Hi chaps, just wanted some advice!

I have listed the XJ Sport for sale last week, and I know
I want either an XJR or a VDP S/C (preferably not the
Vanden Plas S/C, unless '04 or newer)

I have noticed that X350 XJRs are within my budgetary arena,
and I really like the touch-screen nav. The X308 feels so
old without having it. I mean, my friend's '02 M5 even has a nice
system.

I have found 2 great black R1's, and a couple of 100k mile-ish X350s.

Which would you go for? I know that the X350 gets about as good
of mileage as my XJ Sport, despite the supercharger... what kind of
MPG does our bodystyle XJR get? My XJ got 26+ regularly.

Clarkson always said that the X308 drank fuel like a space shuttle
(he did own one)... what have you guys experienced?

Would you go for a nice '04 over a nice '03? Obviously I am familiar
with the mechanicals of the '03, but not so much with the '04.

Thanks,

Ian

 

I don't know how handy or willing to do the work you are, but after I finish swapping engines in my 98xj8 I plan to find a 05 or so xj8 center console and swap it in, plus I don't like the fold out cup holders... Have cleaned my seats several times, because it doesn't hold my beverage! Otherwise going for the x350 would be a nice upgrade, especially the xjr. I would check on the x350 page to see do and donts for buying see what common problems are etc before buying. X308 xjr gets 16-17 city mpg, highway 20ish mpg. If you can get the x308 xjr with low miles I would go that route.

 

Clarkson reckoned that an X308 XJR drank like a space shuttle? Not in my opinion (but then again, I don't flog mine around a disused airfield)! In 2100km of commuting I'm sitting on 11.4L/100km (independently calculated, not from the trip computer), which is around 24.7mpg. Now maybe my commuting isn't quite typical, but it's a 25min trip to work each way, and usually a fair bit of traffic, but I do get up to 100km/h for some of it, and I like to get there briskly, so I could probably drive more economically! Anyway, point is that I reckon it's pretty damned economical for such a heavy car!

 

Isn't 11.4L/100km more like 20.6mpg?

I'm getting 13.5L/100km on average on mine (17.4mpg). Also calculated, not from the trip computer. Cruising on the highway I get about 10L/100km (23.5mpg).

 

There was an 04 XJR sitting right next to my 01 308 at the dealer where I bought mine. The styling differences are hard to ignore.

The 350 may have touch screen nav and a bit more room inside, but it is really bland to me in terms of the body style. It looks like every other car out there now.

Its your decision, but I would take a look at both and decide which one you will be pausing to look back at while you are walking through the parking lot. I think you may find that the 308 has the classic Jag look, while the 350, sorry to say, looks somewhat generic.

If you can find a nice, low mileage '03 308, I would buy it.
Vector

 

Hi,

I actually took the leap two years ago when I sold my -97 X300 XJR and bought myself an X350. It wasn't an R but a 2,7 D (as in Diesel – I know you don't have those in the States).

It was a BRILLIANT car. Quiet, light, comfortable, roomy and better looking than most other cars on the road. Drank six litres of diesel/100 kilometer and sprinted from 0-60 in just 7.8 seconds.

But to be frank, I missed the low-slung and unique styling of the X300/X308. So much, in fact, that ignored the fact that I am 6 feet 6 inches (I don't sit very well in the X308) and got myself the most low mileage X308 I could find.

So, I have to admit that the X350 is great and probably the best Jaguar you can own. After all, the all-new X351 is built on its chassi. But, I have to say it doesn't move me like the old classics. I guess it is fair to say that it is a well proportioned car. But put it next to a X308 and you'll see where the Lyons-line was abandoned in the name of practicality.

 

I may have got US and Imperial gallons mucked up... is it any wonder we went metric!

 

After having owned and driven an X300 XJR, X308 XJR, and a X350 XJ8-L, I would have to say the XJ8L is the most comfortable luxury ride of them all. Can hardly feel a bump and it floats through the turns. Oh, and it's looks - YAWN. Boring yet beautiful. Oh, and the touch screen nav? My android phone is way better.
The XJRs on the other hand, begin rumbling the minute you turn the key. They want to jump out of the garage and bite into the corners with all four claws, People stare at them like they are not sure what they saw - or if they saw anything at all. The '03 (US) XJR is the very best of the series. If you want mileage, get a Prius. If you want a car, get a Jag.

 

Someone should steal that for a signature, lol!
Vector

 

When I first bought my X308, my then boss at the time threw a paddy and went out and bought a 04 X350 V8 Sport. Prior to that he had a 98 X308 3.2 Sport and was severely pi**ed off that one of his drivers (me) turned up to work in a 4.0 Sovereign (VDP in the US). A few months after this x350 purchase he said to me, quietly, he wished he'd never changed cars because the X308 is so beautiful and keeps you in touch with the road.

 

+1. As someone on Youtube on one of the jag videos said: the 308 is the ultimate XJ. The epitomy of 30 years of development. the X350 is a worthy car and a fine alternative to the usual luxury fare like BMW, Audi, Merc, but it is not as exquisite as the 308. The 308 is a very special car. The performance of a true sports car, the understated looks of a luxury car, yet it has that look, that image, more than a M5, AMG mercedes, Audi, there is nothing like it.

I honestly don't get the fascination of an on-board sat nav. Just another thing that can break, like the DVD players in the back. A $100 garmin does the job just as well, plus you can take it with you in your 1966 Alfa Romeo. And if it breaks you throw it away and get another one from best buy. I would rather not have an in-dash GPS.

