By EWAN KENNEDY
20 February 2006

The XJ Jaguar is an upmarket grand touring saloon from Britain. These are wonderful cars to ride in, with the sort of traditional leather-and-wood cabin finish of which only the British have a true understanding. The interior really is like a high-speed English gentlemen’s club on wheels.

Graceful styling has long been the number one reason for the popularity of Jaguars, yet, forgetting its roots, in 1986 the British company made a huge blunder in designing a Jaguar with what it thought was an American appearance. That was done to try and please the American market, somewhere Jaguars had always been popular. Trouble was that the Americans actually liked the car because it looked British…

Jaguar lost sales and went bankrupt. It was taken over by Ford in the USA. Fortunately, the new owners seemed to have a much better understanding of English tradition than the confused Jaguar hierarchy and the next XJ model, which was launched in Australia in November 1994, was a vast improvement in appearance.

The following model was criticised for looking too much like its predecessor when it was launched in Australia in July 2003. But the detractors didn’t really understand what the shape was all about and Jag enthusiasts embraced the shape. In any case, the big news in the ’03 car was the use of lightweight aluminium throughout the body. Less weight equals more performance and the new car was a delight to drive both in acceleration and its chassis dynamics.

A drawback in these big Jaguars, particularly the older ones, is the lack of interior space in the standard-wheelbase car. This is at its worst in the back seat, but even the front seats can prove cramped for foot-space for some occupants. The long-wheelbase variants (look for an ‘L’ in the title) are much better for rear legroom, but can still be tight in headroom for taller occupants.

The number in the title refers to the number of engine cylinders; thus XJ6 has six of them and XJ8 is a V8.

Straight-six engines have capacities of 3.2, 3.6, 4.0 and 4.2 litres, with the 3.2 and 4.0 being more modern, and more desirable, units if you can find the extra cash. These are all silky smooth engines which sound and look just as well as they go. You may also consider a 5.3-litre or 6.0-litre V12, but will find they don’t have a lot more performance than the big sixes but do have a huge thirst.

The traditional Jaguar ‘XJ6’ tag was revived in March 2004 with the return of V6 (not straight-six) engines. These smaller engines were made possible by the light aluminium body and provide more than enough power for many owners. Try for yourself though, as keen drivers may find them marginal.

Jaguar V8 engines, in sizes of 3.2 and 4.0 litres replaced the old straight sixes late in 1997. In 2003, with the all-new body, these engines were upped in size to 3.5 and 4.2 litres, at the same time they received major design changes almost making them all-new units. Best of all for the upmarket revheads are the supercharged versions of the 4.0- and 4.2-litre V8s.

Reliability has long been a weak point in Jaguars, though the Ford influence began to show through in the early 1990s and from 1994 there were major improvements.

Servicing, spare parts and insurance charges are high so don't fall for the trap of putting all your money into buying the car and then finding yourself unable to keep it in the manner in which it needs to be accustomed.

As with all cars in this luxury class it’s smart to buy one with a full service record. These may be more expensive but it’s almost invariably worth it in the long run, especially if you keep the official service up during your period of ownership.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Make sure the engine starts easily and idles smoothly and quietly at all times. On your test drive be sure it doesn’t hesitate and there are no smoke fumes from the exhaust.

Check that the brake fluid has been changed on schedule on older Jags. Not doing so can lead to expensive troubles.

Also on older cars check that all electrical items are working properly. Beware of problems that are intermittent as these can be frustratingly hard to track down.

Watch out for an automatic transmission that’s slow to go into gear and/or which hunts from gear to gear unnecessarily. Hill climbing usually brings out this fault.

Jaguars used galvanised steel body panels, until mid 2003 and aluminium from then, the latter being used to cut weight and improve performance. The galvanised steel variants should be rust free unless they have been incorrectly repaired after a crash.

Damaged aluminium panels may have to be repaired by a specialist so be sure to have even the smallest dents looked over.

CAR BUYING TIP
Be sure to get a quote on all items that need repairing even if they appear to be trivial in nature.

© Copyright Marque Publishing Company