Detailed review of the XE
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Yes, detailed indeed - I had to take a tea break halfway through. But a very thorough coverage of parts which other reviewers hadn't reached.
I really enjoyed the presenter's struggles with the pronunciation of 'XES'!
A very good review - thanks again XES.
I really enjoyed the presenter's struggles with the pronunciation of 'XES'!
A very good review - thanks again XES.
I think his problem was that he was veering between English and German pronunciation of letters. In German, the letter "X" is pronounced "ix" and instead of saying ay, bee, see, dee ,eee, they say ah, beh, seh, deh, eh.
That gave him four permutations of how to say XE, and he used all four
That gave him four permutations of how to say XE, and he used all four
When I've watched any previous videos of the interior what struck me was the lack of quality in the switch gear. You would hear the sound made by the hard keys around the infotainment and it sounded very cheap and plasticky. Some of the stitching and the joins in the leather have also been disappointing. This all seems to be highlighted in his review which was all fair. I'm coming from a German car and I really hope I'm not making a mistake.
I don't understand this dislike of switches that click when you press them. Audible feedback is good. Quiet switches are a move in the wrong direction. When I click the mouse while I'm typing this, it clicks (the clue is in verb to click a mouse). That's good because it confirms I've pressed the button.
I thought a much more valid criticism in the review was that pressing the heater fan switch didn't do anything other than bring up a menu on the touch screen. It could so easily toggle the fan to the next speed, which would be much safer.
Anyway, this definition of what constitutes luxury as being a certain texture of plastic or a more silent button just amazes me. Luxury is comfort. Last time I changed my car I test drove a BMW 3. I was appalled by the hard seats and bone jarring ride. I can't understand why it's regarded as being the class leader when it has all the ride comfort of an unladen Transit. Possibly down to the run-flat tyres but they were the standard equipment at the time.
I thought a much more valid criticism in the review was that pressing the heater fan switch didn't do anything other than bring up a menu on the touch screen. It could so easily toggle the fan to the next speed, which would be much safer.
Anyway, this definition of what constitutes luxury as being a certain texture of plastic or a more silent button just amazes me. Luxury is comfort. Last time I changed my car I test drove a BMW 3. I was appalled by the hard seats and bone jarring ride. I can't understand why it's regarded as being the class leader when it has all the ride comfort of an unladen Transit. Possibly down to the run-flat tyres but they were the standard equipment at the time.
It's not the actual clicking sound but the sound associated with a cheap feeling switch. Switch gear makes a massive difference to the quality. This can be anything from a car to your TV remote. I disagree that luxury is purely down to comfort in a car such as this. Luxury is made up of many elements.
If the switch is of sufficient quality you do not need a sound to let you know it's accepted your command as you just know it's going to do the job without even thinking about it.v0lterra said:
Some people leave keypad tones on smartphones to the dismay of anyone unfortunate enough to share a train carriage with them, others manage to use a phone perfectly well without any tones! I guess it's the same for controls in cars and on a computer mouse.
Re run flats my 535d m sport has 275 30 19 at the rear and with the factory run flats it was very jolty and gave off a lot of road noise. Switched to standard tyres. Problem solved. Solid side walls on low profile tyres just don't work.
BAIKAR I have the same concerns
Typing on a phone in a train and operating car controls are two different applications. Driving a car, it is better if you have multiple sources of feedback that you have successfully operated the control. Visual feedback is the least desirable because it requires you to take your eyes of the road. Better alternatives are movement -- the physical sensation of moving a button against resistance -- or sound, or preferably both.
I am a Chartered Electrical Engineer and have specified many switches in many applications. The fundamental measure of a switch's quality is the number of operations before it fails. The noise or silence of its operation has no bearing on this. Low quality switches can be noisy or silent. The same is true of high quality.
I am a Chartered Electrical Engineer and have specified many switches in many applications. The fundamental measure of a switch's quality is the number of operations before it fails. The noise or silence of its operation has no bearing on this. Low quality switches can be noisy or silent. The same is true of high quality.
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The Portfolio has the brogue interior.
You will be aware then that numerous switches in all kinds of items are now quiet compared to earlier designs.v0lterra said:
Touch or soft controls are the way things are moving. The XE brochure even boasts of the cabin lights which can be operated with the slightest touch.
My phone comparison was more that some like or need a click some don't. Same as some need a sound from a control in a car others don't.
If the car is design ergonomically you know you've hit the right control.
P's my mouse is silent......
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without getting embroiled in differences about switches, I was a little surprised myself to hear what the autogefuehl guys was saying - I guess every reviewer will have a bias, but to just assume German=better quality and to lump every Japanese or Asian car together as being not so good, Iowered my confidence in the reviewer. I've seen reviews from this guy before and they are always very detailed, also there always seems to be something that he trys and latches on to as a negative to balance what other-wise might seem overly positive reviews. At the end of the day its just one opinion to be considered
I agree that "luxury" transcends beyond any one specific attribute and also has that intangible element of how a car makes me feel when I'm driving it. Would I say my Skoda Superb was luxury? No. Is it of excellent quality? Yes. Do I think all Skoda or all BMWs or all Jags are equal? no. IS the XE supposed to be "luxury"? I'm not so sure. Is it supposed to be of excellent build quality? yes, I suspect so and form what I have experienced at least certainly no worse than the German cars I've driven - they all have different pros and cons depending on what is important to the driver/owner.
That's my 2p anyway!
I agree that "luxury" transcends beyond any one specific attribute and also has that intangible element of how a car makes me feel when I'm driving it. Would I say my Skoda Superb was luxury? No. Is it of excellent quality? Yes. Do I think all Skoda or all BMWs or all Jags are equal? no. IS the XE supposed to be "luxury"? I'm not so sure. Is it supposed to be of excellent build quality? yes, I suspect so and form what I have experienced at least certainly no worse than the German cars I've driven - they all have different pros and cons depending on what is important to the driver/owner.
That's my 2p anyway!
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