German Car Zone

And all it costs you is just your left foot.

Hmm...this is practically the opposite of what I experienced when I was in one at our auto show. I was left astonished after looking at the asking price. Wasn't impressed.

That's odd, as the general consensus is that as far as fit/finish on the XF/XFR is equal or exceeds that of its competitors, and at the same price points. My big critique is that the steering is a little bit light. Everything else was well executed.

Interesting because I expected exactly what you were saying. I am a refinement "snob" per-se, and am very critical with little nit-picky thing with cars, which is one reason I have loved M-B's, as they cater to those like me. I can even give a list of littles areas the newer M-B's, such as the W212 have been "de-refined" from what it replaced, IMO.

I kept thinking to myself "nahh, I could never buy an XF 'cause there's no way it'll please me in those areas like my E does"..... I will say it is right on par with the E, and the attention to detail is superp. I was surprised when I closed the doors as well, as the cabin and doors gave really no shutter at all.

I've read that some of the buttons feel "cheap", I really didn't find that to be the case, at least not enough to make it a concern, as well, the leather on the dash, the mix of colors and aluminum/wood, the very "British" fancy-ness around you, and the SUEDE headliner (in the Premium and up versions) frankly made my E feel very slightly austere when I got in it.... NO car has done that to me yet (for example, I think the new W212 is more austere than the W211). If you read comparo's, they always say the XF's jazzy interior always makes the Germans feel a bit cold and serious when you get in them.

Recent Swedish reviews say the same. The interior is not on par with the German competition. However, I could find nothing wrong with it...

I think some Mags are being a bit critical on it, although many do give it full and celebrated credit. I really looked and looked, couldn't find anything in there that I would call necessarily worse than an E-Class, and I found it above and beyond the E60 5-Series. Design wise it's all subjective, but it's very pretty, maybe a bit too tech/modern/gimmicky, as I wonder if it will look horridly dated in the near future. However to my surprise, the tech doesn't get in the way (like it seems like it does/would in Magazines), the nice materials, and classy feel kind of stay prominent, and the tech stuff just adds a nice touch. The gimmicks are kind of unnecessary to me, but again don't overpower, and I kind of want that from a "Jag", some frills and cheesy "sex appeal" type stuff, like a throbbing Start Button, lol. It still has that "classic" Jaguar undertone in their as well, a bit hidden but you feel it, which is what is very important to me personally.

All in all I WANT ONE!! I love my E, and don't know if I like the XF more-so, so I don't think I'd want to swap, but I want one somehow, some way.

I've been inside a Jaguar XFR and the interior doesnt even come close to the beautiful exterior.

I agree the exterior takes the cake, but I thought the interior definitely doesn't let the experience down.

I remember an Autocar article where the XFR really thrashed the M5. It was such a really poorly written & biased article, I found myself reading the entire article out aloud. I've not been fortunate to drive either let alone sit in either vehicle but I doubt the Jag could bloody the M5's nose so easily...

In the latest issue of AutoBild Sportscars. Different final rankings.

1st place: E63 AMG
-1882 kg
-250 km/h
-0-100 km/h in 4,5 s
-0-200 km/h in 14,4 s
-200-0 km/h in 141,6 m
-16,7 l/100 km

2nd place: RS6
-2044 kg
-280 km/h
-0-100 km/h in 4,4 s (same car tested before: 4,1 s)
-0-200 km/h in 13,9 s (same car tested before: 13,2 s)
-200-0 km/h in 147,0 m
-16,6 l/100 km

3rd place: M5
-1854 kg
-250 km/h
-0-100 km/h in 4,6 s
-0-200 km/h in 13,7 s
-200-0 km/h in 145,5 m
-15,2 l/100 km

4th place: XFR
-1982 kg
-250 km/h
-0-100 km/h in 4,9 s
-0-200 km/h in 15,4 s
-200-0 km/h in 153,2 m
-15,8 l/100 km

+Cadillac CTS-V (manual)
-1928 kg
-308 km/h
-0-100 km/h in 4,8 s
-0-200 km/h in 14,6 s
-200-0 km/h in 141,4 m
-14,3 l/100 km

Hockenheimring tracktimes:

1. 1:15,4 min - Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG
2. 1:15,8 min - Audi RS6
3. 1:15,9 min - Cadillac CTS-V
4. 1:16,1 min - BMW M5
5. 1:17,2 min - Jaguar XFR

Scans will come next week.