We're looking to purchase a new (to us) 2016- 17 XJ! One of the choices we have is the V6 or a more expensive (+$6,) V8. A couple of years ago, the question would be unnecessary when talking about a 4,000 lbs.vehicle but times do change!

Is it just traditional thinking that big cars need big engines or has technology altered that thought?

Which do you wish you had in your XJ?

..love this forum..don't write often but I do
look here first for knowledge!

 

Kind of a subjective question, determinations of members answers will form/convey largely personal feelings of what a Jaguar represents to an individual. I have loved Jaguar since i was 6 years old, since then i was determined to own one, i did, my first car was a series 1 XJ6 Lwb, for many due to its american iron heart it simply was not a jag for purists but for a young fella it was the amalgamation of 2 worlds
Recently i have made a choice as you are contemplating, for what was in front of me on offer, with budget considerations, care of previous ownership and kilometres travelled i had the opportunity to go several different paths. X351 diesel portfolio, X 351 5.0 aspirated lwb, X351 5.0 S/C portfolio or XF 3.0 S/C portfolio
For myself personally, a Jaguar is associated with a growl and rumble, so it was a natural selection and i needed no help in my adjudication of my platform choice, which is a style that is reflected outwardly and fits my personality. 5.0S/C portfolio all the way for me.

 

equicor, both motors that you are looking at are more than adequate for the car. The V6 is 340 hp and the V8 is 470 (possibly up to 575 depending on the trim level). So, the questions then become "how much power do you want?" and "do you need all wheel drive?". If you say you need AWD, then this answers a lot of things and only leaves you the option of the V6. If you are not someone that likes to feel a blast to 60+ mph every now and then, the V6 is probably more than enough.

As for my personal preference, I will always go with the bigger motor. Call me old school. But, bigger bearings, bigger cylinders, etc has always made long term reliability sense to me. While the smaller motors can make big numbers power wise, they do it normally at the cost of having to rev the engine to very high speeds. High RPMs are hard on any motor. Please keep in mind that my car has the NA V8 and I love the low end torque that the motor makes. No need to rev the engine up to 5K+ RPM. You ease into the gas and you pass what you need to.

 

It's a luxury car so you should get what YOU want!
I would go drive a few and make your own decision.

I have a 600+ HP XJR because that's what I want.

The only real advice is if your buying a used luxury car I can only afford to do so because of the massive depreciation. I only buy used.
Plus I try to do all my own car work. If your going to rely on the dealer it will be expensive so be sure and have a warranty.
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I'VE A '17 XJL with the 3.0 only because I need awd and the 5.0 does not have it. IF the 5.0 had awd, I'd have bought the 5.0. Needed awd for driving on North Padre Island beach front and surf fishing.

That said, I'm mildly surprised how the 3.0 is adequate plus some. I also find that on my usual drives of over 1000 miles, the car will travel b/t 480 to 525 miles on a tank doing 75-80 mph.

Probably bragging, but I've a '15 S550 Coupe with 449 hp and 525 lb/ft of torque for those days/drives when I want a bit more punch.

 

Sounds like a lot of punch!!
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All I can say is that the supercharged V6 is a lot better in reality than it sounds on paper. 0-60 feels very lively (livelier than the offical numbers would imply), it has plenty of punch, and it makes a great noise. It's a truly brilliant engine.

 

I dont have the XJ but I've driven quite a few, I've had the 5 litre NA in an XF and the 5 litre SC in an XKR, now I have the 3 litre 280kw v6 (which has recently been pushed out to 450hp but I'll talk in terms of it standard). I mention those things because I love the cars and the engines and want to establish these arent just guesses.

Possibly because of the higher revving nature of the v6, I find in bites earlier than the 8 although of course the 8 is going to cruel it once you are over 60kph, especially 80kph to 120kph. The 6 in the other cars (not so sure about the XJ because driving it in the track the XJR feels beautifully balanced albeit a big car) feels lighter at the front as well. In fuel economy the 6 is probably 10 - 20% better, maybe 30% if it is being driven hard although that 30% is possibly the top end performance difference between them. Sound wise the 6 sounds good, personally I'd rather a v8 but then again I thought the best sounding Jag v8 was the 4.2. The XJR hides its sound too much for my liking, there should be a loud button on it. But I'm a sound nut, I have fiddles with the exhaust in all of my Jags except the XEs.

If I was buying, in our nanny country where driving over 110kph is always a risk I'd buy the 6 unless it was the same price as the 8. I would pay extra for the R which I would buy mainly because it has quad exhausts and a sportier look.

 

If your only metric is - if big cars need big engines...

A well known auto magazine tested the 2016 V6 vs. V8.

The V6 did 0-60 in 5.5 seconds, the V8 did it in 4.8 seconds.

