Hey all,

I don't post here often, but I wanted to relay some thoughts after living with a recently acquired '04 XJ8 for a few weeks now;

First, a bit of history on the car; I acquired it from the original owner. He bought it new here at Jaguar Cincinnati and took the car to Palm Beach every winter, so not a lick of corrosion anywhere underneath or on bolts/fasteners, etc...(I know the car is aluminum). Mileage is 106K and the car is in lovely condition throughout. It's finished in Topaz with Cashmere (?) leather---the exterior color is a long shot from being my favorite, but I bought on condition and provenance versus color . Options include front and rear heated seats, rear park sensors and rain sensing wipers. He had just put the car into our local Jag specialist for a major service and also had four new Bridgestone Turanzas fitted, so nothing needs doing for quite a while.

So, my prior (still owned, however) daily driver was my '96 Bentley Turbo R. Granted, it doesn't go out in the winter, the Series III XJ is for that, but spring, summer and fall see the Bentley pressed into daily duty for work and play commute. As some here may know, those cars, while beautifully crafted, are far from being at the forefront of technology--even when they were new. But alas, that wasn't the reason for buying a Roller or Bentley to begin with, now was it?

Nevertheless, I must say I am mightily impressed with the X350 Jag. It's smoother, quieter, WAY more efficient and (obviously due to being much newer) far better equipped than the Bentley. Where it falls short is the quality of the materials--the leather, the wood, the paint, etc..but that is to be expected considering the original retail costs of each car ($205K for the Bentley versus $67K for the Jag). In summary, for the $15K or so that the X350 cost me, it's a helluva lot of car and I'm glad I pulled the trigger, even though I still do prefer the aesthetics of the X300/308 a little better.

Oh, and I still love the Bentley. But congrats to Jaguar for doing the X350 right and I'm happy I can now check it off the bucket list

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You have been spoiled by your cars!

I thought it was interesting that you said the interior quality is not up to snuff on the X350, and that the smoothness of it is much better than your Bentley. For me, the high points of the X350 are the nimbleness, styling and the interior quality. At least on the Vanden Plas, the quality of the leather is fantastic, and the interior has the most wood and leather you will ever find in a car, short of a Rolls or a Bentley. I find that the X350's ride quality is not good for a car in this class. I think it's really more of a characteristic of its light weight rather than its suspension design. Also, the throttle tip in can be hard to modulate for a buttery smooth start, and the transmission can be slightly herky-jerky at times!

Also, I think compared to other cars in the class, the X350s were really lacking a lot of gadgets that other luxury cars have. Early on, there were no cooled seats. There are no power side sunshades in the rear. No backup cameras, beverage chillers, paddle shifters, etc.

 

Alan,

All good points, and in fact I do agree that the ride (actually, stability) of the X350 is not good over rough surfaces, and in fact, noticed that when we were taking a highway on-ramp which made a sharp bend left and we hit some bad patches of concrete, the car danced around quite badly....almost unnervingly. The Bentley, OTOH, is rock-solid over those types of surfaces, albeit a bit 'crashy' due to resonance through the body. And yes, throttle tip-in is a bit jumpy, and the brakes are rather sensitive, but once one is used to those foibles, the car is really a revelation over previous XJs, and I've owned an X300 and X308 (in VdP and XJR format).

I'm sure the leather in the X350 VdP is better than the standard issue car's fitment, but the top level Connolly in the Bentley is literally flawless--and there are literally acres of it. Remember, 11 cows gave their all for each RR/Bentley interior. The wood? Well, 10+ coats of lacquer, hand-rubbed and multiple inlays throughout the cabin on the Bentley give it that gentleman's reading room feel that I've yet to experience in anything else. However, now that the 28mpg XJ8 is in the fleet, I think I'm starting to become GREEN , perish the thought!

And yes, about the herky-jerky transmission; as I understand it, that can be 'cured' by a simple re-flash of the transmission ECU.

 

Wow, I never got better than 24 on any run.

 

Since a week ago last Monday I have maintained 27 - 27.6 mpg (UK gallon).

My town is where the Bentleys are built, and yes, having been round the factory, I can tell everyone that a huge amount of car goes into these cars. However they cost a whole lot more than a Jaguar XJ, even the much higher prices of the latest model.

