1st Jag

[richdraper]

Afternoon all, 

A co-workers Jag came up for sale back in September and I took it off his hands for a reasonable sum. I've been eyeing up a new shape XJ for a while but cant quite stretch to one just yet, and whilst i did toy with grabbing a V8 S-Type i ended up with a tidy little V6 X-Type.

I've spent 11 years in Fiats and Alfas, i still have an Alfa on the drive (although strictly speaking it's the wifes, I'm still its resident mechanic ). Father inlaw used to be on Jags payroll so maybe that's where the fascination started, i don't know, maybe its just because i don't like German marques, maybe its because Fiat group no longer do anything that interests me... whichever it is... unfortunately you guys will have to put up with me for the foreseeable.

Here's some obligatory pics of the ol' girl... https://photos.app.goo.gl/qiUV9cJhtVYom9br2

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the club, Rich.

I had a V6 x type AWD.  Surefooted and reasonably economical.. A couple of scroats borrowed it and forgot to return it possibly because they got 8 years in one of HM's establishments.

Having also read you other post, I think you can get both the Owner's manual and the Engineering service manual on the internet.

Regards,

Peter.

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi Rich and Welcome

Same here, had many Fiat's and Alfa's, many Uno Turbo's, Coupe's 20v Turbo's, all ways loved the 2.0VT engine, superb piece of kit and many Alfa's, Sud Sprints, Alfa 90's, GTV6's, Alfa 75's 3.0l cloverleafs and 1.8 Turbo's

I got the STR, because I wanted something a bit more refined, rather than just raw power, still got a mitsubishi as well

I like the X-type's, as long as you find a good solid one, you get a lot of car for your money,

cheers

Joe

[Guest]

Welcome Rich,

Always good to hear from a new member. Jaguar's get into the blood extremely quickly but it's a better addiction than any other. The only thing you have to be careful of is the Jaguar Grin - which you'll hear more about from others no doubt - you just have to wipe it off before the wife begins to ask questions.

BTW - There's a growing and scandalous conspiracy theory that Jaguar have been putting something in the air-con that induces both the grin and undying loyalty to the marque. Don't believe the mongers of that story - it all comes from hypnotic sound waves from the block under the bonnet and echoes from the exhaust.

Enjoy, and keep us in the loop on your adventures with the X Type.

Cheers,

Steve

[richdraper]

3 hours ago, Old Peter said:

...I had a V6 x type AWD.  Surefooted and reasonably economical.. A couple of scroats borrowed it and forgot to return it possibly because they got 8 years in one of HM's establishments...

reasonably economical, i suppose i can agree with that, I've some how managed 26mpg on the dash since owning... was expecting 30s but it also has a small tank which compounds the feeling its thirsty even more. Also sorry for your loss. :(  

2 hours ago, JOE-DOT-COM said:

Same here, had many Fiat's and Alfa's.

ive had 3 Cinquecentos, all black, all sportings, all either written off (not by me) or uneconomical to repair... a Seicento, sporting... which managed to turn itself upside down... then had a break got into a Gen6 Celica GT went and bought a Stilo when the Celica was costing too much in fuel... wife bought a Coupe 20v which i still have in the garage, still completely orignal chassis and suspension wise, the body work has seen better days though :'( now has the 159 as mentioned in signature, and really likes it, even if it does share a lot of its electrics with a Stilo. 

1 hour ago, cubist said:

Always good to hear from a new member. Jaguar's get into the blood extremely quickly but it's a better addiction than any other. The only thing you have to be careful of is the Jaguar Grin - which you'll hear more about from others no doubt....

Enjoy, and keep us in the loop on your adventures with the X Type.

figured it was better to have a car addiction than a drug addiction... think i may have got the jag grin you mention when wife and kids aren't in the car... more the sound of the V6 than anything else though.

[richdraper]

13 hours ago, R2e said:

I've never been able to drive myself (sic) to own a Fiat,  my memories of the rust inflicted Fiats of the 60's, 70's and 80's (Fiat Panda anyone) made sure of that! ...

Do consider the V8 S Type when you come to replace her, it really is a fabulous car!

they're definately an aquired taste... when they galvo dipped the bodies it was a game-changer for the lancia group, much earlier than the 90's and i sadly have to agree with you #rustinpieces. i had 1 cinq that was a rot box but it spent its life on the coast... the rest were written off or sold before the cancer could take hold (not that there was any sign of it anyway, if im honest). they have a certain grin factor... the little ones were just like driving a go kart everywhere. and you had to work them to make them keep up with traffic, but so. much. fun! the 20v Coupe was/is my favourite, the 5cyl has a certain 'symphony' to it, again its a car you had to actually drive to go quick loads of grins.

 

i considered the S-Type again and again, but the draw of the 2010-2014 XJL 5.0 Supercharged V8 was just too much. Ill be looking to upgrade in 5 or so years, by which time ill have a 15 and a 7 year old, makes sense, to me, to get a nice big car, with PLENTY of legroom, and also a little bit of power for the phogey driving it. I toyed with notion of a German boat in the shape of a LWB V12 '7' or the W12 A8L, but the XJ just has 'something' that appeals to me a little more. possibly the kitty on the front, possibly the fact that the motor still has a lot of power left to release, either way, regardless of reason, thats ultimately where i want to be.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, R2e said:

my memories of the rust inflicted Fiats of the 60's, 70's and 80's (Fiat Panda anyone)

As you guys may remember the Fiat Panda was the staple hire car for tourists in the Spanish, Greek and of course many of the Italian holiday resorts. Anyway, being one of those people that finds it hard to sit still for long, hiring one of these....I'm struggling to find suitable words to describe the vehicle without using adjectives that will get me thrown out of the club.... to see the sights. Whilst the sights seen were memorable for a host of positive reasons more than a few of the journeys to or from them resulted in strong desires for bouts of selective amnesia. To list a few: -

1. Pulling the gear lever out of the floor while trying to select reverse to get out of the Hire Car parking area.
2. Having the passenger door pop open whilst navigating a very narrow road along the face of a very high cliff on Tenerife giving my wife a case of the screaming abdabs.
3. Trying to maintain a straight line of travel in fairly mild side winds and in the face of on-coming homicidal Spanish truck drivers on Lanzarote.

