I have been looking for an XJS simply as I always liked the design from when I was younger and I like a somewhat nostalgic look for a weekend driver. With that said, I am concerned that I may be too uncomfortable in it. I am not especially tall at 6' 2" but I noticed in particular yesterday when on a short test drive that I just wasn't very comfortable. IN particular:

- The pedals seem too close together and being a little tall I had a hard time getting my foot from the brake to the accelerator and back cleanly. I didn't really notice this the last time I drove one but it was very noticeable yesterday.
- There isn't much legroom as the console pushes in too far against my right leg on a left hand drive car.
- Just generally tight in the driver foot bed and leg area for such a large and long convertible.

You are Jag enthusiasts and I am by no means the world's tallest man so help me with this. Do you all deal with the same things? Do you get used to it? Do you become comfortable in it or I suppose if you haven't experienced what I am referencing then maybe it's just not for me.

I know everything in life is subjective but I do appreciate some color from those living with and loving these cars.

thanks!

 

Funny you should bring this up...I am 6' 1" with a long torso, not super long legs but long enough that my knees are slightly bent in normal, driving position.
What is most uncomfortable to me is that in order to see through the windshield comfortably at , let's say, a traffic light, I have to bend down low to see up, if you know what I mean. Reclining the seat to an almost a gangster lean makes it better, but then I feel so far away from the dash. The reminder lights and turn indicators that sit just under the brow, cannot be seen in this attitude. I feel they are dim normally and to really see them , you need to be right ton top of them as any angle out of center will make them appear more dim.
When I exit the car, my 12" shoes find it difficult to rotate from the gas pedal position to the getting out position. Kinda gets hung up on the under-dash panel above the pedals. The foot well "ceiling" if you will, just seems a little low.

But hey..I'm not one to complain...

 

Something wrong with the seat, methinks. I'm 6'2" and I can drive way over 1,000 miles a day, it would be impossible if there was any discomfort, I'm really weak from cancer surgery and subsequent treatment.

 

I’m 6’ 3” and I do have to get in my XJS in a particular way to avoid scratching my size 12 shoes, but once in I fit like a glove and I’m sure you will be fine too.

 

I am 6 foot 3 and over 300 lbs. and surprisingly comfortable in my recently purchased 2005 Jaguar XK8 Convertible.

 

It sounds as if headroom is not your problem, and if it is just foot room there are a number of things you can do: The brake pedal pad is very wide, it is easy to cut about 1/3rd of it off to give more space one side or the other or both. More legroom can be achieved by altering how the runners are fixed to the floor - a bit of work but do-able.
I take it the car you are looking at is a post 1987/8 car with the more "Recaro" fashion seats? cars prior to this date had slightly different seats that gave more legroom, so if this is a problem, look at one of those, which are, in my view, somewhat simpler to maintain.

 

At 186 cm, I find it's tight in there in my 1992 facelift coupé, definitely, and I have considered shaving the left side of the brake pedal. Especially after hitting the brake by accident with my left foot a few times.
Wearing boots, it can require a bit of twisting to get both feet under properly, depending on the boot style.
Leg room is not great--longer trips can be a bit wearying after a few hours of driving.
Mine has the newer-style seats with less leg room, and they could use more thigh support as well. I need the seat reclined back a bit more than ideal, but at least I can still see the row of indicator lights at the top of the facelift dash.
The problem with the brake and accelerator I find is that the brake is about an inch closer in.
I think there's more leg room with the RHD drive one, as the centre console presses against the unused leg in that case.

 

Im 6'6ish and 355ish. I have a 93 convertible and ride with the seat all the way back and leaned all the way back. With the top up, I have to lean to fit, but obviously with it open it's fine although I did remove the sunvisor for more forward vision. I have the xjs and a 97 xk8 coupe. I feel like I have more foot room in the XJS. I wear a size 15-4e. I basically crawl in both head first, then swivel and slide into the seated position. I have a decent amount of headroom, my hair rubs, in the xk8. Like I've said before, where there's a will there's a way, and I have no false beliefs that I look anything other than ridiculous getting in or out of either of them, but I sure do feel good when I'm inside!

 

I easily see myself saying these exact same words.

 

Hello

Just going through the thought process with this one as well

I have the roof lining out at the moment and we are having a discussion between ourselves in whether it is going back in or not. I am thinking not - Sticking insulation directly on the ceiling and then gluing the fabric to the insulation - or you can buy insulation that is unmarked and do without the fabric. Should allow us to pick up a bit more head space

If that doesn't give me enough room - than I can always lower the seat mounting brackets down a little bit, that just takes a bit more engineering here in Australia

Cheers
Steve

 

As someone asked earlier, for me it appears to be mainly a legroom and in particular foot and pedalnissue. Luckily the headroom I haven’t noticed but to be fair I wouldn’t plan on driving this car with the top up anyhow.

can anyone share details, pictures or posts regarding how to alter the pedals and how that works out? I’d hate to just hack it off and then deal with issues later on but perhaps an adjustment that adds more space between the brake and accelerator would really help out.

 

SCB
Attached a photo of my brake pedal. In my case a RHD car, and I needed space to the left of the brake pedal to get my foot down on the floor to the left of the pedal.
Also a pic of the pedal off the car. In your case if you need more room between the two pedals, cut the other side down. The third pic shows the footrest I added, this is a great idea and makes the car very comfortable to drive.

 

Thanks.
here is an ignorant question- how did you get it out to cut it? I assume there is a process for getting the linkage off and removing it.

then did you just use a metal bandsaw or something similar?

 

I did this mod years ago, well before my rebuild. I lined the footwell with cardboard, pulled the rubber pad off the pedal, and with a small 115mm angle grinder cut off the excess. Then cut down the rubber and glued it to the pedal.

 

Hello scb

There is a web site featuring Bernard Embden that has done all sorts of work on his 1978, including installing a dead pedal (which is a support for the non-driving foot). Link is below

Installing A Dead Pedal

The website has been mentioned numerous times on this forum, and has lots of good stuff

Cheers
Steve

 

> you can buy insulation that is unmarked and do without the fabric

I need new insulation, what kind of material is it you are talking about?

 

Hello Segfault

This is the stuff I have been eyeing off - it is an Australian company - but sure there would be similar stuff in your part of the world.

They also have a series of video's on how to apply, etc.

This is what is used on the older vehicles that did not have roof liners to begin with

https://www.carbuilders.com.au/insul-layer

I have the old roof liner material in my shed - removed from the backing board - just haven't measured up to see if 1200 x 900mm is big enough

Cheers
Steve

 

Hey Bez74,

thanks alot, now I at least know what to search for.

 

This is the issue I encounter. I'm only 6' but, looking straight ahead, the sun visor is right in front of me. I can't do the gangster seat reclining thing because my arms aren't long enough. If only there was some easy means of lowering the seat base by an inch or two.

 

That's why I just removed my visor. I still have to bend down at lights in either of the jags, unless I have the top down on the XJS, at which point I just look over the windshield lol 😁