I've been contemplating what I could replace the Jag with if something would heaven-forbid happen to it (I've got no comp-insurance.)

Basically, what similarly-priced luxury vehicles would be a competitive alternative to an x308? I've yet to find anything with an interior as luxurious as my VDP...

Essentially, what exists under $10k from the 21st-Century and is absolutely remarkable like a Jag?

 

Personally I think there is no other car in the same price range that can offer that, what an X308 has other than an X350... Everything else is kind of boring...

 

There are none.

 

When these cars are maintained properly in my opinion, there is nothing else. I have a 234K mile 98' XJR that I'll continue to own. These have a classic look and it rides wonderful. If maintained along the way, these cars should last a long time.

 

I like the BMW E39, especially the E39 M5, and I like the E31 "8 Series" which technically is still "20th Century" to be fair

.

 

E38 7 series is probably closest to the VDP from a luxury POV. Nice to drive...a good sport/luxury balance, but they are...uglyish w/o the later body style and sport package version. Even then they look really 'German' and generic.

M5 is to hard compared to a VDP...

 

Original transmission? No rebuild?

 

Right now I have 3 Jaguars at my house and 2 BMWs, no, nada, zip on the BMWs, extreme, hard plastic EVERYWHERE especially under the hood. Plastic fake leather interiors. Not a fan at all, not even remotely in the same league as any of my Jaguars. I'll take grace, pace and space any day!

 

Original transmission, yes.
Rebuilt transmission, yes.
The previous owner had it rebuilt at a transmission shop. I had the cylinder heads rebuilt, I rebuilt the supercharger & throttle body myself but the short block is untouched.

 

I've been told by an M5 owner who drove my VDP that the M5 rides spine crushingly stiff compared to the jag.

There's got to be other options out there - Range Rover? Audi? Porsche? Do Maserati, Aston or Rolls ever depreciate to 4 digits? Anything out of Japan or America (that's unlikely, lol)?

 

Traded my 2001 Audi A6 2.7T for the 2001 XJR and have never looked back. The Audi was nice to drive, but impossibly expensive to fix, and it was not "shade tree mechanic" friendly. I'd never buy one again.

BMW E38 (7 Series) is the only other car I would consider, but aesthetically it can't compare to an X308.

 

This post really got me thinking. For the last few weeks I have been thinking about selling my Jag. Then I read these posts and think why I got her in the first place. There is nothing that could replace the pure pleasure of driving such a beautiful classic automobile as this Vanden Plas.

 

To me these cars stand out. Nothing looks like them. You know it's a JAG and you know it's beautiful inside and out. My opinion is that at 16 years old they still stand out and don't look dated.

 

Yes there really is no "alternative" as far as classic lines to the ****-pitesque driver's feel w/ performance & luxury.

 

No. The x308 looked dated when they were brand new. But that's what I liked about them. I needed a luxury ride after having back surgery and the x308 was the only 4-door car that didn't just blend right in with traffic. And I would argue that's a big part of why they sold so well despite Jaguar's reputation for poor reliability and high repair costs throughout much the the xj series history.

Just look how popular and successful some other "retro" styled cars have been. Chrysler I think started the ball rolling with PT Cruiser styled after the Plymouth P1/P2 of the mid-1930s. Had one as a rental car once, a real piece of crap for sure, but love it or hate it, they sold 1.35 million units over ten years. It was actually killed by its own success as it reached a saturation point where it was no longer unique enough. Chevrolet sold nearly half a million HHR's in the same vane.

The x300 is actually listed in Wikipedia as a "retro styled" sedan, tho there was really never a break in the series. The x400 was more truly "retro" in its resemblance to and resurrection of the S-type of the early 60s. The farthest the XJ-number series ever strayed was when they put rectangular headlights on them for a few years. The new x351 bears absolutely no resemblance and now sells only about 20% of the volume of the x308. To me they've just built a bloated Lexus and used some scraps of leftover wire mesh from the Bentley factory to fashion a grill. If I wanted a car that looked like a Lexus, I'd just buy a Lexus and enjoy that Toyota reliability.

But alas, my xj8 was already 12 years old when I got it. It was supposed to be a temporary solution and then I'd go back to my pickup once I healed. But the truck has been relegated to bad weather and truck duties. I didn't know I was going to fall in love with this car. That's only happened once before with my 1985 Toyota Supra. I'd still drive it but I started having trouble finding parts for it long ago and made the decision to retire it from the daily commute in 1998 to preserve it.

That's why I too am curious what else might replace an x308. Every piece of plastic, rubber or vinyl on this car is disintegrating in the Texas heat and every time I go to the dealer and ask, "No, that part has been discontinued." I'll have to replace the Jag eventually but now I've been spoiled. No way can I go back to the pickup truck. About the only late model cars that I like (other than the X150) are the retro styled muscle cars, Mustang, Camaro and Challenger. Among current luxury sedans, I feel like I'm standing in a voting booth; not liking any of my choices. But I already have a couple of vintage sports cars and at my age and spinal degradation, a luxury car makes sense for a daily driver.

I just wish they still made "personal luxury cars" like the Buick Riviera and Lincoln mk8 as I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've carried a back seat passenger. If I were looking for a something in the same price range currently, those would be on my list. If Jaguar made a retro XJ12C, I'd mortgage the house for that.

Sorry. Didn't mean to type so much. Got carried away.

 

The retro-style thing started with the Plymouth Prowler - a vehicle not made for tall people, lol.

I don't agree about the x351 being inferior to a Lexus, or even comparable, but it is not particularly remarkable to drive (at least not the Supercharged-V6 XJ-L that I drove) or to look at - very nice, but unremarkable with a very-damp Lincoln-like air-ride with minimal sense of the road feel - the x308 is not great about road-feel either, but vastly better than the new Jag-boats. And the x351 is fatty, almost a foot-and-a-half wider than the x308 which is undesirable if you live somewhere urban with narrow lanes/streets. The x351 seems to be a Jag-shell over a Range Rover with smaller wheels - although the reverse could be said just the same, Range Rover is a Jag with a lift-kit and inferior interior.

The retro muscle cars like the Challenger/Charger look great, but I've yet to drive a Chrysler that doesn't disappoint in quality, in interior ergonomics and in driving pleasure.

 

The 2011+ Audi A8 has a phenomenal drive and excellent interior, albeit dead-boring exterior. The higher-mileage '08-09 A8's are under $10k, so another 2-3 years the new 2011 version should be in the x308 price range. Anyone have/had one or have an opinion on that?

 

I have the gen before (04-10) and it holds the record of neediest piece of siht I've ever owned (owned for 5 years so far, it's going up for sale in a few weeks). I also hate the plastics and connectors underhood.

Oddly, I really like the 07+ S550 4Matic and 07+ Lexus LS460 with AWD. Both have excellent power from their V8s, excellent luxury, and generally better build quality than Audi. I think the A8 has an outstanding looking interior and drives beautifully, but I'd be hard pressed to put up with it's crap again.

I love the aluminum body in the rust belt, but to get that again I'm looking at Range Rovers not A8s.

 

That's one of the things I really liked about the x308. It had a Town Car ride in a Camry-sized package, with conventional springs, but still seems to handle quite well. I don't want to "feel" the road as the roads around here are in pitiful shape. Ultimately, like at the voting booth, I will have to choose something even if there are things I don't like about it. It will likely be factors like ride comfort that drive the decision.

 

I'm in NYC (pothole central), I don't want to feel the road either, but I want to feel what the car is doing on it, how close I am to losing traction, etc. With air suspension you can't really gauge that well, and need to just hope the Computer control will save you if you push too hard...