Back in January 2022, I found a 2009 XF SC with only 24k on the engine. The car had been meticulously maintained. I have put 8500 trouble free miles on her and have decided to do the unthinkable, drive from St Augustine FL to Colorado Springs in early October. Round trip will be 3000 miles. Have been using Wolfs Head full synthetic and changing the oil every 5k, also just changed the coolant. Belts are fine, all the other fluids clean too. To top it off I have a bumper to bumper warranty I kept because of the cars age, I pay $133 a month for that with very low deductible. These cars cruise so good on the highway, why not enjoy the Jag for what it was meant to do? I even got rid of a 2017 XF 3.0 SC to get this car because the stereo and inside materials are kick ***. Plus, the 4.2 SC is Jags best V8 engine ever in the 6 Jagz I have owned.


Thoughts gentlemen or ladies?

 

I've done ten's of thousands of miles in mine, including a few 1000 trips across Europe. I didn't give a second thought, its what these are made for.

 

I've done numerous ultra long distance drives with my 2008 XF in Australia which i have had from new (just ticked over 85,000 km). Only just this past weekend I did a three day 2,400km trip and always the journey was effortless and the car performed superbly as it has alwatys done. I too have looked after it meticulously and around 10 years ago I shifted the maintenance of the car from a Jaguar dealer to a specialist Jaguar mechanic with over 40 years of experience. As he said to me as your car ages just doing the standard service book maintenance is not good enough and he focusses on condition based maintenance. You are often paying for things that just don't need any attention whilst other potentially serious issues could be going unnoticed. He does a meticuulous check of the car when I take it in and he discusses anything that may require replacement with me before proceeding. His reputation is evidenced in the fact that he is frequently booked out weeks in advance. It is knowing that the car is being maintained to a very high standard (and still much cheaper than the dealer) thst gives me the confidence to travel to quite remote places literally hundereds of kilometres from a garage. The other thing I enjoy is the enormous fuel range the car provides always around 1,000 km which is gret for long distance cruising.

Enjoy your older XF I think they are a fabulous vehicle.

 

My 2010 XF SC still going strong. Daily driven and I wouldn't hesitate to do a long drive.

 

I agree. The 4.2 V8 is a superb unit and arguably the best Jaguar ever built. The 5.0 V8 is more powerful and slightly smoother but not as robust.

I've never been without a Jaguar in the last fifty years so a lot of different models have come and gone from my garage in that time. Pre-pandemic, we enjoyed two extended Continental trips a year through France, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. I like to put a big mileage into the first day in excess of 1000 miles and same again on the return home and every model has coped with this easily.

A few things I've learned:
1. never have the vehicle serviced immediately before departure - do it about a month before
2. check tyre pressures (including spare) and fluid levels the day before departure
3. carry diagnostics
4. get contact details for dealers on or near the proposed route in advance
5. pack a tyre plug kit
6. carry water (you can always find suitable oil or brake fluid but a Jaguar will rapidly die from lack of coolant)

Since 2000 when I began keeping detailed records, I've covered a total of 87K miles in Continental Europe over 526 days using two Bentleys and seven Jaguars. Sadly not been able to add to this since last returning home in September 2019.

I've had two breakdowns which I wasn't able to fix myself at the roadside:
1. XJ40 - coolant hose burst on a Christmas day afternoon in Northern France (thanks to Jaguar - Lille for supplying a replacement in two days)
2. XK - injector failed following refuelling in the Pyrenees (thanks to Jaguar - Burgos for a rapid repair)

Breakdown and recovery insurance took care of both although the parts and labour for the injector put a dent in the holiday fund!

Jaguars still have a reputation for unreliability (usually promoted by those who have never owner one) but those days are long gone. Properly maintained, any model can be taken vast distances to remote locations without undue concern.

Graham

 

I just did 3,000 mile trip in May in my 5.0L XF and its closing in on a record since its eaten a water pump (trying a Beck-Arnley this time). Think about this. Long-distance road-trips are actually easier miles on the car than local trips. If you are old enough, you might remember when people actually sold their used cars through classified ads in the newspaper, often claiming either that a low mileage car was only driven to church on Sunday by a little old lady or conversely that a high-mileage car was "mostly highway miles". There was something to that claim. It's less stop-n-go, fewer times opening and closing the doors and trunk per mile, more constant speeds, less acceleration/deceleration, more air flow through the radiator for better cooling, more constant temperature, constant higher oil pressure, fewer engine starts, fewer transmission shifts, etc. And you are more likely to check all the fluids before you leave on a trip than before you leave to go to the grocery store.

Its really just our human nature to worry about Murphy and his laws about that if something is going to go wrong, its going to happen in the most inconvenient place at the most inconvenient time possible. That's just false perception. Actually the car is statistically more likely to break while driving around town than while on a trip. Obviously I can't sit here and type an assurance that your XF doesn't have a hidden defect, but just in general, the risk is negligible and shouldn't stop you from traveling anywhere you want to drive to.

There are tho some precautions that you can take to minimize your trip disruption tho. For example a AAA Premium membership will give you a number to call for towing and roadside assistance. A tow truck driver advised me that the base membership is useless because he said he almost always tows farther than the base membership will cover even just here in the DFW metroplex. He advised to get the highest membership that will cover 200 miles, especially since there's not a Jaguar dealer in every small town across America like Chevrolet or Ford. And if you travel much, the hotel, airline, rental car, attraction and restaurant discounts can pay for it.

 

Do It!!! It will be a memorable drive.

This car was 100% made for this!!

We took my '11 from San Diego to Tampa and the XF cruised along like no problem. Most of the ride we were in triple digits!!!

 

We just got back from a1200 mile round trip, just a quickie. I am pleased to report my 2009 XF Supercharged 4.2 averaged 24.9 MPG at 85 MPH. We were elated with that. As mentioned I sold my 2017 XF 3.0 so I could buy this delicious 4.2 supercharged with 24k miles. 9 months later and 11,500 miles traveled, the car simply performs man, it is fun as hell and engaging on the open road. We used Lucas Injector Cleaner with a tank, I do that every 3-5k miles and it helps.
in 2023 will add the SC upper pulley upgrade (already have it), and the Minya stainless steel exhaust & mufflers. That should get me to about 440-445HP. I do not care that this car is 13 years 3 months old, it is reliable and awesome for trips