bimbeano
10825
I like the analogies ...
Feb 25, 2015,16:08 PM
... kinda what i'm thinking too.
In my own personal experience i've always found Jaguars to be cruisers .. not even true GT-cars
... beautiful, distinctive (especially pre 2000 models) and fast enough (in a straight line).
I have driven and experienced Jags XJ from the 80ies and 90ies that were really dreadful for a young boy racer i was at the time but when my uncle took the steering wheel and wafted away gently down the road i really appreciated the comfort and luxury.
The XJR from the early 2000's and the later aluminium bodied XJR were pretty fast and the latter really had decent handling, almost GT-handling .. almost.
When the F-type convertible came out i had a go in it ... a great car with good handling and performance (380 hp) but for the money ... yaah ... there are indeed a lot of Porsches around i guess ... bear in mind i even find the GT3-RS comfy enough to travel to the South of France from where i live
.
As you know i bought my wife a ten year old X-type (it's now 13 years old) with an automatic gearbox and a 2.5 V6 pumping out 196 hp (but you really have to pump VEEEEEEERY hard to get those out i guess).
I haven't driven one single Jaguar ... i haven't read one single review on a Jaguar ... where it came out as the best car compared to the opposition .... in terms of performance ...
... BUT ....
I love Jaguars (yes, even the X-type) .. they all give you this special feeling and comfort because you know you didn't buy the sportiest car (far from it i should say) but you bought something special.
And i think your comparison to restaurants with or without the Michelin-stars is really spot-on ... sometimes you pay more for the ambiance ... to say it with the words of my wife (directed to me): " for you the food doesn't really matter, you're a sucker for ambiance" ... .
The modern Jags ... XF, XJ and a bit the F-type and new XE will have a hard time to live up to the Jaguar-legend. I think they should try less hard to be competitive in terms of performance ... just my opinion.
Aaah, now were did i leave that Dom Perignon bottle filled with cheap sparkling wine ??? I'll take a nip while holding that bottle in my hand ...
Bim