The Jaguar XF was meant to be a clean sheet car for Jaguar – a reboot of the brand, to use filmmaker parlance. With that in mind, Jaguar was planning on ditching the 'Leaper' hood ornament altogether. But old habits die hard, as I observed in my local shopping mall today. Presumably, too many people said to Jaguar "But it's supposed to have a leaper on the hood." They made their bed, and now they can lie in it. It looks horrible and out of place on the XF, which is a sleek and modern car. While cars themselves and many components tend to be phallic, this is just a little too far. Even if the XF's front end is a little bland, you don't want people to immediately know it's a Jag if it's going to look silly like this. But what's most important here is the lesson in listening to customers. Sometimes, manufacturers and dealers need to just say no.
44 Comments on “Optional Jaguar XF Hood Ornament Looks Horrid...”
Latest Car Reviews view all
Latest Product Reviews view all
Recent Comments
- RedRocket: Thanks for the laugh. Voice recognition is the most worthless thing ever introduced to the modern software...
- Art Vandelay: Additionally, the AT itself was IBM’s second gen home PC, following the XT. Prior to that you had...
- Art Vandelay: If you do so much as disturb the dirt in the dried out portions of the Salton Sea doesn’t a toxic...
- eggsalad: I’m glad that a very limited number of people had the combination of wealth and bad taste it took to...
- RHD: The one trick pony just has to keep repeating the same trick. EVs are improving every year (every month,...
Car Reviews By Make view all
New Car Research
Who We Are
- Tim Healey
Managing Editor - Matt Posky
News and Social Media Contributor - Timothy Cain
Sales Analyst - Murilee Martin
Junkyard Finds Author - Matthew Guy
Contributor - Chris Tonn
Contributor
- Adam Tonge
- Bozi Tatarevic
- Corey Lewis
- Jo Borras
- Mark Baruth
- Ronnie Schreiber
Oh my goodness! That’s like putting a moustache on the Mona Lisa!
Or a diesel engine in a Ferrari……
Oh well as Steve Coogan’s comedy character “Paul Calf” said:
“Style is like the clap, you’ve either got it or you haven’t……and I’ve got it!”
Eek, a penis!
That makes me want to cry. There’s already a growling jaguar face on the grille, and this photo has a jaguar on the license plate, too. So three Jaguar icons in the space of about 18 inches on the front of what is otherwise a gorgeous car. Nice.
From what I understand, this is not a manufacturer-approved move – this is an aftermarket fit by either a dealer or a customer. Either way, it is horrible and just goes to show that you can go to the trouble of building the most classy vehicle in the segment, but you can’t account for customers with no taste buying the darned things!
Looks like the J.C. Whitney Special edition. Will the optional cloth Carriage roof be offered in more than one color?
The grille should have been a black opening with silver vertical bars, with the jag behind it. But that might have pissed off the animal rights people or something.
You’ve got snot on your nose.
Next thing you know it will have a canvas roof cover.
And a very small penis, at that….
Talking about the XF, I’ve seen a few of the road, and while they look pretty good, they’re also twins of the Lexus GS and Infiniti M, in particular in profile.
Now, those are good cars, but it makes the XF look too generic, and the bland front does not help. Only the rear is striking, and that’s because it looks like an Aston Martin.
If that Jag got in a head-on with a previous gen Subaru Tribeca, you could make a porno…
I’m with AKM we have rolling around town I see all the time and if I wasn’t a pistonhead the car would be invisble to me. There is no striking Jaguar style in it. The penis in the front doesn’t help it either.
Flying penis?
Remember, Mercedes is also VERY guilty of over-badging their cars. Although Jag is guilty here too, nothing can be as bad as Merc’s HUGE insignia on the grill, right underneath a hood ornament.
Teacher
At least the “sport” models have the big grille badge and a FLUSH hood ornament. Can you imagine if they did the upright ornament in tandem? (or maybe they do…)
Maybe it’s a Ford PAG thing — my Volvo S60R says “R” in 17 places, including wheels, brake calipers, instruments, door sills, …
Remember those fake leather straps that used to adorn some 70s t-birds and others? Throw those on.
I wouldn’t say phallic. Well, not phallic in a big good way. The XF’s Leaper looks like a wart.
It also looks like, well, every Honda Civic or VW Golf that someone’s glued a stolen Leaper onto.
