G'Day Tom.
I'd like to, but nobody makes clear reflectors. I could paint them black, but I'm undecided on how that would look. Clear repeaters and orange reflectors would look positively stupid, and I have a sneaky feeling that black painted reflectors will look like an afterthought (because the join onto the bumper inserts will still be there).
I'm sitting on this one for the time being, and not rushing in. It definately wont be having a mix of orange and clear though.
Incidently, the repeaters are the same as the Cougar ones, so if anyone has a set of crystal clear ones then hand'em over
I fancy the S-Type R spoiler. I have actually been looking at the Sport Collection bodykit but it's rather expensive once you've bought the proper Jaguar mesh grille inserts etc to go with it. That said, it's an OEM bodykit and the mesh grille inserts actually clip onto the bumper properly, rather than using halfords mesh held on with tie-wraps which doesn't look great up close
I'm experimenting with tyre pressures just now. Jaguar set them all to 31psi which gives a near silent ride and feels as harsh over potholes as a hovercraft - but the fuel consumption is fairly poor. Last night I set them to 38psi which is a little better but the ride is a little noisier and harsher. Noiser and harsher are relative I suppose - it's still better than the X-Type which was better than the Cougar, but I'm not happy. I'm going to try 34psi tonight and see if I can get a compromise.
The basic fuel consumption problem is leadfootedness. The Jaguared 3.0 engine is fantastic and the ZF auto compliments it incredibly well. It's so easy to 'take it easy' in this car whilst still actually accelerating pretty bl**dy quick compared to everyone else and the petrol used doing so is quite high to match. Just using 1/3 throttle to accelerate does not equate to economical driving - it still leaves the average 1.6 hatchback behind.
Oddly enough it's a lot faster on backroads than the X-Type was despite it's extra size - or at least, both Gill and I comfortably drive it faster. That stings though... 20mpg average.
I think the V8 and STR would be quite a machine... The 3.0 doesn't sound fast on paper and in reality isn't any faster to 60 than a ham sandwich but combined with that gearbox it's best described as effortless
Very happy with it!