From XC60 to Porsche Macan or BMW X3?

[NigelDay]

Originally Posted by Arianne

The F-Pace V6 diesel promises to deliver both the smooth performance, soundtrack and handling I seek right now. Whether it does or not will have to wait until we test it on 30 April. My only wish is that it wasn't so expensive to access that engine as the more modest R-Sport versions can have adaptive suspension added as an option and would be almost as good, bar that engine.

Unless I am misreading the price list, the F-Pace S comes with Adaptive Dynamics as standard.
Incidentally, a new XC90 in the same colour parked next to me a few days ago. It made my XC60 look quite small !
Enjoy your weekend. We have snow here in Upper Teesdale.

[Gilesme]

Originally Posted by Arianne

Sunday morning I will be near Kendal and they tell me that they have two red ones.

If you fancy a trip "down South" Preston Jaguar have a metallic red one in - must admit it looked beautiful on the (I presume) 20 inch alloys.

[Harvey1512]

Just going back a few posts. The Jag dealer in Carlisle have sold their quota of this car for the whole of 2016. Wow. Blimey. Feet up, kettle on, jaffa cakes all round. Happy days.

Incientally, where is the F Pace manufactured?

[andymcp]

Not surprised, my local place had 5 sales people around when I went to look and all were busy taking orders. This is one hell of a first venture into SUV land.

[simonjedrake]

It's pretty large.....saw this in a Coventry multi-storey this morning in the flesh.
The front side badge was an R-design with DVLA saying its a 3 litre Diesel (which is not a UK spec model) registered in Jan 16. As the car was a left hand drive I presume it was one of the press day cars that featured in all the tests in Spain last month.

1st impressions from an external visual look only.
It's a lot wider than XC60, & slightly longer.
Not so sure about the white colour - the black grill so dominates like the Q3/Q5 visuals.
Rear has an "evoque" feel about it with that rear spoiler.

[tem]

Originally Posted by Harvey1512

Just going back a few posts. The Jag dealer in Carlisle have sold their quota of this car for the whole of 2016. Wow. Blimey. Feet up, kettle on, jaffa cakes all round. Happy days.

Incientally, where is the F Pace manufactured?

JLR Solihull plant.
I understand there is going to be a Baby version and that is going to be built in Austria.

tem.

[tem]

Just a thought, if this thread continues until Arianne takes delivery, it could get more hits than the D4 VEA EGR thread.

tem.

[NigelDay]

Originally Posted by tem

Just a thought, if this thread continues until Arianne takes delivery, it could get more hits than the D4 VEA EGR thread.

tem.

Very true. I think Volvo would do well to read the various comments, after all they reflect a very 'real world' dilemma which folk are going though as they ponder their choice of mid-size premium SUV. The market is tough out there and with the new Q5 just breaking cover and an X3 refresh around the corner, the new XC60 needs to be good. If not, the 'first generation' model will become a classic.

[Arianne]

Dear All,

As we entered Kendal late this afternoon we 'just happened' to pass a Jaguar / Land Rover dealership and so made a quick right turn and stopped by for a look.

Images are at the end of this post - Italian Racing Red, 3.0d V6 S - almost exactly what I am considering. Except this car has the Black Pack and 22" wheels. The dealer was very kind and opened up the car for us even though I explained that we had already placed an order with Clelands.

The fab stuff!
We loved the colour which we're glad isn't too light. And we continue to love all the other stuff I spoke about in the previous posts.

The not so fab stuff!
There are a few things under this heading worth mentioning. Let's just be clear, this is a lovely car and what I am about to say is all relative. So please, nobody give me a sermon about 'first world problems' as I readily acknowledge that we aint talkin' serious, important stuff here....

