| Product: |
XJ Sovereign |
| Date: |
01/06/01 (337 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Looks nice
Disadvantages: Expensive parts, Bad alloys
Last summer, my father bought a K reg XJ40, and I feel that it was a mistake for a number of reasons.
The car is beautiful, and a pleasure to drive, with beautifully crafted walnut interior and that luxurious leather feel. There is plenty of space in the back for the little (and a lot bigger) people. And going on holiday to Italy in it was a dream, the air conditioning is superb, fast, and can be very cold.
Fuel consumption isn't too hot, especially if you put it on "sport" setting", but what can you expect from a 4 litre engine? We have found that towing is rather expensive, again, not surprisingly, at about 8-13 mpg. Not a car you want to be driving when theres a fuel crisis.
Unfortunately, this is where the praise ends...
Firstly, Jaguar engines (post Ford i.e. after G reg) are meant to be good for at least 300,000 miles. Ours had done 108,000 when I we to spend nearly four thousand pounds overhauling it due to an oil pressure problem. This lead to several other problems, as the air conditioning subsequently packed in. Now it doesn't work, and the car is swealtering inside when it's on "as cold as possible". I must stress that this is not a problem with Jaguar, as it's the garage's fault, but it highlights one problem with running a Jag. Unforseen expenditure is a hazard, and this air conditioning problem will cost at least a grand to fix. When people hear the word "Jaguar", they take the average Ford price for a part, and treble it.
We use the car to tow the caravan, and unsurprisingly, with such a heavy load, and a car which is, quite frankly, not designed to tow (the rear axle is far too far away from the towbar), one side of the rear suspension gave up on us, leaving a clunking sound, and an 800 quid bill upon our return to the UK. Jaguar, can reinforce the rear suspension for towing, but again, at a cost.
Many Jaguar owners have experienced another &q
uot;hidden cost". The alloy wheels blister. More frivolent owners have been known to pay for them to be re-coated every couple of months, and it has to be said that if you don't, they look awful. Other alloys don't do this, and I simply can't understand why Jaguar would make such low quality wheels.
Think very carefully before you go out and buy a XJ series Jag. They are beautiful, but you've been warned. Depreciation in cost will mean that one that cost you 50,000 quid 5 years ago will cost less than a new Mondeo now. Is it really worth it for a car in which you can see where the badge on the steering wheel's been stuck over the hole for a Ford badge?
Think about it.
Summary:
|
Last comments:
 |
- 25/06/02 Harsh, very harsh! Oil problems are usually caused by neglect or thrashing the thing! On a car like a Jag, you must maintain it properly and to the schedule. You cannot skimp on it as you could with a VW or similar. They are sensitive beasts. The money you spent rectifying the oil problem sounds frighteningly expensive. I echo the sentiments in previous comments about main dealers. From my experience, older Jags do not make for reliable workhorses tugging caravans across Europe - the shame, the ignomy, how undignified! - get a Volvo for this. They are there to be pampered, admired and yes posed in. |
 |
- 19/06/01 Some fair points. I too owned an older XJ40 model Sovereign (albeit the 3.2 litre version), and it gave me many a happy hour. You are right about the wheels - they do tend to blister a little, but it doesn't detract too much from the overall appearance - certainly no worse than other cars of a similar age with high mileage. Curiously though, mine also developed a nasty problem at about 100,000 miles - a head gasket failure which left a nasty hole in my wallet! Still, it was rectified and ran sweetly until I parted company with it. Other than that, it behaved itself admirably, and although the previous owner had put a towbar on it, I didn't use it, but it didn't seem any the worse for any previous wear. I chucked it around a bit, and the suspension gave me no problems at all - its a bit soft, but what do you expect - its effectively a limo at the end of the day! In fact I liked the XJ series so much, I bought another one - the appeal is more than enough to offset the problems, in my mind. Maybe I'm just too English to moan about things like that... |
 |
- 15/06/01 Anybody who buys a Jaguar dosent do it for fuel economy, towing caravans and cant expect it to run for the price of an economy car. |
View all
4
comments
|
Deutschland 
España 
Italia 
France - 
