My beloved '07 XJR is getting a bit long in the tooth. Should I consider an X351 XJR?

- My preference is a short wheelbase sedan. Most of the later (2014+) examples I've found online seem to be long wheelbase ("L"). Were short wheelbase offered in USA?

- Is there a sweet spot in model years where timing chain and other problems are mostly resolved?

- Lots of 470HP supercharged XJ's (though mostly "L"). Are these close to XJR in handling, etc?

- I'd like adaptive cruise control. Were all these X351's so equipped? (It was an option on my '07)

Thanks!!

 

1, yes 2, dont know , but some one will soon tell you , 3, from 13 -on chains and guides were updated . 4, 470bhp ? start from 510, 550 and 575 . 5, not all come with acc as standard well not in the uk . good hunting you will love it

 

Thanks for this Good Info

USA got a 470 hp sc version of the X351, which is not an XJR. To makes things more confusing yet, we also got the "XJ R", which is a six cylinder car.
Real XJR's seem pretty thin on the ground; particularly short wheelbase versions. It's hard to search for 'em, given the XJ R idiocy.

George05;2659892]1, yes 2, dont know , but some one will soon tell you , 3, from 13 -on chains and guides were updated . 4, 470bhp ? start from 510, 550 and 575 . 5, not all come with acc as standard well not in the uk . good hunting you will love it[/QUOTE]

 

[/QUOTE]

you're thinking of "XJ R-Sport" which no sane person would try to pass off as an XJR
R-Sport is also an upper level trim for X260, XE, and F-Pace, though is technically the base level for MY16+ X351 since its a higher tier car
some newer models also have R-Dynamic which isn't an R either

 

Jaguar branding went pretty sophmoric in the 'teens, it seems.

I've located a couple of '17 XJR's, at ~ $50K asking, but both "L"'s, unfortunately. Contemporary 6 cyl "L"'s can be had for $20K all day long.
Not many XJR's on market?
(The alternative for me will be an Audi S8 - another fairly rare car, but seemingly abundant on market compared to the XJR. The 2017 S8 Plus - a real cruise missile - is about $65K for a nice example.)

 

Thank you, Edmunds:

2017 Jaguar XJ models

The 2017 Jaguar XJ is a sporty full-size luxury sedan that seats up to five and is available in regular XJ and long-wheelbase XJL models. Standard trims consist of the base R-Sport, mid-level Supercharged and high-end XJR. The XJL comes in Portfolio, Supercharged and XJR trims. All models feature supercharged engines and eight-speed automatic transmissions. The R-Sport and Portfolio share a 3.0-liter V6 (340 hp, 332 lb-ft) with the option of all-wheel drive, the Supercharged trims get a 5.0-liter V8 (470 hp, 424 lb-ft) and the XJR models a higher-output V8 (550 hp, 502 lb-ft).

 

I would do some test drives as it is a different car. Just to make sure your OK with the car.
I have a SWB 2014 XJR and have been very pleased so far. Only had 3 repairs at 58K miles.
But I DIY and that saves a huge amount of cost.

They are very rare and I waited and shopped at least a year and a half before I found the one I wanted.
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Compliments!
A SWB XJR is my objective.
I did find a SWB 2018 XJ supercharged 470 HP which might be a contender; I just don't know differences between this and an actual XJR.
Love my old '07 XJR; I came to it after numerous German cars; three M5's; an A8 and S8. Just something about it. Also have a pristine '11 XKR175, and a fun M3 convertible.
Also do all my own maint and repair work, though hoping to buy a really nice X351 which won't require much...

 

Well to be fair even though I have an XJR the XJ SC is really the sweet spot for value in these cars.
The main reason is all the SC 5.0L engines are the same except for the tune. So that 470HP SC car can easily be upped to the 550/575 level with a lower pulley and tune. Also the R has a higher top speed limit but again you can get rid of that with a tune. Mine is currently set to 200 mph. I have only seen 180+ mph so far in racing as I have been limited to 1 mile standing start races. I have dynoed the car and it will exceed 200 mph in 6th gear when on the dyno.

Now there are some differences and I don't know how important they are to you?

XJR gets forged 20" rims. Those are expensive and this makes a big difference! Very few of the factory Jaguar rims are forged. I say that because EVERY other HP car I have had I bent rims. Can't say I was hitting curbs but they all got bent just the same. I have had the XJR for almost 40K miles now and I have hit several what I thought would be rim bending pot holes. Yet they are still perfect. Note also the R gets slightly wider rims and tires compared to the SC.

