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got to scratch that v8 itch


kevlo

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Hi guys and girls, we're currently saving for an upgrade. Have been thinking of a 370z convertible but i have a niggling v8 itch that i really need to scratch. I am now thinking of one of these

 

Jaguar XK Convertible (new shape)

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2861661.htm

 

i love the looks, love the sound more and you get alot of kit for your money. any thoughts? any experiences?

 

Thanks

Kev

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Rtbiscuit has the old shape though and I believe they are very different. completely different chassis and engine but I may be wring

Yeah but he did a lot of research into his v8 itch.......he found an ointment in the end

 

He may have some useful pearls of wisdom

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go test drive one, ;)

 

yes mine is an older one, its 11 years old now, yes there are minor issues to fix on it but after 11 years all the kit still works, all the electrics work, only issues i'm having are just general wear and tear.

 

the newer ones are far more GT focused than the OLD XK8's which were just big cruisers. i deliberatly went for the XKR as it turned the cruiser into a far more usable car with the CATS suspension bigger wheels, giant brembo's and supercharger.

 

the new XK8 is far more agile, still heavy, but a very useable car. good engines and good rep, if the new ones are anything like moine, then they are uber comfortable on long drives, and a very plesant place to be.

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My brother has a 2002 XKR

 

It's very nice, fast, comfortable, it's difficult to say any faults, but. . . .

 

Automatic gearbox, isn't my choice if you really want to feel in control. . . .

The whole car is so smooth, it's difficult to feel you're in harmony with the machine. It's very nice. . . but it has no soul. If all you want is a nice car, (yes, fast, OK) for a quick drive on the motorway, fine, but if you really want to feel your motoring. . . .

 

I'm happier driving my Z, and would pick it over the Jag every time.

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My brother has a 2002 XKR

 

It's very nice, fast, comfortable, it's difficult to say any faults, but. . . .

 

Automatic gearbox, isn't my choice if you really want to feel in control. . . .

The whole car is so smooth, it's difficult to feel you're in harmony with the machine. It's very nice. . . but it has no soul. If all you want is a nice car, (yes, fast, OK) for a quick drive on the motorway, fine, but if you really want to feel your motoring. . . .

 

I'm happier driving my Z, and would pick it over the Jag every time.

 

i think the newer version combats alot of those issues,

 

i must admit what i'm looking for in a car is different to what i wanted in the zed, i much prefer my jag to the zed; but then i want more comfort, 2 more seats, and an auto box for my ever decreasing knee.

 

there are mods for the older ones that can switch the weight of the steering to give back the feel, you can also retro fit paddle shifts.

 

but it all comes down to what your looking for in a car, as for soul thats very much down to personal opinion, i think the old jag has bundles of soul. i'd rather the jag over a hot hatch.

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Do you still think you could shift faster than the autobox?

 

My brother has a 2002 XKR

 

It's very nice, fast, comfortable, it's difficult to say any faults, but. . . .

 

Automatic gearbox, isn't my choice if you really want to feel in control. . . .

The whole car is so smooth, it's difficult to feel you're in harmony with the machine. It's very nice. . . but it has no soul. If all you want is a nice car, (yes, fast, OK) for a quick drive on the motorway, fine, but if you really want to feel your motoring. . . .

 

I'm happier driving my Z, and would pick it over the Jag every time.

 

i think the newer version combats alot of those issues,

 

i must admit what i'm looking for in a car is different to what i wanted in the zed, i much prefer my jag to the zed; but then i want more comfort, 2 more seats, and an auto box for my ever decreasing knee.

 

there are mods for the older ones that can switch the weight of the steering to give back the feel, you can also retro fit paddle shifts.

 

but it all comes down to what your looking for in a car, as for soul thats very much down to personal opinion, i think the old jag has bundles of soul. i'd rather the jag over a hot hatch.

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Do you still think you could shift faster than the autobox?

 

My brother has a 2002 XKR

 

It's very nice, fast, comfortable, it's difficult to say any faults, but. . . .

 

Automatic gearbox, isn't my choice if you really want to feel in control. . . .

The whole car is so smooth, it's difficult to feel you're in harmony with the machine. It's very nice. . . but it has no soul. If all you want is a nice car, (yes, fast, OK) for a quick drive on the motorway, fine, but if you really want to feel your motoring. . . .

 

I'm happier driving my Z, and would pick it over the Jag every time.

 

i think the newer version combats alot of those issues,

 

i must admit what i'm looking for in a car is different to what i wanted in the zed, i much prefer my jag to the zed; but then i want more comfort, 2 more seats, and an auto box for my ever decreasing knee.

 

there are mods for the older ones that can switch the weight of the steering to give back the feel, you can also retro fit paddle shifts.

 

but it all comes down to what your looking for in a car, as for soul thats very much down to personal opinion, i think the old jag has bundles of soul. i'd rather the jag over a hot hatch.

 

aimed at me or the last poster?

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Re speed of changes - I can't say, in relation to the Jag - car was my brothers' and he didn't want me to thrash his pride and joy down the lanes. . .

 

In general, auto gearchanges are normally swifter than manual,when changing up. But - when driving an auto I normally manually change down before a corner, bring the revs up to hold the power level in the corner and then you're in the right gear to power out - (I hate the kick down just when you're on the apex or just past it - I need to be in the right gear before then) but by the time you're manually changing down as you approach a corner. . . well, why not do it manually. But then - I like to tell the car what gear to be in, rather then take what some auto box chooses to give me. It's the same on overtaking - I change down, bring the power in, then accellerate as the other lane clears so you're already accellerating when you get into the gap - rather than the auto box kicking down for me - I pick the gear when I want it.

 

I agree completely with rtbiscuit about it depending on what you want and part of this is how you want to drive. I've had auto Volvos and I had an auto Grand Voyager for a couple of years. I enjoyed them - I think the auto box made me drive more gently, and I felt like a nice relaxing, very smooth drive resulted, as my driving style modified to match the smooth, gentle vehicles. (Also - trying to push the Grand Voyager was difficult as she had major body roll, and there was quite a lag between putting the power in and the 2.5 tons responding. . . )

 

I'm not sure that smooth and gentle is what I'm looking for in either the Z or the Jag. If I've got 300 horses (or 420 is it in the Jag?) then I think I'm looking for a bit more spirited drive, and the more direct feel of my trousers and the road and the closeness I feel to the driving is better in a manual. (IMHO)

 

Note,I've never driven a paddle shift, so it's possible you get the best of both worlds - but until then I'll keep manual in a sportscar and auto in a more relaxing machine - hence my earlier comment about ". . drive on the motorway"

 

Having said all this - it's obviously a very personal thing - go and have a drive - and buy it if you like it, even if you only keep it a year or something, I hope you enjoy it!

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thanks ian for the reply. tbh i am a little disapointed that you cant get them in manual but like many you have said i think it will have to be test driven to see whether i gel with the box.

 

I like the idea of lazy driving with an auto when your just commuting etc but if the paddles dont let you drive like a manual does then i dont think i will like it. i like a spirited drive every now and then and if you cant down change etc with the auto getting involved then i think it will be frustrating.

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There's a man you should speak to.......some say he's got 2 custard creams instead of testicles and he once plugged his obdii reader into husky....all we know is he's called rtbiscuit and he owns an xkr

pearler :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

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Ment as a honest question to you rich :)

Do you still think you could shift faster than the autobox?

 

My brother has a 2002 XKR

 

It's very nice, fast, comfortable, it's difficult to say any faults, but. . . .

 

Automatic gearbox, isn't my choice if you really want to feel in control. . . .

The whole car is so smooth, it's difficult to feel you're in harmony with the machine. It's very nice. . . but it has no soul. If all you want is a nice car, (yes, fast, OK) for a quick drive on the motorway, fine, but if you really want to feel your motoring. . . .

 

I'm happier driving my Z, and would pick it over the Jag every time.

 

i think the newer version combats alot of those issues,

 

i must admit what i'm looking for in a car is different to what i wanted in the zed, i much prefer my jag to the zed; but then i want more comfort, 2 more seats, and an auto box for my ever decreasing knee.

