Car of the Week: Jaguar S-Type

Let me start by putting it out there, the S-Type is not one of Jaguar designs finest hours. That narrow grill just looks like your granny puckering up her lips for a kiss doesn't it? And combined with the retro inspired quad headlamps the car takes on a sort of surprised alien face. However, despite appearances I have indeed chosen the S-Type as my car of the week, why? Because how can you not resist the luxury of a Jag for under $5000.

What has it got to offer?

So besides it's unique appearance what else does an S-type have to offer? A strong choice of engines for starters, available in V6 or V8 flavors from launch the S-Type was no slouch, the V6 makes 179kw good for 0-100km/h in 8.7secs which for a car of it's size is pretty impressive. Jaguar also made sure the S-Type could handle too. With power sent to the back there was a claimed 50:50 weight distribution and although steering was said to be a little vague, road holding was good.

Whats it like inside?

On the inside it was usual Jaguar fare, albeit with some switches taken straight from the Ford parts bin. Vast swathes of leather and wood are the order of the day making sure that when your in it you feel suitably posh. Being a luxury sedan up against the likes of Merc's E-Class and BMW's 5 series also mean that despite early cars now turning 16 yeas old, there's a myriad of creature comforts. Electric memory seats, power mirrors, dual zone climate control, cruise control, a decent sound system and alloys wheels all came as standard. SE models like the one I've picked out also came with sunroofs.

Reliability 

Of course being British is usually a byword for not very reliable and the S had its fair share of issues and recalls. However don't let little mechanical or electrical gremlins put you off, as like I have mentioned before with high end cars, the previous owner probably cherished it.

Go get yourself one

That last statement is even more true of today's pick, as no one looks after an expensive car quite like it's first owner. That's right, the person selling this one owner S-Type for $4,600 originally paid $95,000 for it! Stating that they now need a smaller car the big Jag appears to be in good condition bar a bit of lacquer peel on the bumper. The interior looks clean and the engine bay spotless for a 15 year old car and to top it off 178,000km's isn't that high either. For the price I think this Jag is definitely worth checking out, even if it is a little surprised looking.

2000 Jaguar S-Type, $4600                

Full public reveal for the new Jaguar XF

Last week I told you about the impending release of Jags new XF, well now it's here and I can tell you a little more about it.

Refined original 

First things first, the new XF looks very much like the old one, but as I eluded to last time this is no bad thing, the old car was gorgeous, the new one is just that bit more chiseled. Under the skin though things are far different, measuring 4,984mm, the new XF is marginally shorter (7mm) and lower (3mm) than the car it replaces. Despite this though wheelbase is up, 51mm longer than the old car. This is key as what it means is more interior space, particularly rear legroom which has increased 15mm making it the class leader for people who like to lounge in the back.

Safety first

Inside is a nice place to be too with a range of new kit available, there is a 10.2 inch touchscreen with dual view, meaning the passenger can watch something totally different (TV or DVD) to the driver at the same time. Natural voice controls are another comforting feature that allow you to speak to the car as you would an actual human being. For example if you like the song playing just say "more like this" and the car adjusts your playlist accordingly. Other new tech for the XF is a head up display to keep the driver focused on the road and adaptive cruise control with queue assist for those times when your not so focused and crawling along in traffic. Essentially the new XF will drive itself, especially when you add in other safety tech like autonomous emergency braking, lane departure and lane keep assist systems.

Nimble

Of course Jaguar hasn't forgotten that its cars, as safe as they might be, are to be enjoyed with the actual driver doing the driving. Catering for this is an aluminium intensive architecture allowing for near 50:50 weight distribution with double wishbone suspension up front and an integral link set up at the rear. Jaguar reckons they have created the perfect blend of ride comfort and handling by doing this and if their back catalouge of cars is anything to go by I think they've probably nailed it. But just in case they hadn't Jaguar have also equipped the new XF with adaptive dampers and configurable dynamics technology so the driver can set up the big cat exactly how they want.

Engines 

Powering the XF is a range of 4 cylinders and V6's, available in both petrol and diesel flavours. With power outputs ranging from 132kw (2 litre diesel) to 280kw from the V6 fitted to the XFS pictured. All cars will come with a 8 speed automatic gearbox with the option of manual shifting via paddles.

Don't let the new XF's styling fool you, this is an all new car and one that on paper at least stacks up pretty well against the usual suspects in the premium sedan game. With spot on dynamics, a choice of a frugal 4 cylinder and plenty of luxury to offer I don't doubt the big Brit could steal some sales of those pesky Germans.      

The New Jaguar XF is here and it's rather splendid

I bet the Jaguar execs breathed a sigh of relief when the high wire stunt used to reveal the new XF went without a hitch yesterday. Thankfully for the rest of us it was good news too, with no shiny new XF's harmed in the making we can all be treated to the beautiful lines of Jags new medium sized saloon, lets take a closer look.

Distinctly Jaguar 

More design evolution instead of complete reworking, the XF is still distinctly a Jaguar, good, as this means it's unlikely to be confused with German rivals. It also means that picking the Jag remains the thinking mans choice, it shows that one dares to be different and there's nothing wrong with that. But with Jag lately playing on the idea their cars are the villains choice, does the XF make the grade? Well for starters that big grille with new, less rounded LED headlights either side certainly makes the Jag look angry. It flows into a long bonnet with adequate power bulge before the line flows over the car and down to quite a short rear, it truly is a gorgeous car and if you don't think so, there's clearly something wrong with you! On the white car pictured, an XFS there's also some suitably aggressive air intakes on the front bumper and some wonderfully spokey wheels. I should also point out those beautiful new panels are also light weight, the whole XF architecture utilises aluminium to make sure the Jag is one off the lightest cars in it's class. It's a slippery bugger too with a drag coefficient of just 0.26, an Aston Martin DBS is a brick in comparison, managing only 0.35, come on Bond, the baddies car cuts through the air better than yours!

New features

Look closely and the car clearly takes ques from some of its smaller siblings too, those rear lights for example, total F-Type while the whole silhouette is very much an enlarged XE, or should the XE be a shrunken XF? It doesn't really matter, both cars look superb. Inside things have changed too, there is a new 10.2 inch touchscreen for the infotainment system and instead of traditional dials drivers get a fully configurable 12.3 TFT instrument cluster. A 17 speaker Meridian surround sound system can also be spec'd, just in case you want to blow your ear drums out.

Wonderfully Evil

Full details of the new XF will be revealed at the New York Auto Show on April 1st. Meaning for now just sit back and enjoy the pictures. Perhaps while stroking a white cat and smirking because the Jag is still very much a villains car and it's all the better for it. Australian release is scheduled for the first quarter of 2016 with pricing to be announced closer to the time.

     

Zip lining New Jaguar XF almost here

What's the main criteria you look for when buying a new car? That its economical, safe, comfy, affordable perhaps? How about its ability to zip down a high wire line? Well Jaguars brand new XF posses this rather unique ability. Tomorrow will see the Jags 5 Series rival revealed to world live online by way of a zip line. Yes that's how the one and a bit tonne luxury motor will be revealed before its full public debut at the New York Auto Show on the 1st of April. Watch the teaser videos below for the build up.

Ever since the original appeared in 2007 I thought the XF was a beautifully proportioned, elegant saloon and if Jaguars latest F-Type and XE are anything to go by the new XF should be spectacular. I'll be tuning in tomorrow (8am AEDT on the 25th in Aus) to see what the next gen XF has in store, there's also a chance the whole stunt could go horribly wrong and that's surely worth tuning in for too!

Teaser shot of the new Jaguar XF

 

Car of the Week Review: Jaguar XJS

Variety is the spice of life they say, well when your buying second hand cars the same is true. To prove this point my car of the week today is a million miles away from last weeks humble Polo. I give you the Jaguar XJS and yes I've driven this one too.

Isn't it a bit rubbish?

Arriving in 1975 Jaguars XJS was mocked as an unworthy, poorly built E-Type successor. And to be fair at the time this was understandable, the design icon and symbol of the 60's that was the E-Type was a hard act to follow. This meant the XJS was for many years an ugly ducking, however looking at one now I struggle to see how this could still be the case. With its long bonnet and sweeping tail and those buttresses the XJS represents everything a GT Coupe should be. Honestly if there were a book titled "A Lesson in GT Coupes 101" the XJS would be on the cover. Reliability though was an issue and one that tends to get worse over time, so I'll go into more detail on that subject later.

Whats it like inside?

Soft, squishy and comfy in a way that only a car designed in the 70's can be is the best way to describe the interior. From the second you open the door your nostrils are greeted by the sweet mixture of  wood, leather and the faint whiff of oil just to remind you its British, old and may test your mechanical know how at any minute. Naturally coming from an era when Jag was bit strapped for cash you can tell the parts bin was raided for the majority of the switch gear but none of this really matters when its wrapped in shag pile and mahogany. You sit low and far back with the wide transmission tunnel separating you from the passenger, the array of switches and dials laid out in front of you, with just enough visible out of the narrow windows that surround you, it's a car that taunts you to turn the key and go for a drive.

This is an American spec car, ignore the stupid seatbelt's and you get the idea

Whats it like to drive?

Turn that key select D and the first thing you notice is the swell of power that lifts the nose. The soft springs squat at the rear as what from the inside appears to be a plush 70's hotel bar hurtles towards 100km/h in 8 seconds. Its at this point the reality of how wide and wallowy the XJS is really hits home. With the bonnet stretched out for what seems like a mile in front of you knowing exactly where the front wheels are is a challenge, but with Jaguars lovely thin rimmed steering wheel in your hands and less pressure applied to the throttle the XJS is a pleasure to point down a country road. Any speed lost in the corners is made up for by the tidal wave of torque unleashed as soon as you exit the bend and hit the big skinny pedal on the right. The simple auto box has no manual mode, this was the 70's after all but there is a sport ratio that holds onto the gears that little bit longer, allowing the engine to howl a little more in search of its 213kw (there was a manual available, but these are rare). On the highway though the big cat really comes into its own, the cars dynamic flaws on the back roads morphing into a superb level of ride comfort on big straight pieces of bitumen with highly illegal speeds worryingly achievable if you just happen to twitch your right foot. The only real complaints with the Jag are brakes that cant quite handle the cars considerable mass and some wind noise at cruising speed, most likely due to those sizable 70's panel gaps. Honestly though, whatever the road driving an XJS is an occasion. Its exciting, but by no means a car your meant to commute in. Instead its a car for one to take on a drive purely because, one fancies going on a drive!

 

Racing pedigree 

Of course in race guise the XJS handled slightly better than it did in road going form. Categorically wiping the floor in the 1984 ETCC, Tom Walkinshaw brought his Jags Down Under in 1985 and won at that most Australian of Australian races Bathurst. Watch and listen to his pole lap below, it's fairly epic.

Reliability 

Back to reliability and unfortunately it's not great news, the XJS's 5.3 litre V12 did have a few issues. The most catastrophic being its ability to set itself on fire in multiple ways, allow me to explain. Firstly the fuel hoses going to the injectors, if these are left to get old and brittle they can crack, the result is fuel meeting hot engine, not good. The other fiery problem is the distributor failing, resulting in half the cylinders not firing and the fuel that was meant to go into them being dumped into the exhaust, again if this is hot, fire can ensue. Keeping with the hot theme the big V12 is also partial to overheating resulting in warped cylinder heads and broken engine internals, equally not good. There are steps you can take to protect yourself from a Jaguar themed bonfire though. Firstly like any car past a certain age a full service history is key, things will without a doubt have gone wrong over the years, but if there is a receipt to prove its been fixed you can feel more at ease about your purchase.

Buy right and you might not need to lift this quite so much

Of course you might want to do a bit of tinkering yourself and not mind a patchy service history. This is also fine as long as your prepared to spend a little to make sure your big cat keeps purring. Part availability Down Under actually isn't too much of a headache especially if you join one of the many Jaguar owners clubs like www.jaguar.org.au and specialist parts suppliers do exist. There is also the option of buying your parts from Europe and getting them shipped over, it might cost less than you think.

