Regarding the GLC. I hadn't expected queries about the GLC, I will try to share my experience, but please feel free to ignore my waffling reply if you are more interested in F-Paces.
While there are some specific things I don't like it is really just that it is totally bland, I get no pleasure from driving it or even seeing it parked on the drive. From the side view I keep thinking I have seen another only to find that it is a Honda CRV and on the inside, while in the main the quality is good, with some good touches, for instance the electric seat adjustment looks very good and is easy to use, the screen looks like a stuck on iPad and reminds me of when I used to use a TomTom, pre satnavs being standard, and the "veneers" are about as plastic as they come.
My biggest problem is actually due to the offset driving position, OK on a short drive but on a long journey very uncomfortable, my left leg goes numb and I have trouble walking when I first get out. This is my 51st car, and I have included virtually every type and make, coupes, 2 seater sport cars, big and small cars and lots of 4x4s and SUVs as well as cramped motorbikes, and I have never had a problem before.
The drive itself is OK on motorways etc, but not a good car for twisty stuff, my wife avoids travelling in it as it makes her travel sick, both my previous softly sprung Freelander and the firmer XF were much better in this respect. The engine can be a bit gruff, but combined with an excellent gearbox is not too bad, though I have yet to find a 4 pot engine that matches the V6 I had in the XF and Range Rover Sport, unfortunately I am not expecting the F-Pace to be much better in this respect!
I personally don't like the wheel-operated computer screens, preferring the touch screens, and the lack of a spare wheel option scares me, my wife had a puncture in her RAV4 the other day which took hours to expensively sort, if I had been abroad racing back from holiday for the ferry or in the more remote NW Scotland for instance, it could be a major issue.
Mine has the clever dynamic LED lights, which actually took four trips to the dealer to get working, but now they seem reliable they are a pain. The light is good but I am regularly flashed and often have people I am following pull over because my lights must be annoying them. OK there are times when I would like a car fitted with machine guns, but generally I like to treat other motorists in a manner I would like to be treated myself, not making it uncomfortable for them.
It has an over clever brake assist which has nearly caused several people to run into the back of me. If someone has peeled off to the left it still detects them and slams the brakes on, obstacles to the left, such as street signs can get alarms ringing and overtaking on narrow roads leads to very loud alarms just at the very moment you need full concentration to get by the slower vehicle, tractors that leave only just enough room being particularly bad.
Good touches:
- much that Jaguar charges for included as standard, such as chrome boot protection, illuminated sills, mood lighting, gesture tailgate, remote back seat drop, boot side net and of course cup holder covers.
- the gesture boot is particularly useful, I thought it was just going to be a gimmick
Overall though it is about the pleasure of driving the car, not always easy to put your finger on, I enjoyed both my recent Freelander and the XF, yet they were very different, one of my previous cars I have fondest memories of was actually one of the most appalling cars, a 30 year old Series 3 Landrover, it was incredibly slow, noisy, no real steering or brakes, reliability so bad the local mechanic kept my spare keys so he could just go and pick it up when it failed again, but much missed. The GLC won't be missed and I expect if I had been able to see it before ordering it would not have been bought in the first place.
