Faults:

Electric door locks on the passenger side malfunctioned after six months.

Valve seals on head (common fault) needed to be put in as the engine became smokey - now OK.

Electrical glitch on dashboard.

Rust on floor pan, needed welding, rear trailing arm needed replacement.

All the above needed fixing at end of the first year's ownership. The car was 16 years old when purchased.

No other problems since.

General Comments:

This is one hell of a car to own!

There don't seem to be many about now, so very easy to find in the car park, and a delight to own and drive in every respect.

My only gripe is its turning circle is not very clever, but I just get used to it.

It's extremely comfortable, with lovely leather and walnut interior. She feels rock solid and perfect for long journeys. Since I had a major service last year, it has been 100% reliable, and I feel I got something of a bargain!

She has never failed to start on even the coldest or wettest mornings, & is lovely to drive with incredible road holding.

On motorways/freeways, it goes like a stabbed rat with kickdown, and highly illegal speeds are easily attainable, and it seems to have vast amounts of power on tap!

The four litre engine is an absolute gem, and feels bomb proof.

There is very little not to like about these cars,

and the styling has now come into its own - a true modern classic, and much admired

I would recommend one these cars to anyone - the 4.0 face-lift is the best built of the variants..

Oh, and women love them!

Faults:

Engine earthing strap required replacement - £30.

Windscreen mount rust remediation - £750.

Air conditioning radiator replacement - £250.

Fitting of correct size tyres - £440.

Replace all wheel bearings - £120.

Replace rear brake pads - £100.

MOT + Service costs - £200.

(in fairness, nothing has gone wrong on me, this has been re-mediating what was already wrong when I purchased it)

General Comments:

People are so nice to you when you drive an XJS, they let you out of side-roads, smile at you and are generally far more polite than when I drive my everyday car. It's a lovely experience, it really is.

When people pass you, you often see them looking at its magnificence. Well, that's what I tell myself, anyway. They are more likely saying 'Look! A madman in a wheeled supertanker.'

It is noticeable that the first thing anyone says to you is always about the fuel economy. Well, dear readers, have no fear. If you are considering an XJS, and you really should be, the fuel economy is not all that bad. On a motorway run I easily top 22mpg, which is better than a lot of 4x4s.

It's not perfect, I'll admit it has it's foibles. The folks who designed the cabin interior were obviously unfamiliar with the concepts of ergonomics.

The window switches are the wrong way up and in a really strange place. The cruise control switch is where you expect the window switches to be. The caution and warning lights are obscure behind the steering wheel. The rear de-mister is adjacent to the hazard flasher switch and invisible from the driving position.

I am quite tall, not freakish, but a shade over 6 foot. I do fit in, just. The rear seats are notional at best. Imagine Doctor Who's TARDIS. Small on the outside but huge on the inside. The XJS is the exact opposite of this.

In context, my friend has a Lotus Exige. It is tiny. It has more room for the driver and front seat passenger than the XJS.

But I do love it. I was intending to buy something sensible to move my young family around in comfort, but then I saw an XJS and I had to have one. Then I drove one. Then I was irrevocably hooked.

It handles pretty well and stops very well. Then there is the experience of driving it.

It's a strange beast, the XJS, most of the time driving it is like being wafted around in a lovely armchair, supported on clouds and surrounded by cotton wool.

Then you press the accelerator into the shag-pile.

You get this far off V12 roar, not loud, but very present. Then everything around you becomes quite blurred and all the cars you were gently overtaking are suddenly tiny little specks in the rear view mirror. You look down at the speedo and start feverishly looking about you to make sure no Police cars or cameras have nabbed you.

It is so very much faster than you think.

It is also cheaper to run, more reliable, more fun, more impressive, more joyful, more - well more 'everything good that's about owning a car you can possibly think of' than you think.