Only one I've done many miles in was a Cavalier. Sport mode made it change down earlier on part throttle, and not use the overdrive 4th. On full throttle it would redline in 1st and 2nd regardless of the setting.
Andy
The wife's Corsa has a Sports mode, but the button is right on top of the selector and she just couldn't get it into Drive without engaging Sport at the same time. So I pulled the lead off under the housing and no more trouble.
Stupid design - like most of the rest of the hateful car.
TNP's Jag will be the same. When you slam the throttle to the floor you want maximum performance - regardless of any other setting. Always has been the case with autos.
IME maximum power's rarely at the red line - why doesn't the box simply keep it within the maximum power band?
Rob
It was not on that one.
Its a bit different in a jag wit 400 odd BHP on tap.
One day with a head cold I literally had to pull over till I stopped feeling dizzy after a full power take off from a slip road.
In 'granny' mode it would change up about 3000 IIRC.In sport mode with the pedal to the metal, it would go exactly to the orange and then change.
It was also reluctant to kickdown unless you completely floored it in 'granny' mode. It would do it, but only at full throttle. Whereas it would cheerfully change down at half throttle in sport mode if situations demanded it. The actual gear change was also less smooth and apparently, more fuel efficiet in sport mode.
Remember one of the reasons to have a huge engine in a jag is so that it seems effortless and luxurious for naive users, as it were. There is bags of power and a lot of it goes into providing a nice user experience, not raw performance.
On a good engine, maximum power is nearly always at or slightly below the red line, and the reason to go to it is so that the shift up doesn't take you too low down the power curve.
With a supercharged engine, you dont get a lot of fall off in torque as revs rise.
You seem to be confusing kickdown and part throttle downshift etc.
The ZF box fitted to that car over-rides any other settings when you floor the throttle. If that's not happening it is faulty.
On most modern engines the max power is only slightly below the 'red line' And the auto should be set up to change at the best possible engine speed. It's also well nigh impossible to get an accurate reading from the rev counter anyway in the low gears on a powerful car - it is changing so rapidly.
Ah - a *good* engine, maybe I've led a sheltered life :-)
The last few cars I've had have been turbo, and at least so far as I could tell, red lining was pretty pointless save for any fun factor.
Yes, had one of those a few years ago, really liked it, not so good for fuel consumption though.
Rob
If a turbo diesel, quite likely. But then a well designed auto setup would take this into account. Most do these days - some earlier diesel autos were a disaster. London black cabs being a common example.
Sorry, it simply did not go to redline in any state of the throttle except in sport mode.
There was a LOT of software hung round that box.
Yes, it would kickdown if floored, but it wouldn't hold the gear or kickdown far enough to redline.
Even with the throttle floored, the box has to decide when to change up or you will blows the engine. All I am saying is that decision came earlier in 'granny' mode.
I drove the bloody thing for 3 years, I should know!
And an XJR on loan, and a XK8 for two..all the same..
Don't you think that the FIRST thing you do (once out of sight of the dealer) when you get a test drive, is put the pedal to the metal and see what happens? In both gearbox settings? :-)
Not once it gets over a hundred in second gear. It takes a few seconds more in third..and at 140mph its really quite long in 4th..
Nope, and the more expensive th brakes and tyres, the quicker they rust/wear out.
Not a car for anyone who hasn't got more money than they know what to do with, or an expense account.
But huge fun for a while.
fords turbo diesel that I experienced in a hired Mondeo was total crap. Nothing below 2000 and not much over 3500.
The turbodiesel Freelander we now have with auto, is very like the Jag tho, in tat in granny mode its effing slow and wont kickdown till you floor it and wont stay in low gear even if you do, but like the jag, in sport mode it goes 'up to 11' and then changes up.. Overtaken jags in it. ;-)
That's a BMW 2 liter turbodiesel tho, which is actually a bloody decent powerplant.
its also got manual override in sport mode, and that is fun because its not actually as manual as it seems.
You might leave it in 4th, then stop, forget, take off in second (it will automatically DOWNSHIFT once you stop) and it stays there, refusing to go any faster with the bloody needle on the redline. Bloody software.
TBH unless its a motorway, I can pedal it along just as fast as the Jag.
And its good enough to overtake in as well.
I'm glad it wasn't just me, then. I'm never buying a Ford again - dreadful things.
I rather liked my Sierra Cosworth.
Yup. Amazing turbo diesel engine. Never been bettered.
Skippy said "I'm never buying a Ford again" not "I'm never buying a Ford diesel again". And I was being a tiny bit facetious. Besides the TdV6 in the Disco is a fine engine. OK, it's Ford credentials are a tad tenuous, but it's a nice engine all the same.
Current Ford has done over 200,000 miles and has been solid throughout. Engine and gearbox are excellent and particularly well matched.
I know people who complain that Fords are junk who drive Mazdas.
I just wouldn't want another Ford full stop.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.