Seasons greetings to the club forum. I'm a new member thinking about buying a good used XJ. I'm currently driving a 2003 BMW E39 525i SE Saloon auto, a lovely low mileage mint condition example. I love the car but the harsh ride is spoiling my enjoyment of it.
I am retired now and my boy racer days are long gone, all I want is a nice super quiet, smooth comfortable ride. I did my time at a BL garage back in the 70's then moved on to a Jaguar dealership working on the XJ range for some 5 yrs. The build quality back then was really quite awful but I do have fond memories of the lovely quiet & comfy wafty ride the XJ range offered. Having returned from 25 yrs overseas nearly 3 yrs ago, I am completely out of touch with the Jaguar XJ range but reading up and watching YouTube tests and reviews on the XJ I think it may be the car for me. I'm looking at the X350 cars but have picked up on negative comments about the air suspension being harsh at low speeds, even Clarkson commented on it in a old Top Gear test suggesting it "Had to Go"
I recently read an old march 2019 issue of Classic Car Buyer that did a XJ40 v Lexus LS400 comparison test. I quote. " Lexus openly admitted that it had benchmarked the XJ40 for ride quality while developing the LS, if you drive the two back-to-back, it's close but no cigar. The LS400 is an extremely comfortable car but the XJ40 is a wonderful one, who's ride quality wouldn't be bettered until the 2002 X350 XJ came along"
I'm certainly looking at the XJ40, also the X300 and X350 V6 and V8 cars, (no diesels) I would be most grateful for some advice from members on which model to go for for the ultimate in a quiet, smooth comfortable ride at low speeds on normal roads ? I appreciate that this can be quite subjective but I am hoping there is a car that really stands out with a general consensus as the one to go for.
The later XF and XE have not been ruled out.
Thanks. Busterbvi.