There are significant programming differences and I don't know the SC model very well. The R has winter and dynamic mode maybe so does the SC? I know the SC gets the real important stuff like SC 5.0L engine, E-Diff, Same big brakes. Note the R does NOT have massaging seats and I find the top end XJR seats to be superior to all the others even without massage. The R has quad tail pipes compared to the lesser models.

You mentioned wanting a SWB which is what I have. But do note that while both the LWB and SWB get the rear power window shade. ONLY the LWB gets the rear side window power blinds. The LWB automatically get rear side window manual blinds at any rate as the power is an extra cost option. Both have the wonderful 8 speed ZF with paddle shifters but man I got to say I just can't out drive that 8 speed! I race and forget about going faster by manually shifting!

One BIG downside is for some reason Jaguar did not put AWD on the XJR? This is puzzling as it's available on the small V-6 engine XJ plus the R version of the F-Type with exactly the same drive train as our XJR's. I don't know what your plans are but I am at about 620HP at the crank with all my mods and the biggest problem is I can spin the tires way to easy. On dry flat pavement at 60 mph I can floor it and get the traction control light blinking. These cars when tuned are beasts in my opinion.

I once read a post from a very experienced car guy and he stated that above 500+ HP to the wheels it's all about traction from then on because power that you can't put to the ground is a waste! My car is pretty much at that point now.

I have attached the 2014 XJR introduction brochure which has a lot of details.




Mine is a late introduction color. It's IRR (Italian Racing Red) and is a Xiralic paint. A bit of trivia here? These type of paints have a unique additive that is only made in one factory in Japan. When Japan got hit with that big earthquake some time ago that plant got damaged or destroyed. So Jaguar had to stop selling any of the Xiralic paints and this delayed the IRR on the XJ until mid 2014 or so.
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Many thanks, Club!
You've answered many of my questions.

Seems the XJR went from being a fairly common X308 and X350 variant to become a vanishingly rare x351 version. And, having studied the x351 factory brochures, it went from being exclusively a short wheelbase car to being a optionally a LWB variant, with the last? XJR575 model years? becoming exclusively LWB? - at least here in the "bigger is better" USA. Sigh...

Good news is that there are a few SWB XJ SC cars out there, assuming I can't find an XJR. Thanks for explaining the key differences.

Funny, the X350 XJR is plagued by an open differential. My '07 (X356; 400HP) wears out the rear brakes in mountain driving due to stone axe traction control trying to tame this. And, my '11 XKR (510HP, with elec diff) is not any better. Not at all. Certainly, anything more than 500HP without AWD is superfluous, as you say.

I looked at the X351 a few years ago, but was a bit appalled by the horror stories of sudden engine death, etc. Plus, didn't seem to attract car enthusiasts; more the white shoe crowd. At this point, appears that the later (2014+)? cars were pretty well sorted, and late V8 versions sorta' desirable, if you can find a SWB example in good nick and adult colors. Downside are all the gold lame' six cylinder cars now inhabiting low rent used car dealer lots. Sort of dilutes the brand...

Interesting; forged wheels. My only experience is with 911 Turbo, and no bends with that. Many bent wheels otherwise, to the point that I avoid I40 and other truck-heavy interstates nowadays.

Beautiful XJR; yours. And, a genuinely rare car, by all evidence.

 

In the UK its completely different , the xjr 575 and 550 only come in swb , most xj x351 here are diesel very few are petrol there are a few early models 2010 that had the 5 ltr non supercharged model both in lwb and swb out put was 385 bhp , after year 15 they changed that to 2 models , first was a 340 bhp supercharged petrol came in both lwb and swb moest akin to the R sport model they also made that again in diesel form , from 14 on they made the 550 bhp xjr it was then updated to the xjr 575 , my car is very scare it is the 5 ltr 510bhp autobiography , my source in jaguar (family ) tell me only 18 were made for the UK market from 15-on . the autobiography model has the works

 

Well some more trivia and urban legend?

Surprised you found the E-diff unsatisfactory? I have to say on my XJR it's an absolute blast! Allows some slip and slide and I LOVE how when I floor it from a stop the back end is just slightly going from side to side as those 295 tires claw for traction! It even allows some power sliding on corners too! One thing I will say the car is flat out dangerous if you turn all the traction stuff off! Things just happen way too fast for you to keep up! It's control is very good and the only disappointment is the car should be a burn out machine/smoke show machine but instead it just hooks up and goes. Barely leaving much rubber on the road. But that is just for fun anyway!

