Jaguar XF - Was it that good in hindsight?

I'd say go for it: I've had mine for 6 months and done close to 2,000 miles in it - given that it had only done 600 miles in the last 14 years, I expected a world of pain as it started to accumulate miles. Nothing could be further from the truth and so far only the wiper motor has failed. What's more I've had a lockdown project to get my teeth stuck in to - cleaning, refurbishment etc, nothing too taxing, but great fun.

It's funny isn't it? everyone has a different view on this - I like the Series 1 & 2 XJ-S and I like the XK8 too. Feel like very different cars from different eras with no overlap. It's the last of the big bumper 94-96 cars that can, for me, be a bit hit and miss if painted in some of those more typically 90's colours.

Lucky. I love my XFR-S but it’s been a warranty queen for too long 60k miles. Now in for a new diff. Last year was major (£11k) engine work.

When it’s right, it’s lovely.

VW group are no better though to be fair.

That's not quite the "character" I'm after when I'm looking at £10-20k Jaguars though...

Quite like a secondhand Sportbrake which is Ulez compliant, from an inital look most of the Diesels don't seem to be, not bothered if Petrol maybe up to 3 litres, will mainly be used in London.

A mere 9 years after the engine was introduced in the S-Type so it falls between the 20 years it took for them to build the V12 properly and give it an engine management system that wasn't totally Heath Robinson, and the mere six years it took them to take the AJ6 from an unrefined cement mixer of a thing to a robust and well sorted engine in 4 litre form (we'll forget the ten years of 'development' the AJ6 'benefited' from before introduction).

Or, for that matter, the 7 years it took them to make an AJV8 that didn't disintegrate it's timing chain tesioners and bend 32 valves. Just when everyone had relaxed and started to forget about it they reintroduced the timing chain and valve stuff 7 years later with the 3rd generation AJV8, the little scamps.

I agree on the 2.2D. The big problem with it was the total inability of the drivetrain to deliver a luxury experience. Constant gear changing, low end diesel vibration and a very narrow powerband meant it simply couldn't "waft". It tended to spend most of its time vibrating, running out of puff and then changing to a lower gear before going back to the previous gear, surging or grumbling. All of which it would do in the space of a few metres.

On a long distance run at 70mph, you were constantly flipping from 8th to 7th. You could lock it in 7th and that would calm it down, but then the engine would be ticking over at 1500rpm and the car had a constant subtle vibration.

It worked best when being thrashed, at which point it was quick, punchy and much smoother. I sense it probably felt very acceptable during testing while being thrashed around the MIRA test track or that pile of dangerous ste, the Nurburgring, but it just didn't work in the real world.

Plus the 2.2 engine sounds horrible.

The 2008 XF was on the face of it a fantastic achievement for a company that had been churning out stuff that looked ancient for years because it either had no money or Ford thought that’s what a Jaguar was or both. There were compromises because it had the use the S-type underpinnings but the car was thoroughly modern looking and the interior was like nothing seem before it a Jag.

I bought one at launch with most of the extras. After a couple of weeks the problems started and things started breaking and falling off. I got to know the service manager very well at the dealer and I pretty much found every recall and fix that was needed on the early cars. After a year of reliability rubbish where I was not in the car for 8 of those 12 months I managed to get JLR to buy it back off me.

Step forward the new XJ a year later and I’m sorry but I was too burned to try it. I wished the company well and they did do well. They lost their way from the XE onwards in my book. The new XF looks awful.

Still got my 1975 XJ coupe

In answer to the question - in my experience, yes; yes it was.

2009 XFR for 2 years and 28000 miles. Lovely noise and pace on acceleration.

Interior was mixed - alcantara headlining, extended leather were superb.
Swivelling vents were ok, fun to start then a bit gimmicky. Plastics were a bit cheap in centre console.
Sat nav/Tech was well behind although the B&W stereo was a lovely thing - almost up to the sound of the engine!

Great car, few electrical niggles but nothing more than character. Liked a set of back tyres though...

Replaced by a 435i convertible which lasted 2 months before being traded in for a 911 C2S. BMW was a cheap and nasty plastic hateful thing.