And others. Of course there has to be one positive story though - but only one; I once made the mistake of believing a map whilst holidaying on Kefalonia and after a mile or two found myself on a Goat track, its the only fitting description, heading up the side of an extinct (I think) volcano. To my never ending surprise the damn Panda made it the top despite giving me the holy terrors every foot of the way and particularly when it was trying stall when first gear was needed to negotiate some lump or other. Frankly I would have chickened out had there been any way I could turn the car around without turning it over.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, richdraper said:

I toyed with notion of a German boat in the shape of a LWB V12 '7' or the W12 A8L, but the XJ just has 'something' that appeals to me a little more

Glad to hear it and from personal experience can promise you that you have not made a mistake in choosing the XJ over the other candidates.

When I finally decided it was the end of the road for my first S Type I did of course want to stick with Jaguar but: -

• The XF never really appealed to me - more because it had displaced the S Type in the range and for which there was no forgiveness!
• Whilst the XK was deeply attractive the salesman who accompanied me on the test drive made the mistake of guiding me into a slot in front of the plate glass windows of the showroom and as I was getting out I caught sight of my reflection and decided it was too late for that fantasy.
• The new XJ had just been launched and, even though it reflected the lines of the XF, I was quite drawn to it until the sales manager ticked me off by refusing to discuss prices and what kind of trade in value I could expect for Bess.

So off I went to peruse what the Germans were offering.

Long story short (new one for me). The Beamer 7, although excellent from an engineering perspective struck me as soulless and rather antiseptic when I was behind the wheel. Yes it was comfortable and it had all the toys but, to my senses, did not seem to give me a 'feel' for the road and the servicing costs were enough to make any bank manager sweat.

The Audi 8 however, was something else. Just as comfortable as the Beamer, just as poised and, I felt, rather discrete in appearance. More toys than you could ever really want, or use for that matter, and the test drive confirmed that I could feel the road and enjoy the experience. So I bought one and am now on my second. Sensibly I went for the 3.0TDI but when an electronic fault developed that seemed to stump my local dealer I was given a S8 as a courtesy car. Genuinely magnificent from almost every point of view but one; the fuel level needle accelerated toward empty faster than the car.

That said they are both beautiful cars and great to drive BUT - they aint got soul like the Jaguar do!

[richdraper]

if were talking about the new range, the XE... to small. the XF... well, i initially was going to seriously consider it, until i sat in the back of one and realised there's not actually much more room the 10 year old 159 i have sat on the drive. my only niggle with the 159... its incredibly uncomfortable for me to drive with the smallest persons car seat behind the drivers seat (for convenience and safety reasons) because i just cant get the seat far enough back. If i drive it solo to work its a beautiful car, damn it, almost perfect. i love the interior, love its presence, love its feedback and whole driving experience, yeah it could do with a couple more toys and bigger/better cup holders... but its an alfa, they're beautifully styled but not very 'practical' (i know most if not everyone will agree but im a big italian fan, and cant stand VAGs).

The XK isnt an option, having a family and all so im left with the XJ... if id have found the right V8 XJ (X350/X358) before the X-Type id probably have bitten.

 

this next bit may offend, I'm sorry, its nothing personal...

My only problem with this whole 'earlier generation' of jags is the styling, they're a little aged. yes i know they were aiming to keep the 'heritage' going and i understand their reasons for it but the new stuff is the facelift, i personally think, jag so desperately needed. Thats not to say i wouldnt own anything from the early/mid 2000s because given the right trim package and options lists theres a handfull about. Personally if this X i have, had anything but the dash trim & engine it does, the deal would have been off before it was even on. Having said that, for me, the S-types are timeless in black with the projector headlights the 'Sport' body kit and the grey diamond dash trim, im not a fan of the large grille on the S but given the right attention they become more muted and acceptable for me. 

 

don't misconstrue this as my behaviour on the roads but you'll learn as my time here matures, that i love to keep my cars as close to factory as possible, but im also a MASSIVE fan of 'sleepers'. whilst i could quite happily own and daily drive things like skylines and 'hot hatches' they attract the 'wrong' kind of attention, they goad you into situations that you simply wouldnt be in if you drove anyhting else. My brother owns a '65  plate Civic Type R and im honestly thinking of taking him to the shrink. he bought it from factory, it cost him in the region of £35k it does 0-60 in 5.7sec, it rattles the marrow in your bones and is a horiffic thing to drive day in, day out. the interior is plasticy the toys arent particularly refined, its buttons feel cheap, the tech is buggy and not very well thought out its a £16k car with a fast engine and some suspension tweaks... the X351 on the otherhand, you can pick up for circa£35k it does 0-60 in 4.6Sec (if you get the 542BHP option) and it does it all whilst massaging your shoulders and envolping you in luxury, the interior is beautiful, the buttons have 'feel' to them, the toys are plentyful and its just a better place to be... its a £100k+ car for a 3rd of the price.

I'm yet to persuede Coventrys Guy Salmon branch to let me have a spin in one but fear it will be frowned upon because i'm literally gonna be joy riding it. im in no position to buy one either new or Approved Used from them and they damn well know it when i turn in with my 54 plate X-type.