About your comment on prior XJR's having an open diff? The story I heard is we have to remember Jaguar's past history. Ford purchased Jaguar back in 1989. This was part of a huge failure at Ford called the PAG group. Premier Automotive Group. They purchased a number of smaller luxury brands and tried to combine everything AND add Lincoln as a new member. The Lincoln LS was the result of that. That car was how I got into Jaguar's!

So now they had Jaguar/Land Rover, Aston Martin, Volvo and tried to raise Lincoln into this. BUT Aston Martin was the top of the heap and was considered to be above Jaguar so while ALL the AM's had limited slip rear diff's NONE of the lower PAG cars did. This was a HUGE mistake on the higher horsepower cars like your old XJR and MY old 2005 S-Type R as well as the XKR. Having even 400HP with an open rear end just kills the driving experience in my opinion.

Ford ended up selling everything off in 2008 with TATA picking up the combined LR with Jaguar to create JLR that we have today. All the models released since then do have locking rear diffs. Some E-Diff some more conventional setups. We think it was a Ford marketing decision that kept Jaguar from having any limited slip rear diffs. Another fact is prior to Ford's ownership Jaguar DID install limited slip rear diff's so they had a history of using them.

With the above information why would Jaguar suddenly stop installing limited slip rear ends in every single car they produced?
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As for the AWD, I was told that the AWD equipment/mechanicals, wouldn't fit into a V-8. This from somebody in Jag's engineering dept.

 

I thought Andy Griffith changed the name of "Beautiful Pilot Mountain", to "Mount Pilot"????? But you are correct, it is beautiful in that part of North Carolina.

But back to the topic. I had a 2013 XJ and a 2017 XJ, both V-6s and SWB models. I wasn't ready to trade the 2017, but an opportunity presented itself to trade up. A deal that I thought was pretty good. However,
I was concerned that the 2019 was an "L"; way too big for the wife and I. But, I did it anyway and within the first week or so, of really putting the car through its paces, I fell in love all over again. I'm not a track guy,
but I was able to whip this machine around like it was smaller. Of course, moving up to the supercharged V-8 made the experience a real supercharged ride. And, we just loved the additional space. I don't know if
buying one of, what Jag identified as "One of 300", meaning one of the last 300 XJLs to be made, will have any value in the future, but, for us, that's not the reason for liking the car. It's just a wonderful, comfortable, well-mannered, jack-rabbit of a car. There were only a few colors produced, with limited interiors.

 

Great info; many thanks!

- Great to know that there are true X351 aficionados on this forum

- Never understood the open diff thing until now. Makes perfect sense when you add in FOMOCO marketing

- Believe the 5.0 XKR would rival a 911 turbo if it had AWD. As is, way punchier on the freeway than the 911, but seems traction limited at anything under 40 mph

- Also, the XKR is a far, far better GT car than the 911, IMHO. I have driven both coast to coast. Better yet is my old XJR...

- Andy is from Mt Airy - just up the road. Mayberry also v close. I live across from Pilot Mt State Park

- Post facelift (2016?) V8 SWB X351's are really hard to find...

 

KingFala brings up a subtle point that takes a while to appreciate? While the XJ is a large car it does not drive like one. I have had mine weighed and it has an almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution and at around 4400 Lbs (SWB Version) is a good bit lighter than it's steel body competitors like the BMW 7 series and MB S class. I think that's why it feels so agile and light when driving?
In fact the XJ weighs just a bit less than the steel bodied XF believe it or not! The next generation of XF did go to Aluminum too.

You mention the 2016 and up models?

I have done a few mods and one of the best is I upgraded the headlights to the later LED versions. Requires a custom wire harness but it has been all laid out nicely in several threads and I have had this for at least 3+ years so far. Much better lights and it really updates the front end look of the car. You can also update the earlier cars with the 2016+ rear tail lights. I did not as I did not think it was that big of a change. You also can swap to the later front end and grill. It's very minor but 2016+ have a flatter more upright grill. Kinda hard to see unless you have both cars side by side.

Also added a large 10"+ center Android tablet. Sorta like what Jaguar added later on. Again not too hard to do but since I have not added a SIM card I don't use it to it's full potential. Plus as you know there is a large cluster**** going on with the 3G,4G and 5G network stuff. We have the older network that from what I have heard is going to be shut down in the not to distant future. Not sure what to do when it's gone? Maybe just tether your phone?

