RE: SOTW: Jaguar XJ6 3.2 Sport

[M3333]

Wow these seem so stupidly cheap now.....very tempting especially seeing classic insurance will be cheap as chips..

I remember when these came out, i was around 14 at the time and wrote a letter to Jaguar saying i was a little too young to buy one but could i have a sales brochure. I never expected to recieve a reply but a few weeks later a lovely letter dropped through the door from one of the Jaguar Directors, they sent me some massive posters, sals brochures and a few other bits and pieces!! Was well pleased. Will buy a new one one day when i am a little older.

[david_b]

They're brilliant old things, I love mine. Had it almost a year and it's been completely reliable, is lovely to cruise around in, and it still feels a nice place to sit every time I get in.


Jaguar XJ Sport 3.2 (X300) by david_b, on Flickr


Jaguar XJ Sport 3.2 (X300) by david_b, on Flickr

Makes a perfect partner to this:


Lotus Elise 111S by david_b, on Flickr

[jonah35]

lovely cars.

ok so i know this car went from say M reg ish up to about, what, 51 plate?

so before it was the 'square headlight' john major shape one and after it was the newer aluminium one.

However, please can someone sum up the range for me and provide a review

we had the 6 cylinder xjr and then the v8 370 brake xjr. what's the difference between an x300 and x308, xj6 and xj8 and all that kind of stuff. what had nikasil, what didn't and so on.

is an xj6 a 6 cylinder and xj8 8 cylinder?

is a sovereign top of the range?

a nice, neat review would be luvvly!

[thewheelman]

mercGLowner said:

thewheelman said:

mercGLowner said:

I bought an x300 XJ3.2 Sport back in 2008, it lasted 4 weeks - as long as it took the V5 to come back from Swansea! My wife took the unrelenting piss out of me for driving an old man's barge! The car did have some presence though, sold it and broke even, even after I taxed it and had it serviced. Even now I keep looking at the previous shape XJ TDVi, they are incredible value for money.

Great looking example right there Only lasted 4 weeks, what happened?

It was bought on impulse, it did look a cracking car, and to be fair it was good. It had about 80000 miles on it and was purchased without seeing it from eBay! Got it home, had it serviced and checked over at the local Jag indie, who gave it a clean bill of health. I polished and waxed it, and it came up a real treat. Although non metallic black, it really did shine. However, it was a big car and the Mrs would go absolutely nowhere near it and took the piss out of me, so put it up for sale as soon as the V5 came through. I paid £2K for it, spent around £200 on the service and tax and sold for £2200, it was a cost neutral exercise in effect.

Haha, i get the same ribbing from my girlfriend due to my love of Jags. I'm 34 & she calls me an old fart everytime i suggest buying one. I WILL have one at some point

[king arthur]

jonah35 said:

lovely cars.

ok so i know this car went from say M reg ish up to about, what, 51 plate?

so before it was the 'square headlight' john major shape one and after it was the newer aluminium one.

However, please can someone sum up the range for me and provide a review

we had the 6 cylinder xjr and then the v8 370 brake xjr. what's the difference between an x300 and x308, xj6 and xj8 and all that kind of stuff. what had nikasil, what didn't and so on.

is an xj6 a 6 cylinder and xj8 8 cylinder?

is a sovereign top of the range?

a nice, neat review would be luvvly!

Yes, the number after the 'XJ' denotes the number of cylinders. X300 came along in 1994 to replace the square shaped XJ40 but in truth the X300 is more or less a new front and back end attached to the middle of the XJ40. The engines from the XJ40 were revised and called 'AJ16' and came as straight 6 3.2 and 4.0 and the new supercharged 4.0 in the XJR. In 1997 these were replaced by the new V8 also in 3.2 and 4.0 and supercharged 4.0, and these are the models known as X308. The V8s were the ones with the Nikasil issues until some time in 2000 when they stopped using it.

Sovereign is top of the range, Sport has slightly harder suspension, black window surrounds instead of chrome and usually comes with black over oatmeal interior with Oak wood trim, but not always.

[LouD86]

What a fantastic shed. At 22, I decided I wanted a Jag, and ended up purchasing a 94 XJ40 4.0 Sport. What a machine, so comfy, the ride, the whole essence of the car, and it was amazing. Paid £400 for it, sold for £750 having only paid out on front pads for it.

