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As time flyes and cars get aged it was time to change extremely well serviced 2010 XJ 3.0l Diesel for something newer. From last autum been checking and judging alternatives.
No need anymore for a big sedan so i were checking out an smaller ones. (read: a toy ) If sedan is needed i can use my spouses Mondeo.
Because Finland have ridigilous car tax, local offering for anything else that normal cars is very limited. So my eyes have been in mid Europe markets. German carselling platform Mobile.de have been heavyly in use.
Porsche 911 S, Cayman GT4RS were dropped out quite early. They are great to drive, propably best options for trackdays, but missing that so much needed "fun" part. MB AMG GT have a lot of "fun" part, but somehow still did not feel right on my hand. Ferrari Roma were tempting as it visually ticles all the right spots, have a "fun" part and great to drive. McLaren GT was all of that as well with some plus points on interior. These two were my top two choises for a moment, but then an very tiny part of my brain rised an question that are Ferrari or McLaren an daily driven options in Finnish climate? Really? There was an small civil war going on my brain for couple of nights and only an week before planned flight to Germany the desission was made. Final desission was an F-Type R Coupe appeared on sale on January in south Germany. Giola Green with extended leather pack as tan colour.
Model is R575 so one of the last 75 year celebration production run. Bit under 17t km on dash. (~10k Miles) AWD as standart for all R models above my 2021.
Deal was made last wednesday. The owner of the dealer was wery nice young fellow who have made his hobby to busines. He did extra mile on everything without charging any extra. My big regards. The ride with new cat from south Germany to north Germany for ferry to Finland 800km (500miles) went like a charm. Germany have great Autobanh (motorway) network with big parts without speedlimits outside of city areas, so i was able to test V-Max. (who would not ) By TomTom it was steady 304km/h (189mph). Amazinly the avarage consumption were 9.6litre / 100km (24.5 US mpg) at average speed of 127km/h (79mph) for whole 800km (500miles) journey. (Value is calculated by fillings. Dash show value of 9.2l/100km)
Comparision of XJ vs F-Type as a short period of ownership:
Size: Yeah: F-Type is a small car. And low. Seating is pretty Ok. No room issues there at all, exept the cap between dash and door to get your feets in. Door is long and even fully opened you need to bent your knees a lot to suffle yourself in. Somebody on F-Type forum mention that the boot is quite big on F-Type coupe, almost as big as XJ. No it is not. Gentleman propably never seen XJ boot. Maybe half (ish).
Seats are comfy and 800km trip with one stop for filling car and emptying and filling driver again was not an issue at all. (no massage seats, but cooling+heating on R)
Roadnoise: XJ owner ask whats that? F-Type owner ask: What you said? Propably big part is the original Pirellis what are not known for silent running. Will change for Michelins later. No double glass windows on F-Type.
Ride: Need to mention at all? XJ is smooth sedan, even sportier than competitors in same size. F-Type is a sport car. Not as harsh as like GT4 RS or 911. I would say that it is quite suitable as GT as its been softed a bit off-dynamic mode from 2021 model onwards. By all my choises it sits beween Roma and McLaren GT, what were at the comfys on my roadtests.
Audio: 2nd lowest option on XJ is better than highest option on F-Type R. Mid sound dissappears for roadnoise at highway speeds. (might be the Pirellis?) (maybe havent yet found all the audio settings on F-Type?)
Engine: Almost not fair comparision at the performance. As driveability on the normal traffic flow by driving efforthless the SC V8 is very good, but 3.0l diesel are very equal with its 600nm (later 700nm) very low end torgue. Notable that XJ and F-Type R AWD have almost same weight. When needed something else than normal daily traffic: 575hp SC V8 pulls lot harder, like expected. ZF gearbox is tuned much more sportier on F-Type than XJ.
Engine sound: F-Type: After 3500rpm the chaos starts. Earth moving, sky ripped on half and wolfs start to howl. Worth every penny.
Price: Yes it was and with Finnish car tax this propably will end to be one of most expensive F-Type here. But fermentation lines don´t have pockets.
My XJ is now on sale. It have serviced very well and cost of ownership have been amazingly low. I hope it will still have many thousands of km:s to live.
Thanks for all co-owners on this forum. I will stay on forum but mainly on F-Type side.
Congratulations, you will love that car! You will find that engine can go from sedate to stupid in a split second and unless you are very, very careful the speedo will be well into the silly sector!
As a comparison to my 575, I drove a RR Sport SV last week with the 4.4L (616 bhp) BMW engine. Whilst being undeniable quick, it lacked the low end grunt of the Jag V8. Don't get me wrong, I would be very happy with the RR, it's just that the Jag V8 responds quicker to driver inputs.
I agree with your comparisons between the Roma and McLaren GT. I find that the XJ interior and leather quality is equal or better than a lot of new super-luxury cars.
The boot on the XJ feels extremely small for the class.
I wish I could do 190mph on US streets without risking serious jail time. I removed the top speed limiter in SDD but haven't tried a top speed run yet. I'm thinking it has at least 160-170mph in her.
Wombat: Yes, i have learnt already. Finnish ticketing system is not gently. I think world record 300 000€ (350 000USD) is still held by finnish NHL ice-hockey player? (amount of ticket is calculated by your earnings)
I think its ECU programming? RR might have damped low end power output for accuracy power handling? Some might still do off-roading with RR...
Jaaag_drivah: In fact long time ago to choose x351 XJ over MB, Audi or BMW was the interior: One sit in and there it was.
Any racetrack nearby for trackdays for speed fun?
clubairth:
Your wish is my law:
Dont mind hanging wires: Dashcam installation under work
Awesome find, congrats! I'm biased but it's hard to beat green with an extended leather interior in Sienna tan.
Nice writeup about the shift from the XJ too. I can totally relate to it from back when I switched from an XF to the F-Type. The F-Type seems to be relatively good for its class of cars but the in cabin noise is obviously on a different level in a fat sedan. Better tires will improve things and proper sound deadening of the doors does a lot for the sound of the audio system. Tire noise is no issue with the super smooth pavement here in the better parts of continental Europe but Scandinavian asphalt can't be fun. I often travel to Sweden and the F-Type is the first car I've never driven up there because the Swedish highway pavement would just be such a nuisance in a car like this.
I agree. I used to drive often to France or italy for my hobby by big van. Running down the map you can feel and hear when driven out from the winter/ice zone. Roads wear so much faster in north.
Have you made sound deadening on your F-Type doors? What material you used and did you add it on door itself or door card? I might do that as well.
Cat change XJ -> F-Type
) If sedan is needed i can use my spouses Mondeo.
) By TomTom it was steady 304km/h (189mph). Amazinly the avarage consumption were 9.6litre / 100km (24.5 US mpg) at average speed of 127km/h (79mph) for whole 800km (500miles) journey. (Value is calculated by fillings. Dash show value of 9.2l/100km)
But fermentation lines don´t have pockets.