Feeding into this is to be aware that Jaguar has now stopped providing almost all if not all Navigation updates with the last map update being 2020. My 2014 used the USB stick method of updating but the later cars went to a SOTA (Software Over The Air) updates so I am not sure if they are at the end of life too? I think so.

Even though the XJR comes with almost the top of the line stereo system (One more option above it called the Reference system) I did upgrade all 4 door woofers and the 2 rear deck woofers using the "Reference" drivers. At that time I did extensive sound pad installation in all 4 doors, the entire back seat area since all that had to come out to change the rear deck speakers plus the trunk. Now the XJ is already a very quiet car but I feel it sounds even better with the sound treatments.

Note if at ALL possible DO NOT remove the rear deck!! That was a real nightmare and took a couple of days to get it back in. We have long threads on this so you have been warned!

PS; I am a HUGE Andy Griffith fan! Mainly just the B&W shows.
Andy had all the Helicopters grounded on the day he died so no media stuff would happen!
Andy's Burial
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Hey Club,
Big compliments on your XJR refinements!

Interesting; car weights. Cars have become progressively heavier and heavier in recent years. The XJ is - indeed - far lighter than contemporary competitors. Even the all aluminum Audi A8/S8 has really packed it on - 4,685 lbs dry? vs '17 XJR swb 4,150 lbs dry? (I think both add 250 lbs in fluids, spare tires, floor mats, etc to get real world weight, as you noted). The steel Teutonic panzers are far heavier, and feel it. Current 911 turbo is 3,850 lbs, for all love. My '07 XJR is around 3,950 lbs, IIRC - about same as '11 XKR, though with far more room.

So, yes - XJ very light for size and power, comparatively. And, SC V8 responsiveness is simply something very special in the real world. Yes, the turbo competitors make good power, but its not instantaneous; its much more on a sorta' same-day basis. The Jag SC V8 is quick and effortless; turbo cars often seem much more ponderous in daily driving.

Love to find a 2016+ SWB V8 example. Crazy times in the used car world just now; hard to nail anything down. And, the world is (obviously) going electric. These are the gas performance sedan end days. Plenty of Tesla S cars competing now on the used car market (though I would need a tow truck to use one for the blue highways I travel). The "new" all electric XJ has been postponed (again) to "maybe 2025", says local (well, 50 miles away) JLR dealer, who appears to be going out of business. As does JLR itself, if business analysts now forecasting a new car glut are any indication.

So, we're kinda' batting for Team Obsolete, and might as well swing for the bleachers, eh?

 

over across the pond , the eletric cars are not going to well a few owners are going back to petrol , electricity is more expensive here than gas , and now the UK govt is charging them with road tax same as every other car from next year plus most city's and towns apart from London do not have the charging facility's , me myself believe E fuels or hydrogen are the way forward , them Tesla cars are ugly and poorly built you would have to pay me 50grand a week to drive one

 

Yes; somewhat the same situation with electric vehicles in USA. Charging infrastructure is really only in place for some city commuters. Long distance driving is logistically difficult.

Also, new electric vehicle inventory is now growing, as manufacturer switchover is outstripping infrastructure.

Regardless of bumpy implementation, I would give new gas vehicles maybe another five years in the mainstream.

Perhaps best current solution are hybrids - eg, Prius. Having owned one for a couple of years (wife's car; new in 2012), its a miserable driver's car, but solid 50 MPG and dead reliable.

So, I'll stay with gas cars for another few years, and would buy a hybrid "drivers car" today if there was a decent one available (that is, not a silly "mild hybrid")

Unfortunately, governments worldwide can easily force transition to electric by simply raising gas taxes. Doubling these taxes and applying the revenue to electric vehicle infrastructure will become politically more and more feasible as heatwaves, fires, droughts, etc become more prevalent. This seems inevitable in the USA; I would guess within the next three years or so. Meanwhile, I'll be enjoying my old Jags as the end of the petro era dawns...

 

I like to prove things for myself?

Here are a couple of my threads on racing at the Texas Mile, Portable Dyno results and an actual certified scale weighing of the car. I still am lacking as I have not got it to a track for 1/4 runs yet and I would like to. But I have moved out in the country pretty far since I purchased the XJR so tracks are a long drive away now.

XJR Portable Dyno

XJR at The Texas Mile

Note Jaguar has the SWB as you posted at 4150 but that's like the old uncorrected HP ratings from back in the 60's. It's VERY optimist which is why I always want to weigh the front and rear axles plus the total on a certified scale if possible. Mine came in a 4360.
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