To conclude

Maybe I'm just being all patriotic and wistful because I'm a Brit in Aus but I actually think the XJS is a spectacular machine that's shaken off its chequered past to become a desirable classic car. And if the ever increasing values of XJ's are anything to go by I think others have cottoned onto that fact too.

Go get yourself one 

If you needed proof that these cars are rising in value take a look at the classifieds, prices are all over the shop for cars that on paper at least sound pretty similar. Owners just don't know what to ask, some can be had for as little as $6000 while others are approaching $40k, in fact at the time of writing someones asking $50k for one, which is a bit ridiculous if I'm being honest. From an investment point of view an earlier 1970's car is probably the best buy. These cars looked a little less fussy with smaller bumpers and prices are definitely climbing, however a later 80's car will cost you less to buy and that's why I've chosen one of these this week. It does have slightly high km's but looks to be very clean and it comes with that all important service book!

1987 Jaguar XJS, $6000

Top 5: Big European luxury brands with little prices

I've been scouring the internet for a number of weeks now, picking out what I think are the best and most overlooked European cars you can buy in Australia. For me at least it has been both enlightening and immensely fun, but it got me thinking, how cheaply can you buy luxury motors that once upon a time had a price tag on the distant side of $100,000? Turns out quite cheaply, allow me to enlighten you a little more with a top 5 count down, god I love depreciation.

5. Range Rover 4.6 HSE

Coming in at number 5, the Range Rover. What car signifies countryside pomp and ceremony more than a Rangie? As comfortable cruising city streets as it is up to its axles in mud the Range Rover is potentially all the car you could ever need. That iconic British badge, a commanding high driving position and not to mention supreme comfort meant that back in the day Land Rover could charge you $114,500 for the privilege of owning one. Nowadays though you can comfortably pick up a good late 90's car for under $10,000.

Posh stone arch and gravel drive in the background, check

Admittedly the big lazy 4.6 litre V8 isn't going to break any land speed records, but it will make a wonderful burble and if you want it too pull your house down so you can build a new one more fitting to the Range Rover image, it'll do that too. I'd suggest installing some palatial pillars when you rebuild, the Queen has a Range after all!

4. Mercedes Benz S-Class (S320)

Expensive hotel in the background, check

Another icon of luxury travel comes in at number 4, the Mercedes Benz S-Class. A class leading car
since it's launch in 1979 the S pioneered things like pretensioning seat belts, airbags, ABS and a whole heap of other driver aids, not to mention massaging air conditioned seats. The W220 model was built from 1999 to 2006 with even the early cars getting the option of in car TV's, DVD player, in car phone and self leveling air suspension. Unsurprisingly when new in 1999 an S320 would have set you back a cool $170,300 but now these mobile Dick Smiths can be bought for under $15,000 

3. BMW 7 Series (735iL)

Opulent country house in the background, check

Remember when James Bond drove BMW's? He screeched a 7 Series around a car park in 1997's
Tomorrow Never Dies. It was quite possibly the shittest bond car ever, I mean a German limo with zero sex appeal for goodness sake, not very "shaken not stirred" is it. Anyway I digress, don't let that foray onto the big screen detract from what a excellent BMW the 7 Series is. You see for the non Bonds among us the understated 7 Series is potentially all the luxury one would ever need, with a little bit of legendary BMW driving dynamics thrown in for good measure. A wonderfully smooth 173kw V8 powered the 735i meaning, that if sir wanted, 0-100km/h could be dispatched in 7.9 seconds. The cost of Bonds BMW new? $172,500. Now one can be had for a little over $10,000

2. Jaguar XJR

In life there are villains, cads, playboys and generally people who, on the surface seem like chuffing ruddy nice blokes, but after dark get a little devious. These people have long been affiliated with Jaguars, or should I say, Jaaaaaags and I'm not going to argue. Number 2 on my countdown of bargain luxury is the Jag for villains who want to do the driving themselves, the Jaguar XJR. Perfectly suited for chasing any heroins sports car the XJR offers up 276kw of shove from a 4 litre supercharged V8 dispatching 100km/h in 5.3 seconds. Back in the day a villains unscrupulous activities would have had to net a profit of $178,000 to buy one, whereas now about $13,000 should do the trick.

