"New cars all look the same..."

Phil Robson

Phil Robson

Well-Known Member
Don't they just! Here's the new Jaguar XE & a BMW 5 series. I know the BMW is a bit bigger in this case, but did Jaguar have to copy EVERYTHING?

IMG_1869edit.jpg
 
OMG you are right, where has the diversity gone. Back in the 50's 60's you could date a car by the styling cue's of each years new release, didn't matter what the brand was they all followed each other however the level of sameness (really I mean blandness) of the current crop is a whole other level of boringness , at least the 50's and 60's cars had style while retaining diversity.

Graeme
 
They look totally different. The XF is similar in size to the 5-series, but is a totally different car.

The XE is the smaller, 3-series killer, and it really does kill the 3-series. I've just cleared 40,000 miles in mine, and apart from the loss of power - from 275bhp in the XF, down to 161bhp in the XE - it's an amazing car. 300kgs lighter than the XF, 80% aluminium construction, over 50MPG with normal driving, and I've had 74MPG on a run up to the Midlands.
 
I was recently looking at the XE Chris. I found it better than the BMW to drive overall. The 4 series I tried is simply too hard for some poorly maintained roads. I just wish there was a cheaper and less powerful petrol option as I'm moving away from diesel due to emissions, the tax system here will turn against these over the next few years. The only disappointment is the interior; a bit dull which is odd for a Jag, some quality issues and the electronic package not as good as BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
 
The point is, they look very similar. Go back to the sixties - a Ford Consul looked nothing like a Vauxhall Victor which looked nothing like an Austin Cambridge which looked nothing like a Jaguar MK2 which looked nothing like a Hillman Hunter. All were family saloons but every manufacturer had their own style and that meant tremendous VARIETY. Now everything is computer driven and market research driven and what you end up with are a lot of nigh-identical Euro-boxes.
 
Hi, I notice you didn't mention the comparison between the Ford Cortina Mk2 and the Hillman Minx/Hunter or the Austin Cambridge A60 and the Peugeot 404.:p:)

Colin
 
colnerov said:
Hi, I notice you didn't mention the comparison between the Ford Cortina Mk2 and the Hillman Minx/Hunter or the Austin Cambridge A60 and the Peugeot 404.:p:)

Colin
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I'll give you the A60/404 but can't agree on the Cortina Mk11 and the Hunter!
 
To be fair the latest Merc C class is pretty distinctive if slightly oddly proportioned, like a Maybach that shrunk in the rain and the C coupe utterly gorgeous - looks nothing like a BMW 3/4 series. Audi has to be the absolute worst, I'm sure now they only make one car in different lengths.
 
PeterZRH said:
I was recently looking at the XE Chris. I found it better than the BMW to drive overall. The 4 series I tried is simply too hard for some poorly maintained roads. I just wish there was a cheaper and less powerful petrol option as I'm moving away from diesel due to emissions, the tax system here will turn against these over the next few years. The only disappointment is the interior; a bit dull which is odd for a Jag, some quality issues and the electronic package not as good as BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
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What emissions? My XE 2.0 is 106g/km. Costs me £20/year in road tax.
 
On an allied subject; why do people buy diesel executive cars?
"They are more economical" or "they hold their value better" are often cited as the reasons. Relatively perhaps, but they will have lost humongous amounts by the time you've uttered those phrases.
I accept that the company car benefits might be slightly better, but if I was personally spending 30 or 40k on such a car, I certainly wouldn't want it to sound like a black cab.
I've travelled in both the cars in the picture & they are nice cars, but would be so much nicer as a petrol version.
 
Well, you are lucky in having tighter rules applied mostly only forward. We actually have different rules depending on which Canton/County you live in. Sadly for P6 ownership ours is done mostly on engine capacity despite this being a very poor measure of anything. It makes no difference either that the car is 40 years old or that you do very few miles in it unless you de-register it and physically take it off the road. Currently it cost me about £550 a year in tax alone. Which is a lot for a car that does 3000 miles a year.

As for my main vehicle, they are currently looking to penalize diesel ownership in general so there is still some discussion.
 
Phil Robson said:
On an allied subject; why do people buy diesel executive cars?
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I have a diesel executive car and to be honest, you can't tell the difference with a petrol car until you hit the loud pedal. Sparky is quick but this thing is a class above. It hits 60 in 6 seconds, you can hardly hear it at 70mph, it does 60mpg at a steady 50mph (all the bloody motorways around here), has four wheel drive, 7 speed auto box and so many toys, I haven't used them all yet. When I bought it, there wasn't any petrol cars to match it, but now there are, so I may look to petrol when I replace it.

Richard
 
chrisw said:
They look totally different. The XF is similar in size to the 5-series, but is a totally different car.

The XE is the smaller, 3-series killer, and it really does kill the 3-series. I've just cleared 40,000 miles in mine, and apart from the loss of power - from 275bhp in the XF, down to 161bhp in the XE - it's an amazing car. 300kgs lighter than the XF, 80% aluminium construction, over 50MPG with normal driving, and I've had 74MPG on a run up to the Midlands.
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I'm jealous now Chris! I've been hankering after a XE diesel auto since they came out to replace my X-type. The prices in Ireland are silly though, and with one house renovation in progress, and another starting I think I'm going to have to settle for a 13 or 14 reg XF 2.2 instead for the moment. I have a 75 mile round trip to work every day, and have managed 58.3 mpg across a fill in the X-type, so I'd love to see what the XE could do. I'm also firmly in the diesel camp. Even the noisy, unrefined Ford Duratorque in the X-type hasn't put me off. The only petrol that has impressed me in recent years was a Ford Mustang 3.7 V6 I drove last year. But even this, when compared to my brother's 313 bhp 535d felt like a wet sponge.
Regards,
Dave
 
New cars maybe look similar but they don't feel the same.
It's now more than a year and 40 K Kms have passed since i have bought my new C5. After driving anything else in the class, i can't help thinking that i made the right choice. OK, all are more or less quiet and comfortable cruisers, but the isolation that my C5 offers from the environment is on a different league. Anything German feels bloody harsh in comparison, while the rest don't really come close. Yesterday, after a fast motorway blast for 5 hours in a new Grand Scenic, i still had 2 more jours in mixed roads in my C5 to arrive home in the evening. Felling somewhat tired, with a dose of back ache too, i didn't really looked forward to the additional drive, but the C5 felt so much more soothing and relaxing in comparison, that i actually enjoyed that last part of the drive.
Before deciding on the C5, i had a very brief look in the XE, but with the price of the base model starting north of €50 K over here, (double the price of the C5 :eek: ) i very quickly realised that it didn't made any sence.
 
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