1999 Jaguar XJ8 4 liter V8 from North America

Summary:

Beautiful, fast, but still very far from perfect

Faults:

Excessive wind noise above 60 m.p.h.

Interior and exterior trim parts loose and rattling.

Drive train harmonic vibration at 55 m.p.h.

Chassis shake at 75 m.p.h.

Erratic and jerky transmission shifts.

General Comments:

The car is beautiful inside and out, with excellent materials used in construction, particularly the interior.

The cockpit is low and cramped, difficult to get in and out of if you are 6 feet tall and not much leg room in back.

Far too much wind noise for a car of this caliber.

Excellent, smooth V8 engine with amazing acceleration and reasonable fuel consumption.

Poor automatic transmission which is reluctant to downshift and quite jerky and erratic in operation for a car of this class.

I had several problems with this car at delivery and annoying ones like the chassis/drive train vibration are difficult to pinpoint and correct.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 16th May, 2002

23rd Feb 2009, 15:53

I had the shaking problem with my 1999 XJ8 for 9 years. The dealer could not fix it after 7 visits. I just change my shocks and 90% of the shake has gone away. My problem is the tilt column motor does not go forward or backward, just up and down.

1999 Jaguar XJ8 V8 from North America

Summary:

Better than Lexus

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with this reliable machine!

General Comments:

Is the Jaguar of the Jaguar! Comfort, performance, reliability and a beautiful car! So, of course, the suspension is too soft and the engine takes a lot of fuel. The Jaguar XJ8 has the same engine as the S-type and the XK8. My old Lexus was a bad car!!! I found a lemon with my LS400. So my Jaguar is very comfortable, just like a Rolls-Royce!!! This is the best quality of the car and also the reliability, I think that everybody knows that Jaguar had a bad reputation 20 years ago, but now, it's very good for the quality and reliability! 12 years ago, I had a XJS, and I had a lot of trouble with this lemon!!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th June, 2001

6th Jun 2002, 22:09

I am a fellow admirer of the British Cat. However, I'm a current owner of both a '02 and '92 LS series cars. Their reliability has been flawless. The 92 model has had no defects. I hate to state the obvious, but Lexus has ranked #1 in Reliability consistently since its inception in 1990. Jaguar to its credit has risen from 13th to 3rd as of late. But still overall they have yet to win the "Official" critics over. Only time will tell, but still the XJ8 is an elegant car.

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