Bad Ass powerslide for the Jag, check

1. Rolls Royce Silver Spur

There could really be only one conclusion to this run down of once expensive but now affordable luxury and that is a Rolls Royce. Quite simply a Rolls is the quintessential posh persons wheels, hand built and highly regarded as one of the best brands in the world. Sitting in one is akin to gliding along on a magic carpet, albeit with a bit more wood and a set of leather chairs thrown in for good measure. Powered by a 6.75 litre V8 engine designed to waft rather than set your trousers on fire a Silver Spur is surely the luxury bargain of the century. When new a Spur cost way more than an average house, $328,900 to be precise, but now, some 20 years later you can get one for about $35,000. A tempting prospect when you realise that Hyundai's new luxury Genesis saloon could cost you double that!

A ruddy big castle in the background, obviously!

Now go get one

Not content with just telling you this though, my blog wouldn't be complete if I hadn't done the hard work for you already. So here picked from Ebay, 5 real examples of my top 5. I'm not saying buy these exact cars, merely showing you whats out there after a quick search, plus these 5 won't stick around for sale forever anyway.
1998 Range Rover HSE, $8,500
                 

1999 Mercedes Benz S320, $11,990

1998 BMW 735iL, $10,900

1998 Jaguar XJR, $12,950

1991 Rolls Royce Silver Spur, $37,000

Get your own Euro Barn Find

In a potentially very tenuous link to my earlier post about the ultimate barn find collection, I have been spurred on to see what decaying European metal is out there in Australia ripe for some restoration. Thankfully I discovered there is quite a lot, so much in fact that I'm only going to focus on one manufacturer for this first restoration themed post and that brand is Jaguar. So please allow me to guide you through some of the best potential big cat projects I found out on the world wide web.

Firstly however, a brief explanation of why classic European cars can be found decaying around Australia. You see in the days before Japanese and Korean cars dominated the new car sales charts a full contingent of British car manufactures, some now deceased I hasten to add, battled for supremacy with their European and Australian counterparts. Some truly awful creations from British Leyland arrived down under, like the Morris Marina, but some good made its way here too. And thanks to a combination of blind luck and some careful owners once upon a time, there are classics out there that have not rusted back into the soil from whence they came.

Jaguar seemed like a fittingly British marque to start my hunt for classic's with. A company now in resurgence thanks to a truly modern range things haven't always been so rosy. Desperate years owned by the aforementioned British Leyland almost sent the big cat to the rescue center in the 70's while the 80's and 90's weren't much better. However despite the troubles cars kept rolling out of the factory and found homes with many Aussies. Some Jags were destined to be classics from the day they were penned, like the Mk2 while others like the XJS pictured have grown into their looks over time. Regardless of the back stories though I'm pleased affordable classic Jags can be found in Australia, as long as your willing to spend a little more cash getting them road ready! Here are my findings.

How do 2 Jaguars for the price of one sound? My first find is exactly that, two cars bought with the intention of taking all the best bits from both to make one very good XJS. Unfortunately the owner has not been able to turn their dream into a reality and is offering both Jags for a very reasonable price. The bonus of this buy is, given that spare parts are likely to eat up any restoration budget getting that second car thrown in could be worth its weight in dead cow hide, walnut and oily bits.
2x Jag XJS's, $4750

My next find needs a little bit more TLC, quite a lot actually as it is a proper barn find condition Jag. However don't let that put you off, the majority of this beautiful Mk2 does appears to be there just not necessarily all screwed together. The seller mentions the biggest missing piece is a dashboard. I suspect the car might have had an interesting past too, those red wheels scream period race car to me.  
1962 Mk2 in need of restoration, $1200

My last pick is a little more sensible, for starters it actually works and has rego. It also appears to
have had some very careful and loving Jaguar enthusiast owners. Yes admittedly the unknown mileage is of some concern but really once a car gets to this sort of age condition is key and this one looks good, if the engines lasted this long somethings been done right! This one just needs a little TLC.  
1976 Jag XJ6,$3500         

Just a bit of inspiration