Is a half of a second worth $6,000...?

 

I got my 2012 V6 Portfolio in February 2018. It replaced my X350 Super V8. Although I really love all the technical features it has there is one thing I miss and that is the V8. Of course the V6 offers enough power but it cannot compete with the performance and smoothness of a V8. So if you have any chance I would go for the V8.

 

Hello Ken,
We bought our 2014 XJL supercharged V8 (470 hp) in August and love the power and acceleration it provides. Nice to go around traffic when you need to. Plus with the Z8 transmission,
we easily get 25 mpg on routine highway trips and can get 26.9 mpg on long at speed (75-80) interstate trips. I haven't driven any of the V6,s and my wife's 2010 XF Premium is also
the 5 liter V8. I imagine it will depend on your style of driving, but we really enjoy the suave strength and smooth power of the V8's.

 

The following about sums it up for me: If you don't need awd, get the V8. It's only 2mpg worse than the V6 and loads more fun. Personally I want the V8 Supercharged

Are you sure? 480-525 miles = 23-25mpg on a 21-gallon tank, very poor for a V6.

 

Are you sure? 480-525 miles = 23-25mpg on a 21-gallon tank, very poor for a V6..............I''m not sure if you do much driving on Interstates 20 and 10 going from Ft Worth to the LA area, but you start doing 80 mph about thirty miles from Ft Worth until you get to about thirty miles from El Paso. Then the same from the El Paso area to Blythe, Ca.

480 miles will get me to Van Horn, Texas and the next gas is in Sierra Blanc at 520 miles. IF I have enough showing in the tank at Van Horn........I press on to Sierra Blanca.

A '17 XJL AWD is rated at 25 mpg per EPA.

A '17 Porsche Panamera 4 is rated at 27mpg with a 23/7 gal tank........but a XJL awd looks much better although the Panamera is acceptable in looks.

Sorry, I won't buy some little **** car that gets 40mpg......looks like the S word.......is noisy at speed.......has to be filled up every 300 miles because of an inadequate fuel tank size.

Had a '14 BMW 535d that would go 670 miles on a 18.5 tank., which was very good, but the interior of that car Sucked a bit. Sort of homely and forelorn. Good performance for a diesel. As good as a E350 gas of the same year if I remember correctly.

A modern Mercedes S560 which weights a ton is rated at 27 mpg with a 23 gal tank which in turn gets you plenty far from home. Car and Driver got 30mpg on their 75 mph fuel test, so they say.

I'm unsure what six cylinder car gets soooo much better mpg at 80 mpg and isn't a S word car. Plus having a useful tank size at or over 21 gallons.

 

Exactly. Both V6 and V8 have plenty of power. Both are essentially the same engine with comparable fuel efficiency. V6 is slightly lighter, but on a heavy car like XJ that will be a round-off.

I don't think it snows in Arizona, so you don't really need an AWD.

 

At legal speeds, yes it can. Sure, V8 will beat V6 near top speeds (this is go directly to jail speeds if caught doing on public roads), but outside of German autobahn, where can you do that in XJ? Surely, you are not considering to track your XJ.

V8 is purely "want" aspect, there is no rational case for it.

 

To be honest, what I'd really like is the V6 diesel.

 

It snows in Arizona

 

As I said, I do not have experience with the V6 AWD. Today we had snow and ice on our roads and an AWD would have been
nice. Our 2014 XJL V8 supercharged did perform well enough with the new Pirelli soto zero snow tires.

 

So sorry for not jumping back in here earlier!

Well, I guess that proves it! Whether it be a V6 or V8, it seems it's not a matter of function as much as it is a choice! We do get some snow here in northern Arizona, so an AWD might be a bit handy here 5 - 6 days a year! In the end, however, it seems we all tend to like the feel and sound of the 5.0L Supercharged; although the 3.0 Supercharged in plenty sufficient to move this beauty.

The best I could find was a V8 that was $6,000 (US$) more than the V6 in a 2016 XJL. We ended up going with the V6, in a large way due to the option and color choices we found on the market right now! If the reported stats are any indication, the performance difference just was not enough to warrant $fueling$ my passion when I wanted to 'jump' on it occasionally! Perhaps, I'm trusting a bit that Jag would not 'under-power' their mother ship!

Either way, just owning and driving these beauties, is a pleasure in itself! Thanks to this community for all your insight!
Thank you for all the insight and comments!

 

Ken,
Sounds like you have purchased a beautiful 2016 XJL. I believe you will thoroughly enjoy seeing and being seen in such a great Jaguar! We are thoroughly enjoying our very deep red (caviar)
2014 V8 supercharged XJL but I think the creature comforts and ambiance of the interior, like yours, are what we like most about the car. Congratulations!
Jim and Gwynne French in northwestern Illinois