Jaguar Birmingham
Looking to buy a Jaguar? Find out what's good, what's bad and what to watch out for from Honest John.
Good: Almost perfect. 4.2V8 and 5.0V8 have beautiful balance of power, gearchange, handling, ride comfort, sounds and well-being. New 3.0 diesels low CO2.
Bad: High CO2 puts the V8 petrol models in high tax brackets.
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Good: Good looks, wonderful exhaust note and excellent fast-shifting 6-speed automatic. 510PS 5.0 XKR from 2009 very quick.
Bad: 4.2 not as fast as the exhaust note might lead you to believe. 20" wheels with 285/30 rear tyres give unsettled ride.
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Good: Smart looks and roomy load bay. V6s are four-wheel drive. Diesels are quite frugal.
Bad: Not recommended for towing. Uneven tyre wear on four-wheel-drive V6 cars.
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Good: Quick, comfortable, refined and sporty. Excellent safety kit. Diesel offers inexpensive running costs by luxury car standards and reliable.
Bad: Unimaginative styling. Suspension can clonk in tight bends when you're pressing on.
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Good: Still a head-turner and now cheaper than ever. Refined, sporting drive. Luxurious feel to the cabin.
Bad: Thirst exacerbates already high running costs. Potential build quality problems. V8 bore liner erosion on pre-2000 model year cars.
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This car simply oozes personality. The smooth 3.0 litre 240bhp Ford Duratec V6 thrums, whoops and bellows, yet remains smooth to quite high revs. It's also very powerful, with 20bhp more than Audi's new 3.0 litre V6, 19bhp more than Mercedes 3.2 litre V6 and 9bhp more than BMW's much vaunted 3.0 litre straight six.
To anyone who ever drove a Jaguar Mk II 3.4 or 3.8, the new S Type V6 manual is its spiritual reincarnation. For a start we get flowing retro Jaguar lines, which somehow manage to combine elements of the MkII, the first S Type and even the Mk X.
Good: Proper, rear drive Jaguar, at its best ad 3.0V6 Sport manual.
Bad: Lots of faults and overtaken by the opposition during its long production life.
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Many automakers offer diesels in Birmingham, including Jaguar which has offered its S-Type V6 Diesel. From outside the S-Type diesel you can hear it. It’s as subdued as a diesel could be and far more so than an Audi, BMW or Merc. But anyone at the golf club who isn’t deaf will know you’re burning oil under the bonnet.
Good: Compact Jaguar, launched as V6 only with four wheel drive. Held price well at first.
Bad: Mondeo-based and did not become Jaguar's 3 Series. Prices dropping by 2007. Production ended July 2009.
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The engine is straight out of the Mondeo TDCI 130, not the 136bhp Ford/PSA 2.0 litre used in the C-Max and new Volvo S40. And it has to make do with a 5-speed box rather than the Mondeo, C-Max and Volvo’s new 6-speeder.
Good: Smart looks and roomy load bay. V6s are four-wheel drive. Diesels are quite frugal.
Bad: Not recommended for towing. Uneven tyre wear on four-wheel-drive V6 cars.
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Features of the Jaguar X-Type available in Birmingham include the four A's - alloy wheels, ABS, air conditioning and multiple airbags to protect all passengers, plus the bonus of permanent electronically-controlled four-wheel-drive. Read on to get more information about the car.
Good: Almost perfect. 4.2V8 and 5.0V8 have beautiful balance of power, gearchange, handling, ride comfort, sounds and well-being. New 3.0 diesels low CO2.
Bad: High CO2 puts the V8 petrol models in high tax brackets.
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So Jaguar concentrated on making its new engines develop as much torque as possible at low rpm. And, of course, as well as making the engines more pleasant to drive, more torque at lower revs means better fuel economy in Birmingham.
The XF I’ve been driving isn’t one with the slightly suspect 2.7 V6 diesel engine. Or with the old Mondeo’s 3.0 litre V6, not bad that this engine is. I’ve been tooling around in the all-Jaguar 300bhp XF 4.2 V8.
Sleek, sporting and sophisticated, the all-new Jaguar XJ in Birmingham brings a daring new spirit to automotive luxury - it offers a seductive mix of striking design, breathtaking performance and engineering without compromise.
Good: Reliable and liked by owners. Cheap to buy now. Refined with a sporting edge.
Bad: Not that much space in the back. Alloy wheels corrode.
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Good: Beautiful styling and a comfortable drive. Good examples are no longer depreciating.
Bad: A thirst for fuel. Parts wear out and rust can set in, among other typical old car problems.
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Good: Quality ambience inside. Hushed, rapid and comfortable to drive.
Bad: Least attractive-looking XJ. Limited rear legroom.
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Good: Quick, comfortable, refined and sporty. Excellent safety kit. Diesel offers inexpensive running costs by luxury car standards and reliable.
Bad: Unimaginative styling. Suspension can clonk in tight bends when you're pressing on.
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Good: Luxurious, comfortable and refined with some sports appeal. Well built and loved by owners.
Bad: Not as roomy in the back as you might think. Bore liner erosion on pre-2000 model year cars. Problems with suspension.
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This is the smoothest, most refined diesel in the World. Yet, though it gathers pace commendably quickly, to 60 in 7.8 seconds, and is far from a “limp wrist in a velvet glove” it certainly doesn’t perform with the feeling of being hurled forward by some brutal, unseen force.
Good: Comfortable ride, well-sorted handling and a luxurious ambience in the cabin.
Bad: Old cars now with old car problems.
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Good: Commanding power mixed with traditional British luxury and Jaguar's own blend of refined comfort.
Bad: Fearsomely thirsty. So much power in such a softly sprung car. Front suspension and steering give trouble.
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Good: Good looks, wonderful exhaust note and excellent fast-shifting 6-speed automatic. 510PS 5.0 XKR from 2009 very quick.
Bad: 4.2 not as fast as the exhaust note might lead you to believe. 20" wheels with 285/30 rear tyres give unsettled ride.
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With the compact X-Type’s demise, the oldest car in its range is now the alloy-bodied XK8 sports grand tourer, which with its oval grill and sinuous shape might be perceived as having more in common with cars Jaguar made in the past than those that have been launched since it arrived.
The dishonourable exception is the Ferrari F430, which somehow contrives to sound both earpiercingly loud and awful. But you can't beat a good V8. And until yesterday, to my ears at least, the unbeaten V8 was the wonderful new Audi RS4 hotdogging past the pits at Goodwood.
Good: Still a head-turner and now cheaper than ever. Refined, sporting drive. Luxurious feel to the cabin.
Bad: Thirst exacerbates already high running costs. Potential build quality problems. V8 bore liner erosion on pre-2000 model year cars.
Read Honest Johns full review of what's good, what's bad and what to watch out for below...
Good: Good looks, wonderful exhaust note and excellent, fast-shifting 6-speed auto. 4.2 XKR quick. 510PS 5.0 XKR from 2009 very quick.
Bad: 4.2 V8 not as fast as the exhaust note might lead you to believe. 285/30 x 20 rear tyres give unsettled ride.
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Good: Quick and good looking.
Bad: Short model life before advent of 510 PS 5.0 litre XKR.
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