(This is a response to the comment below!)

Yup - it's new (120 miles); it's almost impossible to find the 2010's used just yet. The 2009's had too many problems that were already addressed in the '10 (and now the 11 is out!), so I decided to go for the (new) '10 vs the (used) '09. They also changed some other things that made it worthwhile to me:


Full article

So in short, it went from 4.2L to 5L Gen3 engine, replaced their older "CATS" dynamic suspension with Adaptive Dynamics, Upgraded the brakes (there were known issues with the 2008's), and added the Active Rear Differential (which turbo mentioned in my old thread - and it ROCKS).

I'll start with the bad and work towards the good.

The bad:
Build quality is still questionable. The rear bumper has an obnoxious part where it doesn't lay flay with the fender; the dealer is supposed to resolve this. We'll see how it goes (not holding my breath).
Driver's door is "sagging" and the trim is actually bumping the passenger's door when I open/close it. Mind you, the doors feel as if they are made of solid steel and i'd bet they weigh 400lbs minimum each.
Audio/Navi/Phone/Touchscreen interface: Everything is wrong. It's slow, non-intuitive, and somewhat limited. You have to do lots of silly things; it reminds me of iDrive menus without the iDrive knob.
Seats take a little bit of getting used to, to me. Some other reviews have stated they prefer the XFR's seats due to better lateral bolstering; I might agree.
Engine has a slightly funny idle when not moving.
Bizarre "click" sound from left/right rear from a stop with windows open. I think this MIGHT be the crazy differential, not sure.
Steering wheel is slightly uncomfortable. Not sure why, though...
SIRIUS RADIO!!! ARGH.
Trunk closer needed - you have to SLAM the trunk in order to get it to latch.
Instrument cluster is a little sparse. No temperature levels, voltages, etc. Tach and speedometer only (plus LCD in between, but it only shows trips, gas, etc.. no vehicle data. Kind of weird)

Now - that being said, the pros (so far):

The car as a whole. COMPLETE sleeper.

"JaguarDrive Control"
 - Dynamic mode which makes throttle more responsive, but not excessively so.
 - Two step DSC. "Trac DSC" allows "responsible" wheelspin (which you get some of with 470HP... ) without totally bogging the car down.

Suspension is almost perfect. Example: IS-F or FX50 (in normal mode) would "hop" violently over local speedbumps no matter how slow/careful I was. Somehow the jaguar at low, creeping speeds (parking lot maneuvering) almost completely absorbs the speedbump. It's WEIRD. On the flip side, once you get moving - regular road, highway, etc, the chassis manners are impeccable. It can be SLIGHTLY harsh at times but that's sort of expected with 20's, but the suspension adjustable is completely transparent. No buttons/modes, just "on" and working at all times.

The transmission, although seemingly "antiquated" with its mere 6 gears seems to row through them PERFECTLY. I mean PERFECTLY. Did I say perfect? I don't think I said it enough. Perfect. No matter what mode (TRAC / Sport / Neither / Both) it's always in the right gear. You give a little throttle tip in, you get a nice linear response. You give it a lot of tip in, you get a nice, firm kick down from the transmission and the car effortlessly moves. I've fiddled very little with the manual mode but understand it - and it works, but i don't need to use it (yet). It just always seems to already be IN the right gear. The "sport" mode is almost identical to the FX's "DS" mode, except more purposeful. The transmission will hang on to gears for dear life and rev super high to keep everything balanced.

Engine falls in line with transmission. The supercharger is seriously where it's at for this car, I think. The power band is unbelievable. There's always gobs and gobs of power (or so it feels, at least). Remembering the IS-F, which was "quick" (but not an M3, M5, etc... ) - this is a different kind of quick.. not sure how to describe it. I'd be almost willing to bet that the XF-S could easily pass an IS-F at 40+.

B&W Sound: Holy crap. I loved the ML system in the IS-F, hated the system in the Infiniti, but the B&W system in this car is freaking amazing. I have never, ever heard a high end factory system like this. Unfortunately mated to Sirius only, the compression of the sound becomes extremely evident because the B&W reproduces things so clearly. XM, to me, always had a better sound to it because I believe they compress their channels slightly less. Unfortunately Sirius is the only option though. HD radio is nice but there's no HD stations around here. The IPOD interface is "okay" - but the sound is great assuming the song on the IPOD was of good quality.

Third party review of B&W
system in XF

Although the exhaust gets lackluster ratings from reviewers I find it to be borderline intoxicating. It's not in your face, but it's not completely silent. At idle it lets out a nice, slight burble to let you know it's there. At cruise it's completely unobtrusive. At WOT or heavy throttle it's just enough to make you remember you're riding around with almost 500HP on tap.

