1998 Jaguar XJ8 4.0 Long review from Lithuania

Since I have bought this car not very long time ago, it didn't have serious faults.

Some dashboard lamps were not working. Small fix.

Some problems with electric contacts.

Broken radio antenna in the car wash (my fault).

This Jaguar model looks awesome. When I first drove it in a small town, I felt almost like a star. Every people were starring at my Jaguar.

The interior is very nice, with white seats, except that cheap looking wood. It is too much of it.

Although, the car looks fantastic, it drives not very good.

The engine is quite good and powerful. It sounds awesome, although it is very thirsty. It uses almost as much fuel as BMW 750il (12 cylinders).

The throttle is way too soft and small. Very uncomfortable, and even dangerous.

Gearbox isn't as good as in BMW. Actually, it changes gears a little bit slow.

When I drive this Jaguar, I don't feel safe. It's handling and stability on the road is not as it should be.

The dashboard is terrible. Buttons are too small and there are too many of them. Very uncomfortable.

Seats aren't bad, but they are not so comfortable as in other luxury cars.

The sound isolation is worse than in my BMW 528 e39. If you drive BMW and enjoy the silence, in the Jaguar you hear every sound from outside.

Trunk is too small for this class car.

I was expecting that there will be more space in the back seats.

In overall, I must tell that I fell in love with this car. Although it drives not so good, it has awesome design.

I use it only for weekend drives to my villa. My daily drivers are 1994 BMW 740i (e38) and 1998 528i (e39), which are way much better.