The Jag would run circles around the Aston...

 

Thanks for posting this. The impressive reviews just keep coming for the GT. Carlos gets into really meaningful impressions around 7:00, and how competent the car is at speed, but around 7:40 or so mentions the somewhat lacking sense of occasion when just cruising around. If there was one thing I could change it would be to have more of that sense of occasion in the XK. That's a relative term, and of course the XK does have lots of it, and offers a great balance of attributes.

Bruce

 

Isn't that "lack of occasion" really a compliment in that a car as competent on the tract in triple digit driving is just as comfortable and not as high strung when running to the supermarket? I didn't really take it as a negative. In fact, I think it says a lot about how it retains its Jaguar civility in any driving conditions (although I'd hesitate to drive this in snow or ice).

 

It's not so much about comfort and or performance when you're just gently cruising around, but more about the feeling the car gives you. The "sense of occasion" would be influenced by the driver's view of the dash and across the hood, his seating position and the way the seat feels and the controls in his hands. A dash that's particularly special, unique or bespoke. It would surely be the engine placement in a mid-engine car, or the exposed engine under glass. It might be the faint whistle of a supercharger or turbo's blow-off valve as you squeeze on the throttle, the way the tranny shifts, a powerband that rewards the senses at a certain rpm, and encourages you to go there again and again. It could be the view of the wing or spoiler in the rear view mirror, active deployment of one, or any theatrical effect the designers came up with anywhere to make it create that sense. And bear in mind, the Jag is not a spring chicken any more, and wings and winglets can only do so much.

Aston is very good at doing it with a GT, even if the Jaguar is the better car. The last Aston/Jag compare I saw was the XKR-S vs Vantage and the Vantage was preferred for that sense again. I don't see any of this as necessarily a real short-coming for Jaguar, but they do seem to be trying to address it, and it is something that some buyers will respond to when choosing a car.

Bruce

 

A more aggressive exhaust and intake would give the XK more presence, but to the detriment of being a smooth ride like Jaguar is known for.

 

For me, it's a no-brainer - here in the UK at least, the cost differential between an XKR and an equivalent Aston means I will get far more car for the money if I stick with Jaguar. I paid £40k for a 2.5-year-old special edition XKR with 26k miles on it, and I have a good independent Jag specialist who will look after it for reasonable money once the warranty runs out. If I bought an Aston for the same amount, it would have to be significantly older, 6 years or more, or be much higher mileage, and the running costs would be higher.

 

Was I the only ones with toes curled and out of breath after watching this?

 

Thanks for posting. Both cars are awesome. Only major improvement for both would be a dual clutch transmission.

 

This video makes me want to go deeper into modding mine!

 

I can't imagine why AM went with a single-clutch design - I've driven a few single-clutch electronic transmissions, and they're universally weird. They work OK, but the on/off/on acceleration is really disconcerting in 'auto' mode and the system feels awkward even when manually shifting.

DSG vs. traditional auto is trickier. I love the 7-speed DSG box in our Fabia vRS; it whips through the gears really well. The much meatier version in the Nissan GT-R is pretty impressive, but it's very expensive, a bit noisy and makes the car feel rather 'mechanical'. And you can still catch either of them out in 'auto' mode if you do the opposite of what the box has decided to preselect, e.g. you hit the gas (requiring a downshift) when the box has preselected a higher gear.

Overall, I think I'd be happy with an 8-speed auto box like the more recent Jag models - might not be the absolute ultimate in shift speed and may have a power penalty, but far more flexible & forgiving.

 

Fantastic video. Makes me very happy to watch Jaguar getting praised in every single comparison videos. Finally, they are starting to get attention and the respect they deserve.

I watched a video a few days ago - an interview with one of the echelons at the AMG division of Mercedes. He kept talking about the F type and how the car has gotten their attention at AMG. Don't want to say he was worried, but the notion was they will have to work even harder now because of the competition.

Good job Jaguar.

 

Awesome comparison !!!!!!!!

 

Transmission shifting speed is overrated and most are quite content with the shift speeds on current ZF's. The money is better spent on other areas of the car. Sure, there is driveline loss in the auto, but no one is really complaining on that either. HP on paper from engine is still the same and most magazine's don't talk much on HP at the wheel.

ZF said 10 gears is the theoretical limit and 9 speed is already out.