Insurance for those younger readers, I was paying £640 fully comp, with 2years NCB. I doubt many lads have accidents in these beasts!

[theironduke]

dave de roxby said:

varsas said:

cheesyblob said:

Nice. One of the last XK6 engined Jaguars.

Sadly not, this will have the 'AJ16' engine. The last cars with the XK engine was mere made in the early 90's, XJ's haven't had them since the series 3 (I think?)

Friend had one of these, really really nice. From the moment I got in it during the test drive it just felt right. Everything you want from a jaguar, and this has a lovely colour combination. I'm not a huge fan of that dash (I prefer the XJ8) but that's nit picking and everything else is great.

ETA: why is it under boring stuff? RWD + straight 6 means it's not, surely?

Nothing 'sad' about the XJ16 engine in my opinion - the best engine Jaguar ever produced and certainly better than the early V8s. I love the traditional dash and door veneers - everything went 'Fordy' after that and lost the bespoke, gentleman's carriage quality - shame.

This car doesn't deserve to be labelled a 'shed' IMHO and represents superb value for money.

Edited by dave de roxby on Saturday 27th August 08:40

Edited by dave de roxby on Saturday 27th August 08:42

The AJ16 is a devine engine, the pinnicle (sp) of Jags six cylinder heritage.

My XJS was bestowed with a AJ16, it was the smoothest 6 pot i've ever experienced, pretty close to the V12 in the old mans XJ12. The first time i drove it i thought it was cutting out when i was stationery...it was that smooth and refined it was only the tacho which gave away the presence of an engine!

Lovely engine and when in a Facelift XJS it makes for a stunning car; i'd have one again in a heartbeat.

[king arthur]

thewheelman said:

Haha, i get the same ribbing from my girlfriend due to my love of Jags. I'm 34 & she calls me an old fart everytime i suggest buying one. I WILL have one at some point

Just do it, and if she still moans then she's not the right girl for you!

[varsas]

dave de roxby said:

varsas said:

cheesyblob said:

Nice. One of the last XK6 engined Jaguars.

Sadly not, this will have the 'AJ16' engine. The last cars with the XK engine was mere made in the early 90's, XJ's haven't had them since the series 3 (I think?)

Friend had one of these, really really nice. From the moment I got in it during the test drive it just felt right. Everything you want from a jaguar, and this has a lovely colour combination. I'm not a huge fan of that dash (I prefer the XJ8) but that's nit picking and everything else is great.

ETA: why is it under boring stuff? RWD + straight 6 means it's not, surely?

Nothing 'sad' about the XJ16 engine in my opinion - the best engine Jaguar ever produced and certainly better than the early V8s. I love the traditional dash and door veneers - everything went 'Fordy' after that and lost the bespoke, gentleman's carriage quality - shame.

This car doesn't deserve to be labelled a 'shed' IMHO and represents superb value for money.

Ah, but there's something magical about the XK, isn't there? On the up side, the AJ16 is exactly what you would want in a car like this, that you will actually drive. Economical, reliable but still certainly a proper Jaguar engine. Saying I'd rather have an XK engined car is no slight against the '16.

Ecurie Ecosse said:

Also, another cool X300 feature is the way the dial layout follows that of the earlier S1, S2 and S3 XJs - and the later XJ40s of course. You'll also see most of the dash in the Aston DB7.

Sorry to nit-pick...the S1 XJ had a quite different dashboard, same as a S3 E-type with two dials in front of the driver and the rest across the middle of the car. S2 -> X300 all had a similar layout.

Edited by varsas on Saturday 27th August 13:23

[pete5570]

There's no way i would sell my Jag for a wife/girlfriend. I'd rather get rid of them if they took the piss or moaned.

[pistonchris]

richw_82 said:

pistonchris said:

So is his insurance reasonable.

Yes. I'll ask him tomorrow how much. I know he is in the JEC so that helped.

Thankyou.

[neil240970]

My late father was a Jag loon - just couldn't live without one. His latest was/is a x300 v8 Sport which he paid £900 for, with Nikasil troubles as he just couldn't resist - even in fire engine red. He swapped out the engine with a good'un from a Jag specialist but my Mum doesn't want to keep it as it's "too red and too big". So we stuck on PH (maybe priced a bit high looking at this one).