 

there are mods for the older ones that can switch the weight of the steering to give back the feel, you can also retro fit paddle shifts.

 

but it all comes down to what your looking for in a car, as for soul thats very much down to personal opinion, i think the old jag has bundles of soul. i'd rather the jag over a hot hatch.

 

aimed at me or the last poster?

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Dblock:- i'm guessing this is regarding an old post about Manual Vs Auto :lol: yes i still think i shift faster than an auto. :p

 

car feels quicker than the zed, but then its supercharged and has 100 bhp more than the zed. i like the auto kick down, just plant the pedal and hold on for dear life. it is slower than i am on that, particular change,i can feel a hesitation between the pedal on the floor and the car dropping a cog. in that relation yes i would have been quicker, yet the jag supercharger makes up for that as it then eats tarmac.

 

like for like driving, its difficult to say, if it were 2 cars identical 1 auto 1 manual and i could drive them back to back on the same track, i reckon i could go round faster in the manual than i could in the auto. this is with auto boxes like the jag and the zed.

 

now if you put me in an auto with something like DSG or PDK in a porshe; and some flappy paddles. i'd say the auto would be quicker. so with regards to the original question i still stand by my initial comment that a manual zed with the right driver will be quicker than an auto.

 

 

 

 

right back to the new jag, if i remember rightly the new jag has a flappy paddle gear box, and as much or as little control as you want. i think you'll really like it, and as soon as you get it go and get a decent exhaust :teeth:

 

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Lol sorry to the op for the thread hijack. Just thought it would be good up know since you got an auto now. When you floor it you don't even have to let off the throttle. :)

 

i'm not disliking the auto at all, i love the jag j gate gear setup. suits the car very well. and the newer ones with the paddle shift make it even better. unless i have a designated track car, i cant; see me going back to manual for an everyday car. i no longer want to kill people in traffic jams, and i must admit it is helped by the fact that the cabin is such a nice place to be in.

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i like the auto kick down, just plant the pedal and hold on for dear life. it is slower than i am on that, particular change,i can feel a hesitation between the pedal on the floor and the car dropping a cog. in that relation yes i would have been quicker, yet the jag supercharger makes up for that as it then eats tarmac.

 

I reckon that's because us humans can read the road ahead and change gear before we need the loud pedal down, a bog standard auto has to wait for the loud pedal to go down before knowing you want to change gear.

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The advertised Jag is a bit of a stunner, love the styling and the equipment level is very impressive... however I don't think I would be looking to spend almost £28k on a 5 year old car but that's just me :shrug: .

 

 

Pete

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The advertised Jag is a bit of a stunner, love the styling and the equipment level is very impressive... however I don't think I would be looking to spend almost £28k on a 5 year old car but that's just me :shrug: .

 

 

Pete

 

they are about an 80k car new though

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Loving the auto box on my 335i, it's so smooth in 'D' mode i usually have no idea what gear the car is in. The auto box shifts up very quickly, and in normal driving the revs never creep past 2k. Put ur foot down and it will 'kick down', yes there's a 0.5sec delay as the box downshifts and the power comes on, in most situations its acceptable.

 

The 335i box also has manual mode with paddles (can be used even in D mode to overide the autobox). Apparently it shifts in 0.1 sec, and on down shifts rev match the engine. It's only in manual mode the box will let you take the engine to it's 7k rev limit, and will hold it there if you modulate the throttle (perfect for hard cornering). If you keep you foot down it will up shift automatically. Launching it from a standstill is ridiculously easy, left foot on the brake, rev to 2.5k, than simply floor the throttle and lift of the brake and watch what ever is next to you disappear into the back ground :)

 

I do admit it's not as fun as a manual, but in manual mode it shifts much better than I ever could and as a result the way it builds up speed is amazing!!

 

I can see how some people would never consider an auto because it dilutes the driving experience ( I was one of them ). But I think auto boxes are so good now (in the 335i anyway) there's no real reason not to buy a car because it's an auto :thumbs:

 

But go and test drive one for ur self before u decide.....

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