A Gentleman's answer to questions of performance (Jaguar XJR)

Member Name: JohnNessworthy

Product:	Jaguar XJR
Date:	25/07/02 (3013 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Speed & speed, Luxury & speed, Quietness & speed

Disadvantages: Fuel economy & insurance, Depreciation high, expensive to maintain

Stop press!
My XJR is being sold. The below review was written after I had owned it for less than a year. Now - 2 years on and £5000 in repairs later, I've changed my mind.
It's still a lovely car - but very expensive to run.
I've had to replace the gearbox which broke up at 70K miles - a common problem I'm told due to the box not handling the torque from the engine very well. Cost for recon box was £3500.
I've had to have the timing chain tensioners replaced at 60K miles - £1200
I've had to have the timing chains and tensioners replaced again at 80K miles - £1900
I've had suspension problems - £1000
Tyres are £1000 for a set of 4 and they last about 10,000 miles.
Depreciation is savage.
Fuel consumption is worse than I thought - on short trips to station about 13mpg. On long trips about 19mpg. Average driving about 16-17mpg.
Insurance costs are sky high.
When I get rid of this car next week, the total cost of ownership over 2 years will be almost 25,000 which I think is excessive.
Bear that cost in mind....

Oh - what am I buying? BMW 530d diesel...

---snip----

The V8 XJR is the best car I have ever owned.
When choosing it I looked at the obvious german contenders from BMW and Merc and I chose the Jag because:
a) it was a lot cheaper than an M5
b) The interior is very nice - much nicer than the Mercedes E55 AMG.
c) It looked "different" compared to the BMW which looks a lot like the other BMWs on the road and there are hundreds.

The test drive confirmed it. It's extremely quiet and a joy to drive. THe ride is very nice and smooth but at the same time the steering is very direct and it handles a lot better than I thought it would. It's not a floaty barge at all. The engine is fantastic. Instant response from the 370bhp 4 litre V8 and then you ride on a wave of torque. It really is a quick car on the 'A' roads an
d motorway. When driving on twisty country roads though, you do feel like you're driving a big car.

I read lots of reviews and they mentioned the interior being "cramped". It IS smaller inside than a 7 series but not by much. It's fine for 4 adults but I wouldn't use it for 5 adults for a long journey.

Fuel consumption is the bad thing. I usually get about 19mpg on regular commuting in mixed traffic. I've been doing about 230 miles in between fill ups.

The car is also quite long. It doesn't really fit all that well into an average sized parking space. I would recommend getting one with parking sensors because you can't see the boot going backwards.

Inside you get a nice connolly leather interior and lots of walnut. The seats move about electrically, even the headrests, and my car has a memory for the steering column, mirrors & seat which is a good idea. Powerfold mirrors are an option too as are electrochromic dipping exterior & interior mirrors which are worth having. The interior really is much nicer than a lot of german cars and makes you feel special.

Noise levels are low and you
don't get much wind noise, at least until you go about 110mph or so. Top speed is limited to 155mph and the acceleration is pretty constant all the way from about 60 to 155mph it just pulls away strongly.

To give you an idea I absolutely crushed a BMW 540 on the dual carriageway this morning. This is one hell of a car. Buy one and you won't regret it.

Summary: