Is it true sports car handling? I have a Nissan 350Z I might have to get rid of because of too many problems. I am thinking of getting a X300 or X308 XJR but I would like them to have at least similar handling that the 350Z has.

 

An X300 XJR has a curb weight of about 4300 pounds. You'll never be able to toss it around the twisties like a sportscar.

Here's a story to illustrate.....I'll be brief.

Years ago I was in the mountains with my XJR/6 and decided to dice it up a bit with a Subie WRX. I could keep up on the modest curvy stuff but he'd just walk away when the corners got tighter. After 20 minutes I was exhausted and the WRX was bored....so he disappeared with a wave of the hand and an expression of "You gave it a good effort".

Later that day I had a late-ish model BMW 5-something or 7-something on my bumper. For 20-30 miles we took turns staying glued to each other's rear bumper. it was a much more even match.

The XJR does very well for a car of it's size....nothing to complain about. But it's a sports sedan, not a canyon carver. Whenever faced with a decision of "sharper cornering" and "comfortable ride", Jaguar always leans toward the softer side of things. At least that was the philosophy years ago. Sure, much former and sharper than the standard car....but not hard by any stretch. Body lean is modest, it'll understeer when pushed hard but there's enough grunt for power-induced oversteer if that's your thing....but reining in a big Jag with it's tail out is not always easy and takes up lots of road

The steering is fast enough but the road feel isn't all that great.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug has said it all really
The XJR is a big saloon, with very good handling for a saloon. It has a flat, comfortable ride. With good tyres (I have Bridgestone Potenzas) it grips well. I can barely break traction despite 320-340 bhp, unless I really give it hell, but that is not what its all about.
It does need bigger brakes - on a fast drive on twisty backroads, the brakes will fade.

The XJR, especially in manual form, is best on a long trip where it eats miles effortlessly and has a comfortable yet sporty ride. It is NOT a Lotus.

 

The Z350 and XJR6 are very different cars. Doug has very much described the XJR experience. I drove an Infiniti G35 (sibling of Z350) before and the exhaust note is very intoxicating, begging you to step on the gas and the gas pedal is hyper-sensitive. You will not find the agility of the Z350 in the XJR. However, it is common that we drive different cars at different stages in our life. Why not give you a chance of discovering the Jaguar attractions. It will definitely change your driving habit - slow you down most of the time but ready to surprise at others, and its space and class may improve your family and social life.

 

years ago I read the autobiographies of Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss.
One of them, I can't remember which now, described a cross-country dash from Monte Carlo up to a restaurant somewhere near, perhaps, Le Mans.
Anyway, Hawthorn (or was it Moss?) was in a then-new XK120 or 140, giving it hell, travelling in convoy with one of his fast friends who also had a young lady passenger. The couple were in a Mk VII.
He couldn't really shake off the Mk VII in his open 2 seater XK. After hours of fast empty French 50s roads, both cars arrived at the hotel within a minute or two of each other. Hawthorn was dirty and tired. the young couple stepped from the big Jag saloon clean and ready for dinner.

So what has this to do with XJR handling? Nothing. But I love the image. And perhaps that big, rolly 160bhp saloon was the spiritual forebear of the 90s XJR. You arrive intact, rested, ready to go after a long fast drive. And perhaps in good company..

 

Yeh, one will likely need to be very alert and tensed driving the Z350, as the car itself and bystanders expect you to be reasonably fast at all times, and it is rather cramped for a long drive. One driving the XJR will be much more relaxed and can choose to be naughty at times. What's more, the Z350 does not come with a manual transmission, right?

 

plenty of 350Z manual trans to be had.

 

Similarly,many moons ago I once suckered a very macho Kawasaki 750 rider at the bar
of a friend's restaurant up in the hills, trying very hard to impress my date. He reckoned loudly
and repeatedly that the 455 cid under my hood was no match for his bike ... so he was ripe
for a bet. Given my "disadvantage" I proposed that it be for pinks, but I would set the destination
on that cold November night.

He snapped it up .... so I proposed that the first to take a timestamped parking receipt from
the garage at a specific Hilton Hotel be declared the winner. That Hilton was at the end of
a 350 mile run down a new very fast expressway. He would use up all his advantage in the
first 10 miles of downhill mountain roads. After that it would be fast comfortable four wheel
territory. The car had more than a 455 going for it. It also cornered on rails.

The look on his face? Priceless


Consider that the XJR, at least the Euro spec XJR sits just at 50 inches in height.
That's low by anyone's standards.

In steady state cornering, the XJR is actually quite good. It's the transients that
can be nerve wracking.

Good enough to pull away from M3's and Porches without drama in my experience.

 

Oh, yes. Thank for pointing this out. The G35 I drove was auto. Good to know that 350Z has the six-speed manual option. I had an 280ZX in 5-speed manual back in the 1980's, but gear-shifting and cornering then were terrible. It must have improved considerably through many years of evolution, from 240ZX to 370Z.

 

There are opportunities to improve the handling of the XJR6 such as stiffer bushes. I offer rose-jointed front anti-roll bar drop links, which I have found to be a noticeable improvement, without compromising ride. I've even replaced metallastic bushes with pain bearings on one of my cars, but as you would expect, that does compromise ride in favour of handling.

 

This is the kit that I offer. They are a direct replacement for CAC9827, which means they also fit XJ40




Here is one of my drop links , with my previous source of hexagonal turnbuckles, installed on my XJR6.


I thought it might be useful to include some photos of the front anti-roll bar drop links that I offer.

 

They work for the facelift XJS?

 

i hope to purchase,these droplinks from andy next week,i just poured front and back sway bar bushings of 60a shore strength,mayby i will pour 80a in a few weeks,also did the rear droplink eyes

 

Hi,

are you still selling these ?

Kind Regards

Harald

 

I love the comments by Doug & Al - however the one very important factor they have overlooked - DRIVER ABILITY. This combined with an intimate knowledge of your car's ability ( usually derived over a long ownership ) will often trump an average driver in a supposedly superior vehicle.
Two identical cars with different drivers will often have a conclusive winner.

John Herbert
(1996 XJR & almost 60ys driving experience)

 

My son just purchased a 2020 M3 and it's quick. 0-60 4.1.

 

Totally true, of course.

And.....

How hard does xxx- driver push the far limits of cornering, acceleration, and braking with xxx-car? For that matter, how often does he push his own limits?

I like fast driving but I'm no maniac...and certainly not an expert. It's a rare day that I push a car (or myself) to the absolute max.. If I were to judge the attributes of several performance-oriented cars the comparison would be made at 7/10th driving level rather than 9/10th driving level.

So, when it comes down to impromptu street competitions, reigning victorious might mean that you have the better car. Or it might mean that you're a better driver. Or it might mean that the other guy wasn't really trying all that hard

Cheers
DD

 

That very true. I had the opportunity to drive a new XF on a track and the cars limit was higher than mine, I was definitely the limiting factor in the equation. Granted I also didn't want to crash the car.

 

Hello,

I have both of XJRengineer's suspension modifications on my car; the modified front drop links and the rear drop links that allow the use of an uprated anti-roll bar intended for an XK8/R. I also have polyflex bushes and an X308 monostrut fitted. The car is a lot firmer than standard but still more refined than my XKR (X100) with its 20 inches wheels. The change to the handling is amazing and I am still surprised how well it handles each time I drive it, especially for such a large car.

If you are after handling an XJR is not a sports car, but with some mods it still is a "super" saloon.

Go for it and get one.