My beloved 2007 XJ8-L was totaled by a hit and run driver a couple weeks ago. You can read about it in the X350 forum. Sigh.

I’m looking to replace it with an X351. The only one I can find in my desired trim and color combination is a 2017. I plan on keeping this car a long time (I had my X350 for 13 years).

Other than the fact that they’re newer, is there any reason to hold out for a 2018 or 2019? Any material difference? I see the screen is the larger 10”, and I’ve yet to read of any 2017 or earlier getting the Apple CarPlay update on the 8” screen (true?). That’s a bummer, but not a dealbreaker.

Welcome your expert opinions. Also, I’ll take the car to my local Jaguar indie who serviced my X350 for a pre-purchase inspection. While he’s an expert, anything I should ask him scrutinize?

 

My 2019 has Apple CarPlay activated from the factory on the 10" screen, which is awesome. But I just did the 13" aftermarket screen upgrade on my daughter's 2014 Range Rover Sport, and I have to say it's definitely worth it to upgrade to these aftermarket screens. With the unit I purchased, the original circuit boards are maintained from the factory system, and when needed, the video feed from the old screen is sent to the new screen. That way everything OEM works for controlling the car, including the backup camera automatically coming on as soon as the car is put into reverse.

We also upgraded the climate control panel, so the whole center stack looks like a 2024 RRS. They have that upgrade for the XJ as well. For the RRS, you have a choice of aftermarket screen that are integrated into the dash, but my daughter wanted the newer tablet style that is much more common in today's cars. For the Jag, I haven't seen a tablet style, nor would that look good anyway, so you would get a version that looks much more OEM, like my 2019.




So if that's the perfect car for you otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger and do an aftermarket infotainment upgrade. It will give you a lot more functionality that you get from the factory unit as well, because it will have other Android apps like YouTube. There are threads on here covering the aftermarket screens.

 

I'm a relative newbie to X351 ownership, but my experience of buying an X351 recently I would look for:
- Signs of coolant leaks or coolant smell. There are some plastic coolant pipes under the supercharger that are notoriously weak and it can get expensive to change them if you can't do it yourself (around $2k?). Also water pumps can fail/leak.
- Door lock mechs can be weak and fail.
- Signs of corrosion around the sunroof housing (expensive fix if it has gone far).
- Supercharger "rattle" (sounds like marbles in a tin apparently). Possibly needing new snout and coupler (not too expensive - but supercharger out and worth doing at same time as coolant pipes?
- Gearbox oil / filter ideally changed at 70k miles (recommendation from ZF). ($500?)
- Suspension joints can be like consumables! Listen for knocking noises.
I'm sure others will be along soon with more advice and experience than me. Hope this helps as a starter. Generally I've heard the X351 is a reliable car if looked after so don't let the above put you off.
(I've not gone into any of the diesel issues since assuming you'll have the benefit of V6 or V8 petrol over there!)

 

Okay, not to divert from the OP question, but spill the beans - Give some details on that display upgrade you're talking about.
Who offers it? A link or at least brand name maybe?
I'd be interested in what you're describing for both our XJ & RR.
It sounds too good to be true!
"NOW back to our regularly scheduled program (topic)"

 

I bought the Range Rover's CarPlay unit from Android Aftershock (https://androidaftershock.com/). The owner's name is Ray and he imports from a supplier in China and resells and supports them in the US. Local support and his testing the products before selling them is why I went with him. He's well known in the RR community. You can probably spend less for the same thing if you can find out which of the many sellers on AliExpress are selling the same unit. I couldn't figure it out.

The climate control panel came from Amazon, and it is excellent, despite the negative reviews. The negative reviews are actually for the CarPlay unit they sell on the same page and not the climate control panel. The panel is in English and in Fahrenheit, which is not a given. Some of the units sold on Amazon only come with Turkish language! We don't have massage seats in the RR, so it's not an issue for us, but it seems none of these digital climate control panels for either the Jag or RR support massage seats.


I'd give Ray a call at his number before ordering, and also ask him about the XJ because I see F-Type and F-Pace units, but nothing for XJ. He can probably get it though.