I really want a Leaper but not sure the XF needs one.

 

I like the leaper (meaning the actual three-dimensional chrome statuette that sits on the prow of the classic X-types,... that we always saw the angry woman rip off the car and bludgeon her lover to death in the murder mysteries). Do you mean THAT leaper, or the 2-dimensional version mounted on the trunk of the XF?

The statuette leaper looked great on the X-types because (I THINK) the hood (bonnet) of that car starts off level from the windshield and gently gradually slopes downward toward the headlamps. It gave the statuette a graceful look, that was nearly perfectly the opposite angle to the way the leaper was "leaping" out and upward. The two complemented each other excellently.

The XF is the same attitude of "estate calm" as the X-Type was, but it doesn't have that same calm sloping going on on its hood. It's hood almost feels like it's bulging upward from the windscreen, rising a bit by the time it reaches the middle of the hood, and then slopes to its headlamps more aggressively than the X-Type does. The "aggression" of that slope (to ME) will make the leaper statuette feel like the XF is willing to GORE an opponent, like the honorable bull in the ring.
If your XF is a glossy black paint, and you're interested in emphasizing the acceleration of the XF on the road rather than its stately presence on the curb, the leaper statuette would work.
It's not a look I would want from the XF, and I don't think it would work for any other colors than gloss black or (Yulong?) white paintwork.

Are you looking for more "aggressiveness" in your XF's attitude?

 

I wouldn't recommend it. Many people tried in 2008, but the look was all wrong. The X-Type & S-Types were fine. But the hood oif the XF pitches down too much and the car ends up looking at he road right in front if the car.

 

Gotcha. That was what I was thinking on the hood slope. Good catch on the black paint. If mine were black and he’d stand out a bit I might’ve still tried it but the XF I just bought is Liquid Silver so I’ll skip it. Thanks!

 

Yes I would tend to agree. The bonnet mounted leaper looks stunning on the early models but everyone of the XF's that I've seen fitted it appears to me to be out of place as it just doesn't flow with the lines of the car and the "power bulge" of the XF bonnet.

 

This is what your XF going to look like if you have it installed. I'm glad you backed out of it.

 

i vote not to do it

 

^^^ time a trillion