After 35 Years Mercedes I bought 3 years ago my X308 4.0 2001, it had only 49000km (29000lms) on the clock. I love the soft ride, have 18 Asteroids on it but with the strut-bar the car is perfekt still on not to good italian roads. Consumption is ok, and if you had to do a job like whellbeerings, electrics or timing chains it is very easy and with enough room to do (I have a Mercedes 500 E W124 too). Love tho look and the dash but not the side boards they are to cheap. So after 60000km with it I can say it was a good choise!

But what could be my next one. Should I go X350? The look is not as good as the X308 but acceptable and much more room inside and for lugage. But the electronics (sold my Mercedes W211 for this electrik gremlins)? If I would buy one ith had to have 19-20 inch rims and perhabs the Japan/Arden body Kit. But is it the better choise?

Get a XJR 308, could be a good solution as the Mercedes 722.6 Tranny is better and the engine should be a little stronger. The strut-bar is not usable and in my experience the car is so much better with it.

Get an older X300 XJR with Manual 5 Speed, love to shift (My 500 E W124 is converted to manual). What about the OBD system, is there only a Jaguar software to read it as I've been told? Is the 6 in line silent like the V8? The Dash is not good loking as the X308 but side boards are pretty.
What could be the consumption of a manual XJR?

A X305, but should be a SWB car, could be interesting a real V12. the fuel consumption is that much higher? How it is to work on it, as the old V12 or better.

At the endthe next one had to be converted to LPG as the italian law permits the traffic use in center zones only with Euro 4 up and LPG/Methane. V8, V 12 or 6 in line could be converted as I saw but which one is more reliable on it?

Any advice?

Best pagodino

 

Greetings!
Good taste in cars! I had a W124 400 E that I used as a banger. I drove that thing hard. They are very cheap over here and like a cut price 500E. The car gave some minor troubles but generally it was a pretty robust car.


I LOVE the X308 but I would be tempted by an X350. Yes they don't look as suave and gorgeous but they drive very well, and the alum construction means that conventional ferrous oxide corrosion is no longer a worry. The AJ33 4.2 litre engine is a solid engine that's come of age and is about as dependable as the AJ16 straight six.
I love the interior of them also. I'm biased as I had ALOT of exposure to them when they were being developed- probably more than the X308.

 

I'm in agreement with Count Ibis on this one. If I had a bit more money, or was thinking much more long term, I would have gone with an x350 instead of an x308. Lots of modern amenities, xenon headlights, dimming outer mirrors(!!!), ventilated seats if you go new enough, v8 drivetrain kinks worked out, better fuel economy, and so on. Air ride suspension is very nice too, and IMO a factor in getting these cars, and worth maintaining if at all possible. After I have my x308 a little while and my life situation is stable enough for it, I'll probably look for an x350 n/a to use as my daily.

I drove a few x350's before I ended up finding my XJR. With the x308's, I found that the XJR("sport") seats are the most comfortable out of all. VDP seats were kind of underwhelming, and the only xj8 x308 seats I tried were in a parts yard, but they were still about what I expected. When I sat in the seats of a base model 04 xj8, I was absolutely blown away. Out of any car I've sat in so far, they were the most comfortable by far. Felt like an embrace, but not constricting. Supportive everywhere where it was needed. However, the x350 XJR seats I found were extremely firm and aggressive compared to the other jags I'd sat in. Still have to try x350 VDP seats... For someone 6'2 the extra headroom and slightly improved touch point positions in the x350 are nice as well. The x308 wheel never extends out quite far enough... Ergonomics were a big issue with my eclipse, and were another important factor in looking for a replacement for it. I can only imagine that as time goes on it will move more and more towards a primary factor in car-buying for me.

There's my long rant about that. With the other cars, I've heard opinions on both sides of the x308 vs x300 reliability, ranging from x300 being rock solid, to both x300 and x308 being about equivalent, to the x308 being much more reliable. With the high age of any of these cars, YMMV. The v12 x305's are a dream of mine to test drive, very rare. I don't know about working on them, but the XJS forums had a very good thread on the reliability changes of the v12 as MY progressed. Imagine a much smaller community and harder to find parts with those engines.. worth reading through some of the XJS forums to get an idea. No idea where that post I referred to is.

 

I can't stand the X350 personally, I think it's awful. It's disproportionate and seems to pander to the complaints of the people who should have bought a big old squishy Yankee barge.

I drove my friend's 2015 XF Diesel yesterday, a car I've always been sceptical of. However I was pleasantly surprised by it and if I couldn't have a 308 I'd be looking at an XFR.

 

I like the style of the X308 but could definitely see owning an X350. The headroom is much better, and overall more daily driver friendly. I like my X308 but definitely see why they increased the size the way they did.

I like the XJs, but I REALLY like XKs more. My dad owned an alloy XK120, and both an early Series 1 E Type and a late Series 3 E Type; all 3 open cars. I have owned my X100 XKR Convertible for 6 years and put on 35k miles, driving it pretty much solid from salt washed away to first snow each year. I put 600 miles on my XJR between March and December, and 8k on the XKR. Very usable day to day compared to the Corvette I owned before. I definitely could see a newer XKR or an Aston. I look really hard at the early DB9 but just know that the 07+ X150 XKR is cheaper to run, faster, more reliable and cheaper to buy. I have debated this quite a while. I have the cash for either, and this spring, I might pounce, but who knows. The XK and XJ have been great and I can't complain.

On the topic of seats, my favorite seats in any car I've ever owned were in my 87 Corvette Convertible. Great adjustable bolsters, lumbar, and a lockable seatbelt. I have judged every performance seat since then by that. Here's the seats:



At the bottom of the seat belt (at the door, not the buckle, which is near the console) there is a button to lock it and ratchet it tight. This prevents the lap belt loosening in any way. Very useful.