Topic: Jaguar XF

[Bullet Blue]

Killing the X-Type will restore the brand's prestige, says dealer Ken Gorin, chairman of Jaguar's business operations council.

"There shouldn't be an X-Type left on the day the XF is shown to the public," said Gorin, co-owner of The Collection in Coral Gables, Fla., a multiline store of high-end luxury car brands. "The X-Type is the exact opposite of where we need to be."

Jaguar should concentrate on building a better X-Type--either based upon the new Mondeo (which is getting rave reviews) or the Australian Ford Falcon (inline-six and rear-wheel-drive...sound familiar?).  The XK and XF are good halo cars, but without a solid entry into the compact sport sedan segment to benefit from this halo, what's the point?

Bang on. While getting rid of the S-type for the FX is a start, if Jag really wants to pull themselves out of the water, they really need the entry level sport sedan. Or dare I say it: Entry level hatch?

Rumor is that Jaguar is planning a 911 competitor. A 2 seater sports car that will be slightly bigger than the F-type concept that almost got produced. This new sports car will also more or less fill up the empty space which will be left by phasing out the X-type, as Jaguar intends to keep a 4 model program. 

It'll only be a worthy rival to the 911 if they offer it with a stick IMO 

[TopGun]

I had a chance to download some photos from the "reveal" event for the Jag XF on Wednesday night.

See the photos below some comments:

• I've been in much worse places than this!  Free food...free booze...good looking girls in high-cut boots...new cars.  The car journalists have us all fooled with this "we're a miserable lot, you don't want this job" routine.
• The response to the event was overwhelming.  They expected 500 "yes" respondents, and they got 900.  The weather was terrible Wednesday night, and the room was still packed.
• The Pres of Jag Canada did, I think, a terrible job introducing the car.  He appeared nervous, and although the words were there, there was simply no passion in his voice or actions...choosing instead to simply read from the teleprompter.  If you can't speak from the heart for at least a couple of minutes to discuss what should be a huge event for your company, I don't think you deserve the job.
• Oh yes, the car...rear-end very nice...profile, I like it...front end brutal...no where near aggressive enough.  Nice tight shut lines.
• The interior is the best executed part of the car with lots of high quality stitched leather on the dash, doors and seats.  A great mix of leather, wood, and aluminium (it's still a British car to me).
• Hooray!!! The days of black interiors appear dead...
• I'm 5' 9"...and I had lots of room in the back...more than I thought.
• I really like how it feels like a coupe in the front, as the console is rather high.  Others I sat beside thought it felt too cramped.

[Mitlov]

Thanks for the photos and the review.  I've read very good things about this.  But unless Jaguar/Tata builds a compact sport sedan as a "gateway drug" to this V8 midsizer, I think they're going to have a lot of trouble long-term.