First up is the sound system. As you can see from the badges on the front & back, this is the S version - the top one if you discount the First Edition cars that are all sold out. So it comes with the 380w, 11 channel hifi compared to the entry level 80w, 8 channel system. In a nutshell, this Meridian 380w version just isn't as good as my Premium hifi & subwoofers in my XC60 right now, and that's a shame. The entry level system only allows for bass, treble and mid-range tonal adjustment and it's exactly the same on this 380w system too. I have heard both systems and I am relieved to say that the 380w version is decent - albeit I was listening to Coldplay on a Bluetooth connection from a compressed mp3 file on an iPhone. But decent is all it is - you wouldn't go out for a drive alone just to listen to the hifi system, as I do right now in my XC60. I had hoped that this version would come with a graphic equaliser but no it doesn't.

So I searched for the solution and it involves upgrading to In Control Touch Pro (ICTP) at an additional cost of £1,200 (yelp!). Then you get the full width, upgraded central touch screen and digital dials plus a range of fancy connectivity options etc. But, wait for it, still no graphic equaliser! Time to move up the options list one more time then...... adding another £850, that's £2,050 in total, gets you to the 825w hifi and I suspect (but cannot be sure) that at this price point you do get full equaliser functionality and a seriously improved sound?

Now Mrs A and the lad say I am both a perfectionist and audiophile. Regrettably, I think they may be right. But I am not going to spend another £2k to get a sound system that will be the equal of or slightly better than my current XC60 kit. Mrs A says that she will check again when I wake up in the morning but I am pretty certain that my mind is made up. The line must be drawn somewhere!

Secondly, let's talk interior fit and finish again. So today I spotted a couple of things that weren't so great. Continuing the hifi theme, I spotted that the speakers sit behind the door cards (just like the XC60) but that, unlike the XC60, there are no speaker grille covers - just holes drilled out of the plastic door card for the woofers. Now that's not good. Our old 1999 Peugeot 206 LX had that design feature! Really poor!

And this demonstrator had the usual panoramic sun roof (it seems all dealers have had three cars delivered - Portfolio 2.0d, R-Sport 2.0d and a 3.0d V6 S, only the colours vary not the trim in any of them). It was a bright day and the cabin was flooded in sunlight, picking out every last detail. The wrap on the dashboard isn't as good as Inscription Leather and I can see why they say it falls short of the Porsche Macan. The shroud for the speedo display is not that great as is the plastic quality just below it and behind the steering wheel. At a £38k price point that's fine but at £50k, hmm? If you are happy with the 2.0d Ingenium's engine performance then that probably is where this car is at its strongest - in R-Sport trim, being completely honest.

Conclusion as at today
Well, we all still think the F-Pace is a thing of beauty, Mrs A has fallen in love with it in Italian Racing Red. None of us like the bling, Hot Wheels, look of the impractical 22" alloys which is a relief because they're crazy expensive, will kerb easily, the tyres are costly and even Jaguar don't do snow chains in 22" sizes! I like the black pack on this car but also equally like the standard chrome embellishments, including the rear skid plate that is standard on the S trim.

But the engine, suspension, chassis, gearbox and overall performance needs to really impress me - as that's clearly where all of the extra money is going - it's obvious that Jaguar haven't spent it on the hifi! So this is a car I will need to want to drive alone for...... the driving pleasure rather than at present in my XC60, the sound system!

The cabin is still a very nice place to be. It's wide and there are some good quality plastics, nice stitching and it's a good size. Overall, we still love the look and feel. But the test drive is becoming more important than ever. I love driving, especially the twisty stuff, and so I am keen to experience the 300PS diesel.

Best wishes.

Arianne

PS. Note special red painted brake calipers on V6 S version, these come with larger brakes as standard (front wheel, can just be seen on first image).

Images: F-Pace 3.0d V6 S in Italian Racing Red with Black Pack & 22" wheels

[Harvey1512]

That is a thing of beauty. The colour suits it as well.

I have an SE XC60, bog standard audio. When my turtle appeared recently the hire car to cover this period was a C4 Picasso. The audio on that was way better than my XC60. Blimey, how did that happen? Seems odd that the F-Pace did not come up to scratch on that front. It is not a big deal to me but if it is for you is that an itch that may need scratching? Can you do something aftermarket or is that not possible now that you have one screen covering all gizmos now?