Jasonfpace said:
It was mine too but when you add on the extras the difference in price comes down. I had a 2.0 on order at £45k and now at £52,8k for the 3.0d. I'm planning on keeping for 8-10 years like my current Vw Touareg. Over time I think it will be worth the extra. Totally understand though everyone has a cut off.
The price for the 3l is one thing but the taxes in Belgium are not in favour of high co2 for a company car.
Cobstar said:
redonebe - interesting feedback. How did the 2.0 litre F-Pace compare with your current X3?
What other cars will you look at now?
I think there was not much difference in performance but the FP had only 1.000 km so i expect it to get a little better after it is broken in. My wife told me it seemed slower and it was certainly slower for the first 100 meters but after that i had no complaints. But then again if i want something fast i took the 3.0. 132kW is enough for the daily commute.
I now have to decide if i keep my X3 until to new model X3 is available, buy the current X3 now or go for the FP. The GLC is not an option because i do not want to wait a year for a new car.
JLRnumber5 said:
You seem to be happy (or at least don't mention) the power/performance of the 2.0d and criticism seems to lie more with the handling. That makes me question whether the car you drove had Adaptive Dynamics and whether you played about with some of the settings? I found sharpening up the steering is quite noticeable and would definitely call it out as one of the cars strong points. Particularly in comparison to the X3. So it does make me wonder if your car was configured with AD.
You can spec the car with a sports steering wheel as an option so that criticism is easy to fix.
Also you could consider a Portfolio model which does help improve the cabin quality (although some of the hard plastics still exist)
The power/perfomance is as expected from a 132kW engine in an 1.800 kg machine. Nothing special but enough to do my daily commute. The handling was not bad but not as sharp as the current X3. There was no AD on the car and i did not change any setting except Sport an Dynamic mode. Also on the highway at 120 km/h the X3 is like running on rails, if that is the correct expression, where the FP was more seeking its path. Maybe the tire pressure was not correct and if i decide to continue with the FP i will certainly have another test drive to check this out.
I do not find the Sport steering wheel in the option list for Belgium but i also noticed the Prestige in Belgium is not the Prestige in UK we are missing a lot of features. But this is not a big issue. After a few weeks you get used to this. When i drive my wife's car, with the M-Sport steering wheel, and go back in the X3 it feels also thin.
The extra leather in the Portfolio is certainly nicer to look at but does not change the plastic look of the center console and the build quality of the arm rest.
Overall the SO and i found it the most beautiful SUV on the outside. The build quality on the inside is not on the level of the German cars but certainly not bad. Seats were very good.
When we drove back after the test drive we were certain that the FP is better looking in and out as the X3, but the ride quality was not noticeably better.