Everything else seems to be fairly well done. The seat heaters/coolers work great despite that you can only change them via the touch screen, the A/C happily functions in auto mode with minimal tweaking. The rain sensing wipers actually consistently come on when it rains and go off when it's not (looking at you, FX.... )

Although a "con" above was the Navi/info system, Jaguar did slightly redeem themselves by having a instrument cluster mounted display (Info Center?)  (ala Audi) - which displays the next step of your route if it's within a few miles. Kind of helpful.

Car will passively arm itself if enabled - eg, if I get out and take the key with me and don't lock the car, it will do it for me after 30 seconds. I found myself constantly forgetting to lock the FX because I disabled the horn beep (because it drives me crazy) and then half the time it wouldn't lock when i hit the lock button walking away.

Door handles act like my IS-F (but better); on the IS-F if you touch the handle it instantly unlocked the door; on the Infiniti you had to push the silly button on the handle; on the XF it actually fires the door locks WHILE you pull the handle out. It's kind of neat. It also works on all four doors whereas the IS and FX only had it for two.

Electronic parking brake and integration with JaguarDrive Selector - If I am in Drive, Reverse, etc (eg, not Park) and engage the emergency brake, and shut off the car - it actually puts itself into park and lowers the lever. Kind of gimmicky but kind of neat. The owner's manual "recommends" always using the e-brake.

More info on neat mechanical/performance features here: http://www.jaguar.com/gl/en/#/xf/models_features/features/driving_dynamics

What a beauty.  470HP?  What's the 0-60 1/4 slalom? 

Looks great, congrats!

Corrected the HP and answered your questions in my second post, now!


I was amazed when I found out the 2010's got the bump from the 4.2 to a 5L and 470HP for the 'mid range' model. It definitely influenced the decision. taken from the link Andrey posted,


Jaguar claims something like 5.1 seconds 0-60, so I am not sure if they are being conservative or if C&D got a "unique" car.


Hah.. i've lived here for barely 4 years, was gone for two, and have been through 4 cars in the time.. not too bad!
(PS  - I don't get the "get away" dings reference!)


Haha.... I'll run you! Bring it on!

If you are willing to drive to FL every 6 months or so we can swap cars!

I seriously considered the M56S. Being a Japanese car fan, the leap (heh!) to European, especially jag, was scary. The transmission issues I had from the FX kind of pushed that away, but more so than that - the price. $70K and not willing to budge a penny. I got the XF for WAY under MSRP. I'm hoping it's going to hold up!

470HP is AMAZING.  Car&Driver tries whatever it takes to get the best numbers possible.  Drop tire pressure, 10 runs and only publish the best, revs autos before launching, or so I've heard.  So take it as just a rumour.  What is a fact is that their numbers are the best in the biz by far, so I guess that keeps the manufacturers happy.  

You're a real racer though, and I can't wait for you to take this baby to the strip.  If it's fast enough for you, that's what matters.  I heard you save the nos bottles?  hummm...good thing, I bet some shops may want to do it for free just to test it out in your car maybe?  (good thing you're going to change it up soon anyway, so let them have it!)


Now a small no no for me: Jaguar HAD to be British Racing Green...that would look awesome.  Black is fine if you like to wash and it doesn't rain much...wait...Florida?     

To answer your question, I drove it.  I really liked it except for the length which was a few inches too long.  I recall not liking the seats because I wanted lateral support and (I'm racking my memory here) not liking the interface on the screen because you had to go through sub menus.  I loved the transmission, I thought the steering was precise and the engine was nice and barky.  The interior was superb.  It was on my short list but got vetoed because it wouldn't fit.  Hmmm, you didn't get the chrome side vent though?  I like that chrome, it gives nice contrast to the rest of the car.  Overall, it's a fabulous car and I know you'll love it.  One modification you might consider is a sway bar.  Although, I'm not sure it's needed with the supercharged version.  Does the body sway or tilt on turns?  Or does it feel like it hunkers down?  I just got a Hotchkiss sway bar for the G37s and it works great.  It doesn't hunker down as much as the M6 but it makes a world of difference.  I'd keep the wheels by the way.  I think they look pretty darn good!

Unfortunately I did just have to email the dealer regarding the severe idle issue. I was just out and when stopped the car feels like it's bordering on stalling. The door rubbing is a potentially large issue if there's no adjustments for it. Will see.