Love my 2007 dark green XJR!
Just finished another 6,200 mile cross country trip - my fourth in three years of ownership - and can honestly say that this Jag is perhaps the best car I've ever owned. Please know that I've been a life long fan of high end German sedans - particularly 7 series BMW and 8 series Audi, along with various Mercedes models and many Porsches. I bought the Jag on a whim, just because it was so damn good looking (disclaimer: this is generally an ill advised approach with cars, women, and many other things). At first, it seemed that all the old Jag scare stories were true. The rear air suspension collapsed on the return leg of my first cross country trip; steering and handling were loose and rattled over bumps. I could smell coolant when the car was parked. And, etc, etc...
What the car needed - at 85K miles and 10 years - was refitting. This is actually no different than German sedans. My advice if you're in the XJ market is to buy the best example you can find (with big preference to late '06 and '07 US X356 models), then plan to spend another $6K - $10K in refurb parts. Double this if you're not a DIY'er.
When you're done, you'll have a taut, comfortable, and classy vintage Jag. My strong preference, aesthetically, is the short wheelbase models, with a nod to the supercharged, 400HP XJR (or softer riding SWB Super v8 model). Early (X350; '04 and '05) models have too many problems, though cheap and plentiful (the most expensive Jag you can buy is a cheap one). The last production years ('08 and '09) lost their good looks in an ill advised face lift.
The X356 XJR is a bonafide sports sedan, with unmatched kick down punch on the highway (my last sedan was an M5 BMW; with an S8 Audi before that). Ride is taut but comfortable; handling is not in Audi and BMW leagues, but pretty close. Gas mileage on my latest trip was ~ 23 MPG overall

And, people love this car. So do I. It is both beautiful and fairly unique; a real head turner, and a joy to drive...

 

Yes well said. I think my XJR gets more looks than my XK Coupe. I would take my car anywhere and not worry about any breakdowns..

 

I purchased a 2005 XJR several years ago and have had very few problems at all. It had 99,000 on it and had a single lady owner who took care of it.

Admittedly I do not put a lot of mileage on it and I have done a lot of preventive maintenance on it myself including all fluid changes, spark plugs, brake pads etc etc.

Out of a variety of cars including a Porsche 911S and a BMW and other jags it is by far the best I have ever had or driven.

I have complete confidence when driving up to MA or Maine from MD several times a year.

 

I purchased a 2004 Black XJR-S as it was branded on the title from Texas. It has 98,123 miles on it as of today. I literally stole it.

Previous owner thought the trans was shot. (I had a spare anyway) Simple fluid check and it was 1L low. Filled properly with LG6, swapped out the leaking trans lines, Reflash and reset adaptions and shes smooth... and wicked fast!

Also had a coolant leak. Owner thought it was the hose under the SC. Nope, it was the water pump. Swapped with OEM.

The big win was the full coil over conversion and the engine was recently replaced by Jaguar!!

Every single option on this car from the factory except rear seat controls.

Also she came with Falken 20" rims that look like the Sepang rims. Was going to change them but they look so damn good and it's the first compliment I always get.

My car gets compliments often in general and even offers to buy it from me.

Nope, not for sale!

 

They are great long distance cars, did around 3,000 miles in one trip a few years ago.

Don't agree on the 'ill advised facelift' though... I have owned both styles, the previous owner spent many thousands updating my Super V8. I get way more compliments for the X358 shape.

Which M5 did you have before? I have the V10 M6 also and the Jag woudn't have a chance to keep up- two very different cars.

 

Please know that I wrote this little ode upon getting a note from Edmunds requesting a review of the Jag. I copied my review to this forum to leaven the daily parade of complaints about leaking air suspension, etc, etc

Some people like the X358 facelift models; its all in the eye of the beholder. Ditto the early x350 examples; many such cars apparently don't have the sagging headliners, wonky brakes, iffy fuel pumps, weird electronics, etc I came across in my search for an XJR

About comparison with other cars: Yes, there are certainly quicker vehicles on the road today, but not many. I have owned some of them. The XJR really shines as an all around road warrior, with looks that seem to appeal to the masses and an effortless abundance of available power. I also have an M3 which is certainly quicker on paper, but no match for the Jag as a traveling companion

In this country, the Jaguar name has been diluted and sullied to the point of extinction. I doubt that one person in a hundred could identify a current Tata vehicle as a Jag. Any brand continuity was squandered, post X358. To the everyman, recognizable Jags are now vintage models such as the X308 and X35X, XKE, XK8/XKR. As one young lady proudly exclaimed to her friends in Vicksburg, MS "I just knew it was a Jaguar!"

So, spruce up your old Jag and take a nice long blue highways tour of this gorgeous country. You'll fall in love all over again...

 

Alec - More recently, the E60 M5 (V10), then back to the E39 M5. I've also test driven the newer M5's, but didn't like them much. The E39 (I've had two M5's and a 540) are superb, but now getting v old. The M6 is a beauty; I've never driven the V10 version, though I did have a 6 cyl M6 many years ago. My experience with the V10 M5 is that you need to rev the hell out of it to really get moving. Also, I stopped liking BMW styling after Bangle got involved...