 

Fraser,

While I am sure modern Bentleys are still built with utmost care and craftsmanship, nothing past the Turbo R does anything for me. While I understand that VW did what they had to do to keep the company afloat, they really just killed off the allure in my mind. But good for them, they're selling them like hotcakes now, and that's better than going the way of Leyland!

 

For those of us who are not well versed in Bentley, exactly what did VW do?

 

in 1998 ,that could have very easily ended up on the scrap heap and produced a modern, relilable super luxury car ( the GT) et al, by investing heavily and using massive VW Audi resources.
There is no way that Bentley or RR (withhout BMW) could have survived as small independents.
It pissed off quite a few Brits as they managed to do with their checkbooks what they could not do with their bombs, but both companies are doing well and turning out quality cars in the UK.

Then again who would have thought that Jaguar would end up being owned outright by what used to be a little Asian truck maker : Tata Motors of Mumbai India?

I also hear from mates who work in the factory that there is talk of super lux models in the future bringing back the Daimler and or Lanchester marques which Tata aquired the rights too when they bought Land Rover Jaguar in 98 from Ford.

 

DB6 is spot on. The Continental Flying Spur [at least] used to be built in Dresden, right next to the VW Phaeton, and it's an interesting fact that the Phaeton has more in common with the CFS than it does with the Audi A8.

Engines in the CFS and CGT models are the Volkswagen W12. The Brooklands and Mulsanne use the old-school 6.75 Crewe-built V8.

When the Arnage came out in '99, the Green Label version used the 4.4 BMW V8 and the Red Label used the 6.75 Rolls engine of old. Today you can buy a Green Label Arnage for $35K if you look hard enough. But the Red Label (heh, well actually, the Black Label, which is the hotrod 'T' engine) is the way to go. Keep it proper!

 

I look from time to time at the used Bentley market, the Continental GT is unGodly fast for such a bix luxurious car, I have see clips of it lapping up with a ZO6, unreal.
The used depreciation on these is huge, I would love to drive one, the fit and finish looks as good as it gets.
Anyone hear ever driven one?

I recall the Turbo R you own being no slouch either, what was it Clarkson said " the old girl can pull up her skirt and shock the youngsters".
I bet the gas mileage is not in the Prius ranhe either...

 

I get about 26 HWY, sometimes a little better, in the city about 19.

 

Sometimes I wish it was 2000 pounds heavier! Although when I have a full load of passengers I do notice it rides better.

 

Definitely does ride better with more people in the car, especially if they are in the rear.

 

Sometimes the XJ feels a bit "in your face...I have arrived", the Bentley is so over the top in that way, makes a Range Rover look like a Pious...woops I meant Prius.
There was a story a while ago in the UK about the worse $$$ cars for being shown courtesy by other drivers, I recall Porsche was the worst by a long leap.

 

a passenger in the rear !

 

dear me.
thats almost 3 American passengers already.

 

Lol!

 

I've driven an Arnage Red Label and a CFS. The CFS, as expected, feels quite Germanic, and in fact, almost exactly identical in the way it drives/rides to my friend's Phaeton. The Arnage is a little more "solid" in the way the suspension soaks up road imperfections than my Turbo R is (i.e. no shuddering over large bumps in the road) but overall, it still feels relatively un-Bentley like, to me at least--although that might be because you see the BMW climate control system in that car, and it's just not proper!

I'll have to get a full complement of passengers in my XJ8 and see how the ride differs from just having the front seats occupied. I'll be interested to see...

 

2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost vs 2010 Bentley CFS Speed vs 2010 Aston Martin Rapide Specs - Motor Trend

pushing 6000 pounds with a 0 to 60 of 4.2 seconds....DAMN

What do you think of a used Conti GT, say 04 to 06 as a used buy, they seem to get high marks on reliability and most of them are very low mile cars.

 

DB6;

No question a used CGT is a helluva bang for the buck. My mechanic is a RR/Bentley specialist shop and he has CGTs in throughout the year, as many folks drive them daily and year-round thanks to ther all wheel drive. If you want unbridled British character, then a Turbo R/Brooklands/Mulsanne is the way to roll