Personally, I think it's a keeper and reading this has made me get all Jagged-Up and frantically thinking of ways to justify buying it off my Mum.

"Well, we do really neeeeed a family car- just look at the cavernous boot"

"Well, of course Darling, your back's been giving you trouble - I'm pretty sure Jag saloons are a well-known cure for back trouble"

Never mind the fact that it won't fit in the drive.........

[thewheelman]

david_b said:

They're brilliant old things, I love mine. Had it almost a year and it's been completely reliable, is lovely to cruise around in, and it still feels a nice place to sit every time I get in.


Jaguar XJ Sport 3.2 (X300) by david_b, on Flickr


Jaguar XJ Sport 3.2 (X300) by david_b, on Flickr

Makes a perfect partner to this:


Lotus Elise 111S by david_b, on Flickr

Great balance to have between the two cars, a comfy cruiser & a great fun car. Money well spent IMO.

[thewheelman]

I see the car featured has now been sold. Someone got a bargain!

[dave de roxby]

theironduke said:

The AJ16 is a devine engine, the pinnicle (sp) of Jags six cylinder heritage.

My XJS was bestowed with a AJ16, it was the smoothest 6 pot i've ever experienced, pretty close to the V12 in the old mans XJ12. The first time i drove it i thought it was cutting out when i was stationery...it was that smooth and refined it was only the tacho which gave away the presence of an engine!

Lovely engine and when in a Facelift XJS it makes for a stunning car; i'd have one again in a heartbeat.

Well said old boy!

Must get me old XJ40 4.0 litre out of hibernation. A shed in a shed.

[varsas]

dave de roxby said:

Well said old boy!

Must get me old XJ40 4.0 litre out of hibernation. A shed in a shed.

Do I get a prize for recognising that the car next to it is an XJ-S?

neil240970 said:

My late father was a Jag loon - just couldn't live without one. His latest was/is a x300 v8 Sport which he paid £900 for, with Nikasil troubles as he just couldn't resist - even in fire engine red. He swapped out the engine with a good'un from a Jag specialist but my Mum doesn't want to keep it as it's "too red and too big". So we stuck on PH (maybe priced a bit high looking at this one).

If it's a V8 it's either had an engine swap or is an X308. If it is an X308 they are worth slightly more then the X300. Just in case you've put it's an X300 V8 in the advert, it'll put people off.

Edited by varsas on Saturday 27th August 16:06

[dave de roxby]

varsas said:

dave de roxby said:

Well said old boy!

Must get me old XJ40 4.0 litre out of hibernation. A shed in a shed.

Do I get a prize for recognising that the car next to it is an XJ-S?

You've won a coconut!

[ajprice]

So you've got J99UAR and J44UAR, any others?

[dave de roxby]

ajprice said:

So you've got J99UAR and J44UAR, any others?

Had a silly buying spree in back in 1991. I'm a Jagoholic, not a dealer! Kept them all on retention until recently - has cost me a small fortune.

Sold (gave away, more like) J60 XJS and J66UAR plus J33P OK over the years. Still have J44UAR, J99 XJS and J44 XJS on retention. Put J99UAR on the old Daimler in frustration, just to show it off - the car promptly broke down after just 2 days and went into storage for 3 years! Typical XJ electrical issue - now fixed, so I shall get it tested and back on the road soon - not a bad old hack but needs a good clean up now - but fancy putting the number on a nice XK8 maybe?

Edited by dave de roxby on Saturday 27th August 16:49

[thewheelman]

dave de roxby said:

ajprice said:

So you've got J99UAR and J44UAR, any others?

Had a silly buying spree in back in 1991. I'm a Jagoholic, not a dealer! Kept them all on retention until recently - has cost me a small fortune.

Sold (gave away, more like) J60 XJS and J66UAR plus J33P OK over the years. Still have J44UAR, J99 XJS and J44 XJS on retention. Put J99UAR on the old Daimler in frustration, just to show it off - the car promptly broke down after just 2 days and went into storage for 3 years! Typical XJ electrical issue - now fixed, so I shall get it tested and back on the road soon - not a bad old hack but needs a good clean up now - but fancy putting the number on a nice XK8 maybe?

Edited by dave de roxby on Saturday 27th August 16:49

Ooooohhhh!!!!!! Yeah! An XK8! Stunning looking car & now at great prices, not only should you buy one, you probably need one......