HI ,, CONGRATS ON THE CAR,,,,, first off i wanna say....Its a Jag,,, very few people get to say that ; ) as has been stated its not gonna corner like my old 550i but interior quality and comfort are much nicer in my opinion the quite ride alone...riding in my buddys Audi and you cant even talk.... i have a 2010 XF sc also and there is no tranny thump.....and the horn.... well i dont use it cause its embarrassing , meep meep ,im going to be selling my chrome selena's pretty soon....brake dust doesnt stick to chrome....

 

LOL..That's not a horn, that's the Toyota signal telling you you have set the security system, which to me let's me know and not the whole parking lot....The real horn is more than adequate IMO.

 

you can spray the rims down with pam or easy off to keep the brake dust off for a while more. Do not get it onto the braking surface though.

My stock pads were insanely grippy, i switch out to ceramic pads and it is a much smoother stop now. I really don't have the transmission thump when coming to a stop, I learned to brake a bit earlier and softer, i find that when i come down from speed too quickly the car will do the downshift assist.

 

Haha, you've got a point I suppose.

The first time my mother in law heard the meep-meep when I locked the car she said "Was that your car?! Sounds like a little girl's car!".

That was me well and truly humiliated, hahaha.

 

Thank you, buddy! And you're right. It is far more comfortable than a 5-series, and nicer materials used inside. And that XF *** is so much nicer, haha!

As far as the handling goes; it's not a sport sedan like the BMW's tend to be, but it's good enough. It's a relaxed cruiser that can out-sprint about 99% of all cars on the road if need be.

The reason I even mentioned the handling in my OP is that I read so many reviews from both "regular people" and motoring journalists where they claimed the XF handled just as well as a BMW 5-series. And I'm sorry to say, but it simply does not.

I get that they love the XF and that they want to praise it like crazy -- it is an amazing car for sure -- but I much prefer an honest review over a fanboy review any day

 

You will find that the suspension firms up significantly and the car "handles" overall a lot better in Sport mode. Definitely doesn't have the raw driving dynamics of a lot of BMWs but it is also WAY more comfortable...and having the ability to select comfort vs. sport suspension is really nice if you drive your car a lot.

The caveat is if your XF supercharged has the adjusting suspension...which I think they did?

 

Yep. These cars are mechanically identical to the XFR, minus 40hp and 40tqs.
I drove a 2011 XFR and it rode and handled the same as my car, albeit with a touch of wear and tear.
Did notice a difference in the way XFR pulls though. Nothing a tune can't fix

 

This is true. I always drive in Sport mode + Dynamic mode when I'm in a spirited mood, and it does help with firming the suspension up and making the gear shifts sharper. Not sure if I'm just imagining things but I feel like the exhaust note is a bit sharper in low revs too, when in S + Dynamic.

Someone suggested I should put really good sport tires on it to see if that helps make the XF a bit closer to a 5-series BMW in the turns. I don't know if my tires are good or bad as far as grip goes, but they're Michelin Pilot Super Sport 285/30/ZR20 in the rear and 255/35/ZR20 in the front.

Not sure if Pilot Super Sport tires are any good. I've never used anything but Pirellis on my precious cars (Mustang and BMW 330i).

 

Hi Humphrey

The tyres you have fitted are some of the best you can get, and v ery expensive to replace when you wear them out !

Yes, of course, as an ex-BMW owner you notice differences. BMW have had decades to get their cars right, whilst Jaguar in the UK had to go through our UK decades of complete and utter madness before we got to Sunlit Uplands. I am in both UK Jaguar clubs and the issue that seems to bother everybody is the cr*p satnav !

FWIW my XJ saloon of 2003, (one of the first of the aluminium saloons) has the same gearbox as yours but has never suffered "the Shunt". Needless to say it suffers from various other things, but not that ! It may be worth having a TCM reflash done, plus a fluid and filter change. If you have a local Jaguar independent specialist nearby, go and see what they say, as this "shunt" is a well-known syndrome on early XFs. I suspect it is in the TCM software, and there is a later version.

