Jaguar XJ Saloon (10 on) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 10 September 2010
The XJ is the pinnacle of Jaguar’s ethos of building cars that offer high performance and comfort in equal measures. It’s a world away from its predecessor, both in terms of appearance and driving, yet this is still very much a Jaguar with plenty of delightful styling details and a coupe-like look. An all-aluminium body ensures a low kerb weight – good for handling – which combined with a superb range of engines, means the XJ delivers stunning performance and useful economy. The cosseting cabin is a wonderful piece of design too with unique touches that make other luxury alternatives look drab and ordinary. It is also fitted with state-of-the-art technology including a high definition virtual instrument panel. Like most cars of this size, it’s expensive new, but the Jaguar is easily a match for alternatives like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and, whether you’re in the back or behind the wheel, few cars feel as special as the XJ does.
4.5 out of 5

Other Jaguar reviews

3.5 out of 5

Running costs

Luxury saloons are rarely cheap to run, but the 3.0-litre diesel XJ does at least offer reasonable economy and affordable car tax rates. Insurance is high with the Supersport model sitting in the top group 50 bracket (in the new insurance rating system introduced in early 2010) while the diesel is a group 48. Owners can expect expensive servicing rates too while parts such as tyres and brakes will also be costly.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£2,557 - £2,668 *

Diesel

£1,602 - £1,644 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

3.0 D: 12 months or 16,000 miles. Petrols: 12 months or 15,000 miles.

Warranty

Three years/unlimited miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£215.00 - £475.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

3.5 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
    184
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
    289

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The XJ’s aluminium body helps save weight which has a knock on effect on fuel efficiency. As a result the popular 3.0 D emits just 184g/km of CO2 and averages 40mpg (for the standard wheelbase), remarkably impressive figures for an engine which boasts 275bhp. The petrols are, as you’d expect, considerably less economical and the top 5.0-litre Supersport emits 289g/km while averaging 23mpg – although that’s not at all bad for a V8 engine boasting more than 500bhp.

Find the exact engine and CO2