tires. The ride definitely will suffer with that.

The 2016 XF-S has a separate traction control for ice and snow that can be switched on to reduce wheel slippage, as well as torque vectoring, and dynamic stability control among other traction options. It feels a sure footed as any AWD I have driven lately.

Finally, Jaguar introduced a new AWD system for the 2016 that uses a chain instead of gears for the drive system. That to me, in my humble opinion, is a weak spot that I prefer not to deal with.

 

Seems most of the AWD small cars loose 1 mpg with the new technology AWD. Still is not as bad a 4X4. It is all in a preference to the owner and some people's piece of mind. AWD is regulated by the Modules and is usually no more than 30% transferred to rear. I opted out of AWD for the fact of more to fix, both mechanical and electronic. I do have a 4X4 Land Rover, so do not need options on the cars.

 

Fully agree. We also have a Land Rover LR4 for the really messy stuff so the AWD didn't make sense here. The less to go wrong, the better...says the guy who opted for every electronic feature on the new Jag....

 

>AWD is regulated by the Modules and is usually no more than 30% transferred to rear.

Actually not, in a Jaguar. I owned an X-Type and Jaguar went to a lot of trouble to retain the dynamics of RWD driving behavior. I bet that practice has continued. Some descriptive info on the car should point that very thing out.
==================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '08 Jaguar S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 whp / 259.67 torque)
Past Ours: '05 X-Type 3.0/auto Jaguar Racing Green