I know, I know, I was grasping at straws. I just don't want to believe the jag/buick beat my car in the handling department. I'm in denial.

 

Holy Macro! My dream has come true! i always wanted a car that looked like a buick lucerne!

 

I'm glad Jag is finally putting a serious competitor out there.............. now they just need to get a better exterior designer and these things might sell , still not as bad as the Lexus though.

 

Don't know about that, but the latest Motor Trend comparison 550i finished 3rd

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans...ison/index.html

 

They have Ian Callum! The guy who designed the DB7, the Vanquish and co-designed the DB9 with Henrik Fisker. I think that what they really need is to be able to make fewer production compromises. The XF's only design blooper is the headlight setup, and they were probably more of a production compromise than a design decision (as the concept car that became the XF didn't have the same lighting setup). Callum is the real deal - he did the XK too. Hopefully it'll be less of an issue for Jag going forward as the XF looks like being a much better seller than the S-Type it replaces. Word is the new XJ (a Callum design) is going to be a stunner.

 

They had the ticket with the preproduction models, they looked AMAZING.

I think they didn't want to alienate the "elderly segment" that purchases Jag sedans.

Instead they went conservative and ruined the design. Too bad. Oh well the new 5 is on the horizon.



Side note: I just find it hilarious how every comparison of any car segment, the Lexus is always in last.

 

I wish Lexus did make better looking cars , I certainly admire their quality and resale, and strategically if Jag is still concerned about the the "older" segment they are doomed to failure .They need to ignite the brands image , and you can't do that with one eye on the old consumer franchise for fear of alienation..........tough to be all things to all people ............Edsel !! remember .

Cheers

 

I have complete respect for Callums pedigree as a designer , but somehow the brass at Ford just would'nt let him have enough rope on this one . I agree about the front end , but I think the rear is even worse. To me, I think the design lacks a foundation and focus , it does'nt resonate on any level , it just looks clumbsy and awkward. I'm sure he was held back from his vision for ,as you say , production issues, but that's not the mark of a company that really wants to repostion itself to compete in this segment . Now, aside from the aesthetic , the engineers appear to have nailed it .. Bravo !!

 

Vindicated!!

This Edmunds test: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...7/pageId=138539 and even a prior Motor Trend test: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans...ison/index.html

both confirm what I suspected. Superior handling. BUT, my educated enthusiast friends, these test results require interpretation...For example: when the 550 gets docked points for uncomfortable seats (which it did in the MT test) you can add points to thetally since we all know they are the best in the industry and the tester was either horozontally challenged and couldn't squeeze into a sport seat, or not able to adjust the seat properly in the brief time with the car. I-drive, the gem that it is, add more points there. You see where I'm going here, in the hard core categories, accel., braking, cornering, steering feel/feedback, chassis dynamics etc., the 550 trumps all. I don't doubt the Jag is impressive but its a much newer design. We'll see how it does against the 2010 F10 555i next year.

And 4.8 sec. to 60 for the manual 550 (Motor Trend)! Wow! To get some perspective, that is 3/10ths quicker to 60 than an 08' manual M3 cabrio and they are tied in the 1/4 mile. Well done!

DRP

 

Not at all, the tests you cite undermine rather than support your argument. After you said "IN FACT, HAS ANYONE EVER SEEN AN LCI 550 SPORT IN A MAGAZINE COMPARISON TEST??? EVER???" in your original post, you followed on by adding that the 550i Sport would "smoke everything". That's not really true, as the latest batch of tests are showing. The XF (for just one example) outpaced the 550i in the slalom which for the enthusiast, which most of us on here purport to be, is a much greater test of handling and agility than say a skid pad and one of the most helpful insights into overall capability and responsiveness. Across the two tests there are a number of other performance-oriented criteria where the competition matches or exceeded the BMW.

The argument that the educated reader needs to interpret the results really shows nothing more than a masterful grasp of the patently obvious, but it also forgets one thing. The editors already did that. Having interpreted the objective and subjective data they collected, the editors exercised their judgment and found the LCI 550i Sport to be behind its competition, scoring 3rd out of 4 in the two latest tests that did feature the sport model.

Your initial thread was created and predicated entirely on the premise that the German test was flawed as it featured the SE and not the Sport E60. These latest tests rectify that specific issue, and unfortunately the E60 didn't fare as well as you had predicted. I don't think anyone on this board would argue that the LCI 550i Sport isn't a fine car (and in fairness, the car you own isn't the car you're defending - both you and I had/have pre-LCI 550i Sports) but it is now a five year old design and more modern hardware is placing better in tests. Doesn't really matter what we think the F10 is or will be as we can't test it today against the competition out there right now.