Mileage: I get 16-17mpg (computer readout). 40 miles commute and drive 90mph and often more than that (lightly patrolled stretch of motorway, Valentine One radar detector). City is less. Occasional slower ride to NYC is better, but never more than 18mpg. US gallons (I assume since it is a US car).


A man who will not compromise to esthetics. Bravo! Although at 6'2'' I admit to feeling at the top end of the height range for this car.

No. In fact i would not take anything over a nice 308, with the possible exception of a Maserati Quattroporte, and even there I think that the Jag is the more harmonious and developed design. It just has come together so perfectly in the 308. I would not take a new 351 over a 308 all things being equal. I would prefer the 308, with the shorter wheelbase than the S/C VDP, and the Portfolio. So there you go.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Depending on how I drive it, I can get my VDP to avg. from 10-29mpg (have yet to hypermile it to 30 which encroaches on hybrid territory among the luxo land-yachts...) based on the trip-computer, lol, it is totally dependent on your driving in this car...

 

+1 - nothing like it, no Bentley or Rolls has the class like the X308 Jag
+1 - buy an Android phone with data plan and just use Google Maps with Voice Direction plus you get Street View...
+1 - My X308 VDP is a land-yacht, clearly a car designed for royalty. I would like (note: like, not trade) a 351 because it is new and has all the gadgets and junk of the last decade like active-distance cruise-control, but it looks like any other sedan, just a bit oversized - nothing particularly distinctive beyond the LED plastic lights.

The Maserati Quattroporte is a Buick in drag... The Maserati GranCabrio is nice but the design is not all that exciting, but if you are seeking design style to compete with the X308, there is only one modern contender and that is the Fisker Karma.

 

Wow! I do love my X308 XJR, but I'm not sure that I'd say it has more class than a Bentley or a Rolls. Those cars are at a higherend of the luxury car spectrum, and I think one of those late-model Bentley Arnage Ts would "out-class" an X308. That's a subjective assessment obviously, but the combination of low production volumes, very high quality materials, and craftsmanship puts it ahead of the X308 a notch (in my opinion). That said, I'm sure that the Jag is a much more useful proposition as an everyday car, and I daresay it would be more of a driver's car - 2500 kgs of Bentley would make for some challenging drives on the twisty roads, but 1000Nm would be a lot of fun down the straights!

 

That's because the X308 was awarded an Italian design award that translates to "The Most Beautiful Car In The World" some years ago. The word "most" by definition means a class of one. Therefore, there is nothing else like it.

The XJR variant is arguably the pinnacle of the series given the power advantage, and the sport suspension.

If you look at an X308 XJR parked next to generic fwd sedan, you will see that it is in essence a 4 door sports car in stance. It is no taller than most sports coupes. The underpinnings of course are up to the challenge.

+1 ... road maps are good too ... no waiting for satellite lock and you can write on them

 

Another +1

It might be a cramped car with the risk of high running costs. But it is also a unique vehicle. A car with proportions so exquisite that it outshines all of today's over-designed giants. I mean, not even Ferrari's are that beautiful anymore.

The sad thing is cars like these will not be made again. The XJ is too low and too poorly planned when it comes to interior space. Its design stems from an era when twiggy was a top model and men were of more modest proportions.

Like I said, I’m struggling to fit in it despite the fact that it's a massive five metres in length.

But then, Jaguar did give up in the end, for all the market requirements. The X308 was therefore the last real Lyons-Jaguar. Long, low and feline - grace and pace in abundance, but not so much space.

The fact that worn copies can be purchased for less money than a greek bank does not tarnish this car's class. Simply because it – except for a bunch of fragile collectors cars – is the most stylish car you can drive.

Sure, Bentley’s and Rolls Royce's are more expensive. Sure they give you more ”oooh’s” outside a hamburger shack.

But a Jaguar XJ is above all that. It laughs at criticism for not having sat-nav or a dash covered in leather. It laughs because it is a design icon. Because it effortlessly manages to be both pop-culture and british nobleman at the same time. It has coolness other brands would kill for.

The fact that the 308 was chosen for villains such as Hannibal Lecter and the bad guy in Quantum of Solace says a lot. The latter film was made in 2008, five years after the end of production of the 308. Must be the oldest car in a Bond film ever. Go figure.

 

You forget the Blower Bentley of the original Ian Fleming books.

Were they ever shown in a film though?

Perhaps the car for you is the X308 LWB version with the seat tracks remounted towards the rear? Or, do the same on a SWB and only pull the seat forward if you *must* carry passengers. Untrained passengers are bad anyways ... they have a habit of damaging things and slamming doors.

 

My solution is iPhone + Navigon with maps for all Europe, because data roaming is just too €xpensive. Works just like a standalone Navigon system, and I think it's available for Android too. Now I just need to finish that aux-connection...

I've driven an X351 once (XJL diesel it was), and it wasn't as comfortable as my X308 XJR over bumps. Handling is crisp, and it's as luxurious as you'd expect, but it feels kind of sterile. And the LCD "gauges" are absolutely horrid.

 

+1 ... this is starting to look like an ad for google+

The XJR does look surprisingly low when parked next to a "normal" car, but it doesn't look that low at all when there's nothing to compare it to. I think that goes to say how well-proportioned the car is. It just looks right.

 

X308 XJR is the best of the best, I would not have it any other way. If I am someday more financially capable I might get an X350 XJR in addition to the X308 but I would never have a X350 instead of an X308. Every new generation of XJR has been more capable than the previous, but there's just something about the last of the non-aluminum ones. And the air suspension of the X350 would be a pain I must assume.