1992 Jaguar XJR-S 6.0 V12

Summary:

30 year design is still better than 80% of todays cars

Faults:

Backlight on trip computer out most of time. Central locking not working for 3 days, but fixed itself.

General Comments:

Absolutely fantastic car. Very Very fast and handles better than most hot hatches. When you decide to drive it sensible, it transforms into a limo.

Only problem I have with this car is fuel economy and interior space.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th January, 2007

31st Mar 2010, 11:45

Consider swapping your automatic gearbox for a 5- or 6-speed manual provided by The Driven Man.

With the 5-speed, my open road cruising fuel economy jumped from 19.3 mpg (best was 22) to 30.3 mpg (lowest was 28.2). Fuel economy for in-town stop-and-go traffic is up to 21.0.

I have enjoyed the manual gearbox for nearly four years. Mine has the Kiesler "racing flick" spring-loaded option for 3rd and 4th gears. It brought my 1990 XJ-S convertible from an enjoyable constant sedate "limousine" to an on-demand ferocious roadster. It is also much quicker off the mark than it was with the automatic. The manual gearbox made this cat feel many pounds lighter and much more nimble.

Jeff Garfield.

In reply to 31st Mar 2010, 11:45

4th Jun 2011, 16:29

Cheers, mate. That is something I will be giving some serious thought to. Thanks.

1988 Jaguar XJR-S 5.3 V12

Summary:

Affordable classic performance car and a great investment too!

Faults:

It's only really ever gone wrong once, last year on the way to Le-Mans, she got hot whilst in traffic, the wiring loom for the injectors was damaged on the very hot water hose, took me a while to find the fault, but no subsequent damage.

General Comments:

The car is not extremely quick from take off compared to a lot of todays hot hatches and sports cars, but the acceleration from 80mph is outstanding, even still pulling at 140mph there is still some steam left, enough to get to get to 160. she is really comfortable, the seats, although old still grip you in place. The wide 235 tyres provide loads of traction, the autobox lets it down a bit, these would be great with a manual box. Unfortunatley she is not coming out of the garage this year, saving for a house, and returning 16mpg shes not the most economical car!! Hopefully a restoration to take shape next year, and she'll be back with a few performance enhancements from AJ6 engineering, and a gleaming respray, along with re-trimmed interior. A cheap car to buy, never really gone wrong, a great weekend car. Thsi car will outpace Audi TT's Lotus Elises, faster top speed than a Boxter!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd June, 2004

17th Oct 2005, 07:06

I bought my 6 litre xjr-s six months ago and would agree with this review of the car.

For the money there is not much that can touch it as an overall package. Seeing DB7s and XK8s reinforces this point. They both have about the same horsepower (or less) and are both derived from the xjs chassis.

I sympathise with your point on the three-speed auto. I often turn out of an intersection and floor it and cannot help, but wonder where all those ponies are. When you reach 60 mph though it is impressive.

Other downsides are the appalling turning circle, which, combined with a long bonnet, makes turning out of poor visibility country lanes exciting!

MPG is not as bad as it could be, but at over a quid per litre for super the pumps are a wince inducing experience.

Overall, I think the xjr-s has never looked better, and it is a rare, comfortable and quick beast.

1990 Jaguar XJR-S 6.0

Summary:

Superb performance car for the cost of a 2 year old Fiesta

Faults:

Power steering failure. The pump to rack hose split as well as the metal feed pipe which had vibrated to produce a hole. Cost £290 all in to fix.

Trailing arm bracket cracked where it joins the chassis. Cost £256 to have the joint replaced and area re-enforced.

Near side (UK) rear silencer cracks at the joint due to flexing. This has happened 3 times and has been re-welded each time.

General Comments:

This is not a car for the faint hearted. Nor is it an ideal 1st Jaguar. However it is an awesome drivers car, extremely fast especially from 40 to 140!

The car is a real handful to anyone who is not confident in their driving and I would not suggest one to anyone who has not driven a high powered rear wheel drive car before.

The running costs are very high, but if you consider the low purchase cost, in this case £4,500, even with £2,000 repair costs and parts costs it's an awesome car for the money and you will not get more power for your pound. The 0 - 62 time is mid 6 seconds and the top speed is limited to 158.

Insurance is very cheap at less than £600 fully comprehensive.

Petrol consumption is not something to gloss over. It averages just 14 mpg and less if driven hard.

It generates huge amounts of interest wherever it goes!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st August, 2002

14th Jan 2007, 11:45

I just bought my 1990 XJR S for € 5.000 and spent another € 3.000 on (partial) painting, tyres and general maintanance. In all I spent € 8.000. The car now is breathtakingly beautiful and a 100% head-turner.

The only regret I can come up with is that I didn't buy her years ago. So much time wasted on second best or worse.

I already was offered € 13.000 for the car in her current state. So as an investment object the XJR-S seems to be unbeatable.

My first 1.000 kms were an extended party. I can't think of anything worth while doing better than driving an XJR S (at least not any of the things you can speak about publicly). So in my opinion one is well advised to buy an XJR S.

If I could I'd insert one or two pictures, but that seems not to work. I'm open to any advise of people that can show me how to do that.

Rene van Baren

Zoetermeer,

The Netherlands.