[peterg1965]

Originally Posted by Gibbo

Helen, I am a big fan of the Jag XK series and have liked them from the first series in the 90s. The car is stunning and this or 997 would be my first choice for a sports tourer. From the pics it looks like it has a decent boot which is a big + vs the 997.

I have never been in a Jag so its good to read your mini review. Jaguar along with Land Rover are really getting their range together it's just a shame it takes the Tata Group to get the best out of these well loved british brands.

+1 Gibbo.

[jwbmw]

Originally Posted by beemerbird

Lol Jason, I'm not buying one I'm just playing as usual.

You big tease! If you believe that then you believe Steve A is a virgin You have had more cars than I have had hot dinners.

[Gibbo]

Originally Posted by beemerbird

Hi Peter - Hope you and yours are well?


You need to have a drive in one and a good look around because the finish of the whole car is very good. The paintwork in particular............orange peel what's that then!!

I am doing well thanks Helen. Funny you should mention the paint I was looking at a black XF in the car park last week and thought how fantastic the paint quality looked.

[M3-FAST]

Looks a nice machine Helen. I had a drive in one about 18months ago when the lease deals were the same as the M3, and considered it as the replacement for the E93. The car was great and felt very special bit did not come over as well engineered as the M3 et al. Like you say, there is no DCT, PDK, whatever double clutch available yet, and those type of gadgets are seriously selling cars at the moment, and people will buy another brand to get the gearbox they want.

They do sound nice, I agree, but the main thing I couldn't get over was the old man image. The XKR goes some way to expelling that myth, but it is still there. Much prefer a used Aston if in the market for a class 'British' 2+2 GT

[beemerbird]

Have only driven this one Paul so the latest model. All I can say is that the car felt very well put together and oozed quality and felt the money if that makes sense. But shame about no dual clutch system gearbox. I may e mail them and enquire why not and when.

Anyhow on another note.........play in the XKR now booked for Monday as I'm on leave all next week. So, let the fun begin I reckon!

[gIzzE]

That looks great Helen, I agree on the Piano Trim though, think it would make it a much nicer (less fussy) interior.


I saw a new XJ in black today, only seen silver so far, and that looked absolutely amazing, why anyone would buy a 7 series, A8 or S Class when that is on offer is beyond me, it just oozed class and still managed to look menacing and contemporary at the same time, very impressive these new Jags.

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by beemerbird

Have only driven this one Paul so the latest model. All I can say is that the car felt very well put together and oozed quality and felt the money if that makes sense. But shame about no dual clutch system gearbox. I may e mail them and enquire why not and when.

Anyhow on another note.........play in the XKR now booked for Monday as I'm on leave all next week. So, let the fun begin I reckon!

....bring it down to Stafford! I would like a play

[creepy coupe]

Stunning car Helen, I've been looking a used XKR's of late, drove a couple and really liked them, something a bit different to so many other coupes about.

I nearly went for one from Guy Salmon in Crawley, until I measured it up and found it's 180mm longer then my E92, so won't go in the garage.

[chrisbin]

Jaguar Academy of Sport provide one of my mates with one of their cars....so far he's had 2 different XF-S's and an XF-R....apparently he's having an XJ next, before he gets one of the new XK-R ltd editions.....lucky bugger!!

[charliesum]

i know its not a great pic but what about this
not too old man??

[AlanQS]

Clarkson: "Can an XFR beat an M5 on the track? - no. But can it beat it on the road? - Oh yes."

[gIzzE]

Saw another XJ today, this time in silver, looked really good.
They really are doing something right at the moment.

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by gIzzE

Saw another XJ today, this time in silver, looked really good.
They really are doing something right at the moment.

Had an invitation pack off Jaguar yesterday to get a drive in one of those....might have to, just to be nosey

[Dave_3]

Originally Posted by beemerbird

Anyhow on another note.........play in the XKR now booked for Monday as I'm on leave all next week. So, let the fun begin I reckon!

Interested to hear what you think about the XKR.

I don't think most Jaguar drivers (I am an ex-Jaguar-driver, and not yet an old man) really care about millisecond differences in full bore dashes to 60 and all the added complexity and expense of DSG gearboxes, especially when the standard 6 speed gearbox suffices for wafting imperiously along.

At the expense of generalising, the pshyche of Jagaur drivers is very different to BMW drivers.

D.

[Em135eye]

I think the XK and the XF look fantastic but the XJ is a Yank inspired minger the size of a small county.

[peterg1965]

Originally Posted by 335diesel

but the XJ is a Yank inspired minger the size of a small county.

Does that mean you don't like it?

[Delta0311]

Sweet ride!!!!


