[BAIKAR]

Well after only having the car for less than a week I decided to get up close and personal with my car. Like anyone who is religious with their cleaning or into detailing there is no better way to spot faults.

Firstly I found 3 individual areas that have dirt in the paint.

A paint defect on the left front wing

The rear spoiler seems to be lifting on the right hand side and on closer inspection it has not been fitted correctly. It sits further forward on the right hand side.

The third brake light is full of moisture. I know headlights can experience this but not an LED brake light.

Being an R sport both plastic side sills sit too far back and don't line up with the rear wheel arch.

The plastic filler on the top right hand inner quarter panel that's visible when the Bootlid is open has been glued and the rubber is all white and brittle like you get with superglue on rubber.

There was a lot of small rust spots from metal particles in the drain channel around the sunroof and also in the channel beneath the rear window visible when you lift the Bootlid.

Add to that a series of flat spots when making more use of the Rev range and that's quite a collection.

Now you could say I am being super critical but this is a £37000 car and certainly not the standard I'd expect from Jaguar. My local dealer is going to get to know me quite well I feel and I look forward to the Telephone call from Jaguar.

 

[tobes]

Hi BAIKAR

You are far from being to picky. It's a premium car from a premium brand.

All products can contain defects but those you have listed sound like the car was rushed out to meet a deadline.

With the engine comments so far that I have read, the comments on quality of materials etc from reviewers and the early comments from owners I'm not sure they are quite there yet in comparison to other cars in the class.

 

[Axel]

It's a little bit off-topic and I'm sorry about it, but could you please point me out to the "engine comments" you're talking about tobes?

I'm still not totally decided about buying the XE, though almost every review I'm reading about this car are positive, sometimes even elogious.

Thank you

 

[tobes]

Hi Axel

BAIKAR has mentioned some flat spots in power and others with diesels have mentioned noise at idle.

I've also read some general comments on line that diesels not as smooth or responsive as they should be. But it's all subjective as everyone views things differently plus of course it depends on what you are used to. If you drive a 4cyl single turbo it may be better than you are used to. On the other hand if you have something that is higher spec you might notice some things others wouldn't.

 

[Axel]

Thanks for your answer, tobes.

Indeed, my everyday ride is a Volvo V40 with 150PS petrol engine. Felt a bit too smooth and gentle when I got back on it after trying the XE with its 180PS diesel engine and 450Nm of torque (which I drove for 3 hours). But I understand people used to higher spec engines (6 cyl and/or bi-turbo) could feel something's missing. Though, I guess this Jaguar 180PS engine isn't meant to be a sport engine at all, is it?

On a side note, I'm wondering why Jaguar chose to release only 163 and 180PS diesels. Is it because this new Ingenium 2.0 engine can't go any further, or because they want to sell the 200PS and 240PS petrol engines instead to people looking for more power? Do they have some remaining stocks of those "old" Ford/PSA Ecoboost petrol engines they want to sell before releasing other (and more efficient / modern) engines?

 

[Tatraplan]

I understand that the 180 and 163 bhp Ingenium diesels will be joined by a more powerful Ingenium diesel at later date.

 

[tobes]

Axel 180 bhp can be sporty in certain cars. But they don't generally weigh as much as an XE.
I think the xe diesel performance is reasonable and does compare well with others. Although I'm surprised they didn't have a larger range of diesels at launch and some better petrol versions as they are seriously outclassed emission wise (petrols) for similar performance by engines that are already being superseded and replaced by even better engines (out going 328 as an example).

 

[L9EEW]

Sorry to go against the grain but it does seem an extremely picky list.

The paint blemishes & the spoiler being skewwhiff I can understand being quite disturbing.

However, those aside, I really don't think the plastic filler on the right hand inner quarter of my boot lid is a complaint I'd be taking to Jaguar - at the end of the day we haven't bought an Aston Martin.

Each to their own, I suppose.

 

[tobes]

at the end of the day we haven't bought an Aston Martin.

Each to their own, I suppose.