For brakes, they are the same as mine, but I don't have this brake grab, syndrome, so it is a puzzle, but if you install the aftermarket EBC Greenstuff or Redstuff pads you might get a better brake response. You'll probably need to replace the discs at the same time.

PS
My next-door neighbour has just bought an XF (2013 model with 4-cyl diesel engine). However I have to say as a Jaguar enthusiast since the late 70s, I just looove the XJ styling of my XJ saloon inside and outside. The new Jaguar style is taking a long time to take hold with me !

 

Having driven this amazing car for a few more weeks, I have a few more impressions I like to share.

* Walking up to this car, especially from the rear or the side, still sends chills through my body. It is so effing gorgeous. I love walking up to it, and every time I walk away from it I have to turn my head and watch her over my shoulder at least once. I expected that to fade after a few weeks but after almost two months I still do it and I still think she's as gorgeous as when I first bought her.

* The "flappy paddles", the gear shifters on the steering wheel, are kind of flimsy, cheap feeling. Not a big deal though. But what is kind of a big deal is that the paddles will follow the steering wheel when I turn it. I do not like this, at all, because it makes it a pain to figure out which is upshift and which is downshift in the middle of a tight turn. I wish they were fixed at 10 and 2 instead of following the steering wheel.

* Are there seriously no decent Jaguar OEM cargo nets and cargo compartment accessories and such for the XF? In my BMW I had both a perfectly fitted (and really tight) BMW OEM cargo net and an OEM "drawer" thing I could pull out to put smaller things in, so they would not roll around in the trunk uncontrollably. There are four anchor points in the trunk of my XF, but they seem to do little good if you get a third party cargo net because of where they are placed: the rear ones are placed about 2-3 inches higher than the floor of the trunk, which leaves a big gap which prevents the cargo net from stopping stuff from rolling around in the trunk. How have you guys solved this issue?

* This car sounds amazing when revved - from the outside! I sometimes wish that I as the driver could hear more of the exhaust note, but the damn thing is so masterfully insulated! Haha. I have considered doing something about the exhaust, purely for my own enjoyment as I am driving it, but at the same time that would take away from the "sleeper" personality of the XF SC. And I do love that it's a sleeper.

* I get about 17 MPG on average (city/highway combined). I drive it pretty hard. At least five full gas accelerations up to 55-60 every day and I pretty much never pull away from the lights/stop signs as normal people do (slowly). I like the sensation of torque pushing me into the seat.

* The headlights, high beams in particular, are fantastic. The BMW and the Mustang I owned previously were utter crap compared to these headlights. Very appreciated when driving on small country roads at night.

* The driver side seat won't slide forward far enough for really short people to properly reach the pedals. I am fairly short, 5'8", and I have the seat maybe an inch short of it's forwardmost position. My wife is 5'4" and she can't quite reach the pedals comfortably even when sliding the seat as far forward as it will go. She can drive it, but she has to "over-stretch" her legs and feet. The passenger side front seat will slide way way waaayy further forward. Not sure if there is something wrong with my particular car or if this is just the way the XF is made.

 

About that cargo net, I have one of these:

Universal Rear Trunk Black Elastic Mesh Cargo Net 4 Hook Fit for Honda CR V | eBay

Cheap as chips and works quite well, probably the best value for money accessory I have bought for the XF.

And there is an OEM cargo net, the same type as I linked to above, but going on for six times the cost, see here:
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID300254

 

Hi I have found that the ZF transmission in most modern Jaguars start to have issues to a lack of servicing, generally what happens is the oil in the transmission starts to become burnt which then starts a range of faults in the trans and unfortunately it ends with reconditioning the unit. However servicing the trans can remedy alot of these issues and massively extends there life.
check this blog out, it explains it well!!!
Land Rover / Jaguar ZF transmission servicing and faults - Pickards Automotive | Car Service Centre | British and European Specilists | Melbourne

 

The ZF transmission is common in many other cars, not just Jags. Does anyone know if the recommended servicing is the same in them, or do those other OEMs suggest more frequent servicing?
Would seem unusual to take away a needed service