This must be some kind of joke. Like a prank or something. Good heavens, that has to be the most tasteless application of an entirely brand-appropriate feature I’ve ever seen. The XF is a gorgeous car, I think it blows away everything else in it’s class in terms of looks, but golly gee, stick a wing-wang on the hood and it looks comically ugly. Man, I can’t get over how stupid that looks!
Lets all thank god that it is only an option.
Two days ago I saw the DIY stick-on cowl vents on a vehicle (nothing unusual), but they were placed ALONG THE DRIVER’S DOOR.
Now I’ve seen everything. This is really not that bad.
Let’s just hope its a dealer add-on. Look at how far back it sits on the hood just so you can see it from behind the wheel!
Stick-on, fake Buick portholes and Cadillac tailfins were the rage in the JC Whitney catalogs of the early ’50’s, along with blue lens dots to stick onto tail lights so they looked purple when lit. Commonly applied to lowered Fords and Mercurys. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
@ TRL
If it were from J.C. Whitney, shouldn’t the eyes glow red or something?
Actually, that would be kind of awesome, just not on this car. Oh, and a tiny sensor that gave a growl every time someone walked in front of it.
I really hope these leapers don’t become a custom fad like portholes are.
As for the XF….clean looks spoilt by a flying penis. What’s next? A katana blades for a grille on Lexuses?
Kind of “jumps out at you”, doesn’t it?
It’s hideous, of course, but hopefully you guys know that it’s just some tacky dealer that installed it. You can’t get it from Jaguar like that. Jeez.
The same guy who would do this to a Jag (and even put a license plate on that beautiful face if it’s not legally required) would also put chrome door-edge guards on it. Terrible automotive taste.
what’s really bad about this car is not the hood ornament but the Pokemon eyes and mouth
I wonder if this car pulls towards all the B9 Tribecas in the oncoming lane…
It looks like the Jaguar is jumping off a cliff, somehow that just seems appropriate.
I once saw an XK8 with a leaping hood ornament… talk about fugly…!
The car itself is a woeful misstep as an expression of the Jaguar brand, but it is a misstep in a forward direction. The leaper is a jarring disintegration of design theme in this case, signaling that the misstep having been taken is recognized by its originator as an error. The design dissonance renders that not a cat, but a wart.
Phil
this reminds of how many many first-generation CTS’s were seen with aftermarket Landau roofs after they first came out. It’s like, you guys are missing the point, that looks like butt.
I looked at some other pics of the car and couldn’t find the ornament, but neither could they……..
http://www.autounleashed.com/images/jaguar_xf_charity.jpg
Leaper aside, this is the worst looking Jaguar front end since the rectangular headlight era.
I’m with AKM. The XF is not an ugly car, but it’s utterly anonymous. It could be a Lexus, it could be an Infiniti. If you squared off the grille opening and changed the badge, it could be a Volvo. Hell, it could be a Buick — a reasonably classy Buick, as such things go, but a Buick nonetheless.
The reviewers who babbled about Jaguar’s “bold new design language” make me wonder what kind of refreshments Jag was handing out at the press junkets. This is pretty much “large sedan, generic.”
It’s made out of 100% galvanized steel. That way it’s strong enough for you to hold onto while you’re throwing up out of disgust. :) I saw one the other day and it really did look weird. I thought some die-hard Jag fan put it on their car after-market. Had no idea they were *selling* them like that. Otherwise it’s a pretty car.
That’s not a Jaguar, that’s a Narwhal. Get it right people. JEEZ.
Hey, it could have been worse.
“Knowledge is Good.”
2 of you lucky ducks could add a big kitty to your Pontiac. Ive got 2 I harvested from my brief and miserable foray into XJ6 hell. They looked good on the XJ 6 but silly on that thing.
KatiePuckrik said:
Oh my goodness! That’s like putting a moustache on the Mona Lisa!
It’s… it’s like making a hybrid Escalade!
oh… ummm…
Needs to be bigger.
Feel free to post your Freudian analysis.
To expand on seoultrain‘s post:
“Eek! A small penis!”
I’ve seen the leaping jag on the hood of maybe 1/3 of the XFs roaming the streets. I’m pretty sure Jaguar of Great Neck is the guilty party.
argentla said:
I’m with AKM. The XF is not an ugly car, but it’s utterly anonymous. It could be a Lexus, it could be an Infiniti.
Are you kidding? No way can this be a Lexus or an Infinity.
Some Lexus and Infinity models may be bland, but still sleek. This thing is just ugly and can only come from the big 3. The Ford lineage is so obvious.
They never cease to amaze me. This time they made a impossibly ugly car even uglier.