Personally I'd expect a new product to be defect free whether it was the most expensive or not.

The items listed maybe minor but they shouldn't be there. R sport side sills not lining up at wheel arches sound like an aftermarket fit not a main model trim.

These are visual defects that have got past quality control. Doesn't instill much faith to what hidden issues could of got through as well.

Out of interest i Googled Aston Martin for quality reviews and what car gives a 2 out of 5 for quality and reliability on the vantage coupe.

 

[Jhangz]

This is worrying as Jaguar is meant to be a premium brand. I must say I wasn't impressed with some finishing touches I saw on a demo car but that's me being fussy. The underside of the steering column is an example of what I mean. It was flimsy and didn't feel premium like the rest of the car. But these things aside I still think the XE is a fantastic car with huge potential. A faster diesel makes sense. Something to challenge the 335d perhaps?

 

[L9EEW]

at the end of the day we haven't bought an Aston Martin.

Each to their own, I suppose.

Personally I'd expect a new product to be defect free whether it was the most expensive or not.

The items listed maybe minor but they shouldn't be there. R sport side sills not lining up at wheel arches sound like an aftermarket fit not a main model trim.

These are visual defects that have got past quality control. Doesn't instill much faith to what hidden issues could of got through as well.

Out of interest i Googled Aston Martin for quality reviews and what car gives a 2 out of 5 for quality and reliability on the vantage coupe.

tobes, I totally agree no defects should be present upon buying a new product - maybe being a Peugeot owner at the moment makes me immune to such miniscule problems.

I just feel the problems stated, bar the spoiler & blemishes are things an everyday person would understand/bypass - and that only a "fart" would really be bothered about these extremely minor defects and take it up with the manufacturer.

I mentioned Aston Martin as a figure of speech - "the next level" if you like - I could of said Ferrari, Porsche or Rolls Royce if you care to Google those.

If you want absolute perfection - go and spend another £70/£80k.

 

[tobes]

The 335d will be a tough one to match. It accelerates quicker to 60 than the XE S. Plus they are already well on the 3 turbo path which will filter down from the 550d at some point.

But I'm sure JLR will have something planned

 

[SiblingChris]

Sorry I'm with tobes. Whether something is considered a luxury brand is irrelevant.
I might buy a tesco TV rather than a Sony, but I wouldn't expect the buttons to be wonky and the frame of the TV superglued on.....

I think some of the minor bits I would probably turn a blind eye to if that was the only thing, but what with the dodgy paint I would complain about the lot of it.

I had a car that had some overspray in an small area of the finish so it was not polished up as it should have been. It was along the sills and not prominent or noticed until I washed it. But I made them take it back and refinish it and that was a 16k car not a 30k+ !!

 

[tobes]

I don't need to Google RR as they are BMW owned ☺
I actually Googled Aston out of interest, not to find fault.

Regardless of price or how much more expensive some other cars are, they are apparently a premium brand and as such the level of detail and quality should surpass standard makes and be on par with other premium marques.

You're right though many of us wouldn't notice some or any of BAIKAR'S findings but with people reporting them we ALL end up with a better end product and we all know what to look for if the items raised mean anything to us personally.

 

[Axel]

Axel 180 bhp can be sporty in certain cars. But they don't generally weigh as much as an XE.
I think the xe diesel performance is reasonable and does compare well with others. Although I'm surprised they didn't have a larger range of diesels at launch and some better petrol versions as they are seriously outclassed emission wise (petrols) for similar performance by engines that are already being superseded and replaced by even better engines (out going 328 as an example).

Of course it does. I'm driving a TTM Martin 7 (a reproduction of a Lotus 7) every once in a while, and though it's only 150PS, it drives much sportier than my V40 because it weights the half of it

About petrol engines used by Jaguar on the XE, those are I think the same as what they were already using before: PSA engines (the range is named "Ecoboost" I think) assembled by Ford. Jaguar is probably planning to release their own petrol engine but I guess it made sense to continue using the same Ford/PSA engines they did with their previous car models instead of changing for what, a few months? A year maybe before they got their in-house engine ready?

