LETTERS
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Executive XJ
I have an XJ 308 Executive model (V8 4 litres) but have never seen a similar car published in your magazine.
A few magazines ago you mentioned every 308 produced but not my model so I’m mystified - is there a history to this model?
All I know about this car is that it left Longbridge in early 2000, went to Italy, then Germany, Paris and ended up in Marseille, from where I bought her. I live not far from Marseille, near Aix-en-Provence.
She has 158,000 km on the clock (not guaranteed) but we do have her service history.
As you can see from enclosed photos - of course I am biased - she is in excellent condition, inside and out. Next year we are hoping to do a road trip and will be stopping off at the Jaguar centre in Llandudno to have a full diagnostic done because unfortunately we have been ripped off by some unscrupulous local garages when they have worked on her. By the way, her name is Lizzie!
Mourning the loss of the Jaguar XE
I have had my Jaguar XE for nearly four years now, a diesel which is without doubt one of the best cars I have ever driven in the 47 years I have held my driving licence and I have owned or driven a huge number of cars in that time.
My only negative comment is the diesel engine. For a clean sheet design it’s still a bit vocal but fuel consumption is generally very good. Reliability, build quality and ride have been second to none.
One of my brothers has had two BMW 3-Series, his first two years older and his latest a year younger than my November 2019 Jaguar, and he’s constantly complaining about reliability and build quality issues and as for the ride quality he’s always asking if I want to swap cars. You can guess my answer to that.
So imagine my disappointment when told by my local dealer that I can no longer order a new XE. I fancied a petrol model, what to do? Great magazine. Keep up the good work.
XJ story
I have been reading Jaguar World for a few years and thought I would offer my Jaguar story:
I have been lucky enough to own three versions of the XJ range since 1999 and give my experiences/thoughts on all three. I first purchased a 1998 X308 (XJ8) LWB 4.0 Sovereign in Madeira with ivory leather when it was six months old, an ex-demo. In my view, this was the last of the great looking Jaguars, inside and out; it was a true limousine and drove smoothly with plenty of power. Unfortunately, it had many mechanical problems including Nikasil lined cylinders, which required a new engine under warranty and new discs were required on several occasions, along with a new alternator and many other faults occurred, the worst being a gearbox failure which required a replacement. Design faults included just one windscreen wiper based centrally, which meant tall drivers
