X315 XJL Jag 5.0

[Breaker 980]

Replacement for the S8 comes in the form of this 2011 XJL. I’m a sucker for a large car if that’s not already obvious  

I’ve always loved the XJ look and styling, I think for a large car, it is large! It holds its style really well, plenty of dispute on the rear end and lights, but I really like the individuality this car brings over pretty much anything else in this class. I also feel it has aged well now a few years on. 

The supercharged version would have been adorable however, some, sanity prevails and this is nearly the 5.0 V8. 380 odd horses. Most of my daily work is motorway so an easy cruise on the V8 is no issue. Petrol consumption should be considerably better then the V10 (for sale) or V12 E38 which will now be a more special alternative drive. Aluminium body is quite light for its size which will help both fuel and handling.

Long wheel base over short, well I think cohesively the shape works well in LWB and I feel you can see it was originally designed this way so why not, no major disadvantages to it other then the extra 125mm in length. Good parking sensors and camera, definitely necessity.

The sound is glorious! More AMG muscle throb then BMWs more muted reving V8s that I have heard, yet sublimely quiet on motorway duty.

Interior is also unique and beautifully crafted, even 7 years on, no rattles or squeaks apparant, although only 50k on this import example, ex Singapore incidentally so likely more equivalent to 100k NZ new with the round town driving it would have been in service for.

Infotainment is a bit more mid 2000s then super current but you get, Nav, Bluetooth and streaming, iPod connectivity and USB, plus dual viewing capability so your passenger can watch a DVD while you have Nav on, probably pointless but cool nonetheless. 

Seats and adjustments and sublime also, better then the S8 and the F01s I have driven before getting this.Plus heated and cooled seats front and rear, Adaptive cruise control and it’s a very pleasant place to be.

So a great start, 2 year warranty to cover any concerns but overall these have a pretty good rep and are a much cheaper warranty then a 7 series or S class.

 

 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Breaker

[Eagle 1662]

I will say styling looks much better than the BMW equivalents esp the interior.  

[NZ BMW 368]

Nice, I have been eyeing these up - I love the interior. 

[Breaker 980]

9 minutes ago, NZ BMW said:

Nice, I have been eyeing these up - I love the interior. 

It’s gorgeous, look even better in the flesh. Lots of different styles, mainly Browns and blacks I’ve seen though. 

[GorGasm 563]

That interior is superb.  Black with dark wood is a great combo.  Nice!

Edited August 12, 2018 by GorGasm

[Michael. 2313]

Awesome, I really like these. I was looking at one the other day, the rear is quite fun in it's design, different and unlike anything else on the road in the big sedan range.

What spec is the 5L V8? "Just" the NA one with 380hp? 

[qube 3570]

wrap the top to resemble a maybach. do it. you know you want to.

[lord_jagganath 421]

I love these, I want the turbo diesel one, the kick in the pants with one of those is wonderful. 

since yours is a singapore car, from experience, these would have been idling around town for most of the week with jaunts into Malaysia, Thailand, for the weekends, so would have had some real solid runs at times. 

[Breaker 980]

6 hours ago, Michael. said:

What spec is the 5L V8? "Just" the NA one with 380hp? 

Yip miserable 380hp only  “Just” enough hahahaha 

I can only imagine what 520hp in one of these is like...

[balancerider 758]

the exterior styling is definitely 'marmite' on these. interior looks awesome though.

[hugo_nz 166]

Very nice indeed, congratz! When I was shopping around I was torn between getting either a BMW F12 6-er, Jag X315 XJ or Mercedes-Benz C216 Cl550. I couldn't find a decent non-Japanese version of the Merc so scrapped that idea. Spent a morning with both the Jag and 6-er, and ultimately the 6-er won because I know BMW so well, and I love to tinker so any mods on the XJ would have been challenging and parking in town would likely prove a challenge too.

Your's looks like a fine example, and bonus that it has active cruise control. The big cats have aged so well, and the interiors are still a wonderful place to be in...slow touch screen and low-quality steering wheel controls aside ?