BUT


Tell that zombie in the second pic to put his freaking shirt on.

[beemerbird]

Originally Posted by Dave_3

I don't think most Jaguar drivers (I am an ex-Jaguar-driver, and not yet an old man) really care about millisecond differences in full bore dashes to 60 and all the added complexity and expense of DSG gearboxes, especially when the standard 6 speed gearbox suffices for wafting imperiously along.

At the expense of generalising, the pshyche of Jagaur drivers is very different to BMW drivers.

D.

Lol, nice one Dave.

Valid point about dual clutch gearboxes and t'other day an automotive engineer we know was telling us of 4 instances now where dual clutch gearboxes have ermm disintegrated. These were on different marques as well btw, but on all four the same part 'died' namely the linkage between the two clutches. Obviously when this event occurs, the gearbox writes itself off basically and in an extreme case could take out the engine too. Nobody with a dual clutch system panic though PLEASE.

I will make a concerted effort on Monday to play around more with the auto box settings as I'll have the time to go for a longer drive.

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Tell that zombie in the second pic to put his freaking shirt on.

Ha, ha..........indeed. Seen worse though, be fair eh.

[M3-FAST]

Not sure what 'linkage' there is between the two clutches Helen? They both operate independently.

The twin-clutch gearbox is essentially two separate gearboxes with a pair of clutches between them. One gearbox provides odd-numbered speeds (ie first, third and fifth gear), the other provides even-numbered speeds (second, fourth and sixth). When the car starts out, the "odd" gearbox is in first gear and the "even" gearbox is in second gear. The clutch engages the odd gearbox and the car starts out in first gear. When it's time to change gears, the transmission simply uses the clutches to switch from the odd gearbox to the even gearbox, for a near-instant change to second gear. The odd gearbox immediately pre-selects third gear. At the next change the transmission swaps gearboxes again, engaging third gear, and the even gearbox pre-selects fourth gear. The twin-clutch transmission's computerized controller calculates the next likely gearchange based on speed and driver behaviour and has the "idle" gearbox pre-select that gear.

There were lots of instances of SMG gearboxes giving up the ghost, these gearboxes are different to DSG's because they are essentially a manual box that uses a solid coupling (the clutch) between the engine and gearbox. The chief drawback of the SMT is the same as that of a manual: In order to change gears, the engine and transmission must be disconnected, interrupting the flow of power.

I am not being defensive because I own a DCT equipped car, but I really have not heard of anyone with said gearbox having failures where the gearbox 'self destructs?'

There has been failures on the M3 forum, but mainly electronic errors that are fixed without a gearbox repair required.

DSG gearboxes are the future and more and more cars are being fitted with them, with the technology now being applied to cars such as Polo's and Fiesta's (Ford has launched the 'smartshift' DSG type 'box) - these cars are designed for high mileages and urban driving with reliability being paramount.

Just about every large volume performance car manufacturer (Lambo, Ferrari, Porsche, etc....) have a DSG box. Jaguar desperately needs to catch up if they want to compete in that market.

[M3-FAST]

Originally Posted by Dave_3

Interested to hear what you think about the XKR.

I don't think most Jaguar drivers (I am an ex-Jaguar-driver, and not yet an old man) really care about millisecond differences in full bore dashes to 60 and all the added complexity and expense of DSG gearboxes, especially when the standard 6 speed gearbox suffices for wafting imperiously along.

At the expense of generalising, the pshyche of Jagaur drivers is very different to BMW drivers.

D.

Dave, you sound like a 'proper' Jag fanboy!

Did you not write a web site on how sh!t you Jag was?

[beemerbird]

Paul - He may have been referring to the shafts within the gearbox, I'll have to clarify although he won't be around for a while as he's off visiting various countries around the world with work. He is German and works for and with Alpina btw and did point out that it's cars with large amounts of torque that this problem had occured. Do Alpina bother with DCT systems?

A conventional manual clutch allows a degree of slippage during gear changes. The dual clutch systems do not and when the engine is kicking out vast amounts of torque, this is where four instances he is aware of, the dual clutch systems have wrecked the clutch and gearbox. All cars he knows of were under warranty. So far none have been the PDK gearbox system but he pointed out they use more expensive materials and are generally better machined and engineered.

All that aside he is an extremely interesting bloke to talk to with impeccable English language skills and his job sounds fantastic tbh and he can baffle you with science about engines etc.

[Dave_3]

Originally Posted by M3-FAST

Dave, you sound like a 'proper' Jag fanboy!

Did you not write a web site on how sh!t you Jag was?

Proper fanboy ? From one paragraph commenting on the relevance of DSG gearboxes to Jaguar drivers ... I know, I went a bit overboard there, eh ?

D.