Though you're right, those engines are outclassed, which made me wonder if they had some kind of "stock" engines to get rid of before releasing their own. By the way, I just saw the new XF configurator is live here, and it seems like they're using the same 200PS petrol engine, labelled "2.5t".

Now when it comes to the diesel Ingenium engines, that's another story: indeed, I'm wondering why they didn't release a more powerful diesel (they do with the XF (there is a 300PS 2999cc 6cyl diesel available) but I don't know if this is a new engine or something they already used before). And I'll be curious to see if the 180PS engine can be remapped to something more powerful, or if their architecture doesn't allow anything much better in terms of power and torque.

When it comes to finish and the main subject of this topic, I must admit that the more I spend on a car, the more I'll be picky about any fault I might find. Having the spoiler not aligned correctly for example is definitely something I would ask my dealer to fix. It's a premium brand, it has to be a premium car - which probably doesn't mean it must be exempt from *any* fault, but at least those should be fixed by the manufacturer.

 

[Spud211]

If you want absolute perfection - go and spend another £70/£80k.

Sorry, and no offence meant personally, but this is a bit of a silly comment. Aside from the fact that paying the extra money doesn't actually get you perfection, you should simply get what you paid for, whatever the product. I would expect my car to have perfect, even paint (without orange peel or swirling), to have all the trim correctly fitted inside and out, and not to have any rattles. Oh and for it to drive smoothly, at least if I have bought the petrol

It will be going back if it has any problems...I really don't get why anyone would just go "oh well, never mind i'll just accept it after handing over £30k". We should never see these faults however as the dealership should be spotting and resolving these in the PDI.

Hope you get your problems sorted BAIKAR and that they are a one off, rather than a return to "made in England" syndrome...

 

[BAIKAR]

Thanks, it's exactly that. If there had only been a few minor things I could have lived with it but I literally found fault after fault.

And L9EEW I hope you don't find any defects with your new car but if you do I certainly won't be referring to you as a 'fart' for bringing them to the attention of the dealer.

 

[L9EEW]

I wasn't expecting what I said to be popular.

I did say that faults such as the spoiler (sills included) & paint blemishes are something that should be taken to a dealer immediately - though its been portrayed I accept a sub standard car for the money we're paying.

However, if you really are that bothered about the inside of a bootlid then maybe paying a little extra would give you the lining you require.

Another point I feel was slightly condemned rather early was the flat spots in the engine - surely give the engine time to be run in.

No offence was intended by the use of the word 'fart' but I feel it's still a picky set of faults.

We have to agree to disagree, as I said, it's each to there own. :-bd

 

[Rich 91]

Sorry to be brash here but have you ever had a new car?
Bmw, Mercedes, even audi all of these brands have dirt and defects in the paint. The only cars you'll have with perfect paint work are £60,000+ eg range rovers.
I can understand the spolier but it seems like your a perfectionist, and that's fine but you'll never find a perfect car. Especially one that's a brand new model.

 

[tobes]

Rich 91 I think it's fairer to say can have dirt in the paint. They shoukd all be painted in dust free conditions! And of course pass rigorous quality checks.

My father had 9 new Bm's in 17 years none were delivered with any visible paint defects. And he is an old fart who checked everything and washed cleaned detailed his cars meticulously. His still got a 330ci x reg 26k miles garaged everyday in immaculate condition. Trust me if there was a fault he would of noticed, just like he did when I got saw dust on the bonnet and brushed it off leaving marks I couldn't even see! Cost me 450 of pocket money. Not that my mum ever stopped it lol

I've only had one new car. A Ford and it was in my opinion faultless as far as paint work. Mechanically it was a lemon hence my last Ford ever and a sale after 6 months.

30k is all most of us will ever pay for a car and for that we expect 'perefection'. BAIKAR only gave his findings if they wouldn't bother you fine but if they would others they know what to look out for.

Range rover evoques get a bit of bad press as far as paint goes but no idea if they are expensive enough to warrant perfection.