[Breaker 980]

Yip @hugo_nz you’ve hit it on the head, pretty much no mods can be done, touch screen bit sluggish at best. Luckily most of my driving is motorway so no issues with size and the interior is just quite delish. Although if I didn’t have the 38s and this was my one car I might have gone a different road, possibly 6 gran coupe

[sobanoodle 45]

18 minutes ago, Breaker said:

possibly 6 gran coupe

Yes sir!  

[hugo_nz 166]

2 hours ago, Breaker said:

Yip @hugo_nz you’ve hit it on the head, pretty much no mods can be done, touch screen bit sluggish at best. Luckily most of my driving is motorway so no issues with size and the interior is just quite delish. Although if I didn’t have the 38s and this was my one car I might have gone a different road, possibly 6 gran coupe

I found the touchscreen response to be improved if the menu animations are turned off. Hope to see you at the next Auckland meet. 

[Breaker 980]

18 minutes ago, hugo_nz said:

I found the touchscreen response to be improved if the menu animations are turned off. Hope to see you at the next Auckland meet. 

Its certainly not an issue for me so far, will be there next meet 

[Michael. 2313]

Ill have to make sure I turn up at the meet this time! 

[qube 3570]

^ comes along to BMW meet to see a Jag.. 

[Breaker 980]

8 hours ago, qube said:

^ comes along to BMW meet to see a Jag.. 

Driving a Toyota 

[Michael. 2313]

Not just any Toyota! 

[Breaker 980]

18 hours ago, Michael. said:

Not just any Toyota! 

Yes that is VERY true!

[aja540i 1906]

19 hours ago, Michael. said:

Not just any Toyota! 

The Rolls Royce of Toyotas ?? 

[Eagle 1662]

That title belongs to the Century 

[hugo_nz 166]

How's the Jag treating you?

[Breaker 980]

Very well thanks, clocked about 8000ks already. Doesn’t take long and includes a great trip to Welly and back.

its very quiet and refined till you want to give it some stick, but it feels like the front control arms are a bit tired, getting a little bit of noise from the front end. Still basic maintenance and it’s 2011 so expect some work.

averaging around 10.5l/100ks on gas which I’m happy with. Trips are around 9.5, even with a six speed box, it’s only ticking over 2000rpm at 120.

Not having had active cruise before I’m not sure I like it as much as I thought I would. While you can alter the gap to traffic in front, you get tards cutting in and that just has the car on the brakes and it’s frustrating so I haven’t used it as much as I anticipated (clicks off below 40 as well)

[hugo_nz 166]

On 11/21/2018 at 5:31 PM, Breaker said:

Very well thanks, clocked about 8000ks already. Doesn’t take long and includes a great trip to Welly and back.

its very quiet and refined till you want to give it some stick, but it feels like the front control arms are a bit tired, getting a little bit of noise from the front end. Still basic maintenance and it’s 2011 so expect some work.

averaging around 10.5l/100ks on gas which I’m happy with. Trips are around 9.5, even with a six speed box, it’s only ticking over 2000rpm at 120.

Not having had active cruise before I’m not sure I like it as much as I thought I would. While you can alter the gap to traffic in front, you get tards cutting in and that just has the car on the brakes and it’s frustrating so I haven’t used it as much as I anticipated (clicks off below 40 as well)

Good to hear. The 5L NA/V8 is surprisingly frugal (that being said, the bi-turbo in my V8 is surprising me as well). The active cruise control is a bit outdated by today's standards. I had an older ACC system on my CLS550 too and it was really only useful on long motorway journeys. By comparison the active cruise control on the new Tiguan for instance is superb working all the way down to zero. 

Glad that you're enjoying the big cat. I see quite a few of them out and about in Auckland...would be lying if I said I don't still look twice whenever I drive past one. Such a stunning design. Really looking forward to what Jag does for the next generation XJ.