I am new to these forums and i am new to the jaguar brand. I am 25 years old and i currently drive a 2005 cadillac sts custom show car. the cadillac was my first vehicle i ever owned but i have driven many different vehicles in my driving life. I always thought jaguars were designed for the more "mature" market but when the XF came out all my past impressions went out the window. i made up my mind that i would be my next vehicle purchase when i gave my STS to my mom or something.

the dealer was giving me an incentive to purchase a 2012 model over a 2013 model which was about $20,000 off the ticket price. mind you the xjl is alot more expensive in toronto, canada where i live. it starts at $95.500 compared to the $80,700 in the states. so its not much of a deal.

i am not planning on purchasing this vehicle until 2013 maybe may or june. but before i take the plunge i have a few questions. what i am looking to get is a 2011-2013 XJL white exterior ivory interior, with executive package and rear seat entertainment.

depending on pricing i will decide on new or off-lease.

my main concerns are;

How is the car in winter? light snow/ ice/ slush with and without winter tires.
my current Cadillac without winter tires is probably the worst rear while drive vehicle in the snow.

would waiting for a 2013 awd be more realistic with the lose of the v8. i wouldn't mind going to v6 if it was diesel.

i have been told by many older jag drivers that the cars were not very reliable and always in the shop. i want to know what you early adopters of the new jags think so far.

i read many reviews that said the cars touch screen and navigation is slow and therefor useless. since you guys live with this car what is your overall opinion on it. it is bearable.

those with the rear seat entertainment systems, do you regret getting this option or is it worth the money for you to have.

what is the average fuel economy you guys are getting for either models?

if you had the choice to keep your car or trade it for another competitor vehicle in the same class which model and make would u chose or would u stick with the xj.

any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

I would keep my car. It had not been in the shop since I bought it except for the roof pop fix, which worked perfectly. I would definitely buy again.
The all wheel drive is a separate issue, but if you can, I recommend the supercharged version. You can definitely feel the difference.
Good luck with your purchase, whatever you decide.

 

I can not speak for snow as I live in California.

I do not have ANY problem with the touch screen. I only use it quite moderately because I use voice control to control the radio, cd changer, phone and even the navigation. This way I do not even have to take my hands off the wheel. After the car "learned" (there is a training module for that) my voice pronunciations, it is very accurate and effective for my use.

I am sitting on 27.1 US MPG after the first 1300 driven miles. My routine is 85 percent freeway driving and 15 percent twisty, hilly country roads and very little city driving. You will get great highway mileage but, city mileage should be much lower due to the size and weight of the car.

This is my third Jag in a row, having owned an '05 XK and an '08 XK. I had next to zero problem in those 6 years of ownership with any of my late Jags. Yes, the reputation is hard to live down. I did have an early 1980 vintage XJ6 which was the worst car I had ever owned. It kept me even from looking at an other Jag for 25 years. But, Jags have got a lot more reliable when Ford took them over and, hopefully remain so.

As of now, there is simply NOT a single other make or model that I would even remotely consider trading for my XJL Portfolio. For me, a retired race car driver, the 385 HP is more than enough power. 0-60 in 5 seconds, seriously, who needs more power in a saloon car?

Good luck with your decision,

Albert

 

How are you voice controlling the radio and CD changer? I didn't see those commands in the manual...

 

Not sure if that was available on the 2011 models? But,

You simply push the "talk" button on the left of the steering wheel and chose from the options that appear in the space where the tach is normally displayed. Then, you say: "radio" or "cd changer" or "navigation" or "phone" or "notes" etc. Basically you will be prompted through the whole selection process for tuning to a specific radio frequency, or selecting a certain CD disk or specific track or phone options, etc.

I love it,

Albert

 

Well, I have a 2012... so, maybe that changed between the 2011 I did have... I'll have to try that out. Forgot about the "Say what you see"

 

thanks for the info so far. i went today to test drive the xjl sc. and take the plunge and get the 2012 model. i was hit by a big surprise. one the only had the xjl portfolio not the super charged what i wanted to test drive to see the difference. also that the $20,000 cash incentive off of the $95,500 sticker price is only eligible if i pay cash purchase and not finance. as a 25 year old i do not got $75,500 sitting around to throw away like that. so if i chose to finance they will give me a $5000 discount. as soon as i was told that i felt why not wait a month and buy a 2013 for that same price. it was a major let down, i am now even considering crossing the border and buying new from an American dealer since i read many members on this site are getting better incentives off a cheaper sticker price($10,000 off of $80,700). or just buy and off leased super-sport in the US. the only thing i am not certain of is if the warranty would be transfered to canada? any help would be appreciated.

 

I would buy again.
I enjoy everything about the Jag and I'm even getting use to stopping traffic in NYC. The car has been in the shop for inspection and that roof knocking sound everyone seemed to have. Easy fix.
I would never drive this car in the snow. Not only because the Jag would not handle it but any rear wheel car should not be driven in snow.

As for the slow touch screen - you get use to it, its far from useless.

One problem, and I'm sure with some others, tire wear.
My inspection at 12,000 miles and I will be getting new tires
before I hit 20,000

 

Greetings from Vancouver where I just purchased my XJL and LOVE the car!
As for winter driving, I haven't had the chance to do this yet in my Jag but anything rear wheel drive isn't that great in the snow so snow tires are a definite must in my opinion. (Maybe even a couple bags of salt in the truck for added weight and traction :P)
I've heard the 2013 will have all wheel drive so if you're planning on driving in the T.O winter, you may want to consider that.

My Jag is a 2011 model and I've been told that the 2012 touchscreen is much faster than the 2011 but coming from a BMW with a 'turn' control mouse, I'm loving the touchscreen so it doesn't bother me. I also found turning off animations on the touchscreen improves the speed of the touchscreen.

As for fuel economy, it's a V8 so it likes to eat.

As for crossing the border to purchase your car, from what I know your warranty will not be honored in Canada but double check on that.

 

As another 2011 XJL supercharged owner in Vancouver, I have had the opportunity to attempt to drive the car in Winter with my stock (summer) Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT and can tell you it was pretty much useless the second there was a sprinkling of snow (to the point I didn't even drive it). Even in the winter mode the tail end would spin out without notice. There is also a significant amount of traction loss below that magical 7 degrees Celsius point which makes the winter mode effectively essential even without snow or ice. I haven't tried adding weight yet. I'm currently considering some Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II but $3K seems pretty high for the few months we'd need them (not to mention the cost of storing them when not needed). The other side of the coin is replacing the Dunlops with All Seasons - although I'm not sure who makes them at this point

 

Here's 2 that I know of:

Continental ExtremeContact DWS
Pirelli P Zero Nero All Season (OEM)