1998 Jaguar XJ8 L review from North America

This car stalls at speeds over 50 MPH due to a factory defect which a recall was issued for. The cars in our vin range only qualified for the "software update fix" which did NOTHING to fix the problem. We cannot take this car on the freeway.

It does not start very well when the engine is cold. I have to get up half an hour earlier than I used to so I can spend half an hour trying to start it over and over until it finally works to get to work on time. The mechanic at the dealership said that the starter and everything is fine, just that it's something XJ8s do. Urgh!

Heater hoses ruptured, and it cost $530 to replace a $20 part because they put the heater hoses under the cam, and the whole engine had to come apart to replace them.

This car looks really nice, and drives fast, but it sucks to own. The only thing it is really good for is getting stuck in traffic, because at least you can be comfortable. Don't get one unless you have a couple of back up cars and never need to drive it on the freeway. If you have to commute through town during rush hour, then this MIGHT work for you.

Also, for some reason middle aged weirdos driving tricked out Hyundais will try to race you at stoplights. I have no idea what their problem is. Simple solution is to just hit the turbo button and be done with them, but I have had a few really dangerous situations where I didn't realize what those idiots were doing and they would totally cut in front of me, nearly causing an accident.

We are trading this car in to get a Saturn or a Toyota or something.