JLR - good years/models for reliability/quality?
Discussion
I've never owned a JLR product, but have always been tempted to scratch that itch with an XJ, FFRR or possibly an XF. One of the petrol or diesel V8 models.
I am well aware that people rarely go online to say "no issues, my car has been amazingly reliable". However the complaints seem to be prevalent enough that there has to be some truth in the matter.
Are there "good vintages" of these cars that I'd be better off looking at? I.e. is there a year where it is recognised everything went to rats
t, so I'd be better off buying one older than that? My recent daily drivers have been Lexus, Mercedes and Honda (the latter two from their reliability heydays rather than the more recent dross) so the bar is set quite high... I can accept the odd repair on a complex car but not interested in putting an Indy's children through uni!
I am well aware that people rarely go online to say "no issues, my car has been amazingly reliable". However the complaints seem to be prevalent enough that there has to be some truth in the matter.
Are there "good vintages" of these cars that I'd be better off looking at? I.e. is there a year where it is recognised everything went to rats
t, so I'd be better off buying one older than that? My recent daily drivers have been Lexus, Mercedes and Honda (the latter two from their reliability heydays rather than the more recent dross) so the bar is set quite high... I can accept the odd repair on a complex car but not interested in putting an Indy's children through uni!donkmeister said:
I am well aware that people rarely go online to say "no issues, my car has been amazingly reliable".
!
They do though and they are lying.!
Go back twenty years, before I owned a Range Rover, and friends who had them proclaimed them utterly reliable. I bought one and it wasn't. That entered me into "Range Rover Club" and my friends would then talk to me about how horribly unreliable theirs were.
To be fair, every new Range Rover I have had has been okay once two snagging lists had been worked through. Our current one is reliable at the moment. The dealer network is becoming worse though.
I ran an XF for a year or so and it wasn't too bad.
3.0 V6 Diesel
I only paid £4k for it, and it was very clean overall, for the money it was outstanding.
I did have a couple of 5-600 quid bills in that time but it didn't ever break down.
The issues they suffer with are fairly well documented and easily sorted for sensible money at a good independent specialist.
I'd have another one.
Father in laws plug in hybrid Evoke, only a year old is constantly breaking down and is at the main dealers more than on his driveway. Lovely to sit in but utter crap.
3.0 V6 Diesel
I only paid £4k for it, and it was very clean overall, for the money it was outstanding.
I did have a couple of 5-600 quid bills in that time but it didn't ever break down.
The issues they suffer with are fairly well documented and easily sorted for sensible money at a good independent specialist.
I'd have another one.
Father in laws plug in hybrid Evoke, only a year old is constantly breaking down and is at the main dealers more than on his driveway. Lovely to sit in but utter crap.
I've had loads of PAG era Jaguars and they've all been very reliable and when I've done any DIY on them I've been impressed by the quality. They seemed to start stripping out cost after the TATA takeover, so I'd say the peak years/models for Jaguar are probably the 2003-2007 X350 XJ if you can stand the old man style, the X250 XF pre facelift particularly the 4.2 V8, and the X351 XJ.
I certainly found that post facelift XFs feel a lot "tinnier" than the early cars, and the 2019 XJ Autobiography felt nowhere near as solid and nicely trimmed as the two 2010 models I owned. I don't think reliability ever dropped off within a model run.
The Jaguar models don't seem to have anything like the issues with the euro5 3.0d the LR stuff does, just avoid any Ingenium engined cars, and the late Euro6 300bhp diesels does seem more troublesome.
They've certainly been much more reliable and less riddled with niggling issues than the various 00s and 10s Mercedes Benz models I've had, but a Lexus LS is peerless on that front though.
I certainly found that post facelift XFs feel a lot "tinnier" than the early cars, and the 2019 XJ Autobiography felt nowhere near as solid and nicely trimmed as the two 2010 models I owned. I don't think reliability ever dropped off within a model run.
The Jaguar models don't seem to have anything like the issues with the euro5 3.0d the LR stuff does, just avoid any Ingenium engined cars, and the late Euro6 300bhp diesels does seem more troublesome.
They've certainly been much more reliable and less riddled with niggling issues than the various 00s and 10s Mercedes Benz models I've had, but a Lexus LS is peerless on that front though.
Edited by GeniusOfLove on Saturday 9th March 23:49
I had a 68 plate XE 300 r-sport from new, ran in for 3.5 years and 30k with no issues (except for a weird infotainment glitch which was fixed under warranty with a software update). The touchscreen tech isn't great, not as sensitive as it should be, but once you get used to where you need to touch the screen....
I'm a fan of the products and other than normal servicing and consumables (touch wood) haven't had any issues.
Jaguar wise I've owned a 2012 XF 3.0d, 2010 XJ LWB 3.0d and 2016 XJ R-sport 3.0d.
LR ownership has included a 2011 Freelander TD4, 2008 Discovery3 TDV6, 2009 L322 Range Rover 3.6TDV8 and 2 weeks ago picked up a 2014 L405 Range Rover A/B 4.4 TDV8.
As with any brand/model they all have their weak points, L322 for example - suspension compressor & electronic handbrake module being the first to come to mind. They are getting to an age now where these things will more than likely have been replaced.
I avoided late 2015 but 2016MY onwards L405's as these have adblue which adds another level of complexity/sensors which I didn't want, they also have stop/start which is the first thing I turn off when getting into a car such equipped and finally the pan roof is fixed on the later cars and I quite like leaving the roof tilted up when at work.
DPF issues are never a concern given the mileage I do and the journey profiles, but that's just modern diesels, not JLR specific.
I'd 100% recommend one, well worth poking around a few different models to see which floats your boat the most.
As a previous poster mentioned I'd avoid anything with an Ingenium engine and actually the >2015 XF's have a more premium feeling and better built interior than the later cars.
Cheers,
Chris
Jaguar wise I've owned a 2012 XF 3.0d, 2010 XJ LWB 3.0d and 2016 XJ R-sport 3.0d.
LR ownership has included a 2011 Freelander TD4, 2008 Discovery3 TDV6, 2009 L322 Range Rover 3.6TDV8 and 2 weeks ago picked up a 2014 L405 Range Rover A/B 4.4 TDV8.
As with any brand/model they all have their weak points, L322 for example - suspension compressor & electronic handbrake module being the first to come to mind. They are getting to an age now where these things will more than likely have been replaced.
I avoided late 2015 but 2016MY onwards L405's as these have adblue which adds another level of complexity/sensors which I didn't want, they also have stop/start which is the first thing I turn off when getting into a car such equipped and finally the pan roof is fixed on the later cars and I quite like leaving the roof tilted up when at work.
DPF issues are never a concern given the mileage I do and the journey profiles, but that's just modern diesels, not JLR specific.
I'd 100% recommend one, well worth poking around a few different models to see which floats your boat the most.
As a previous poster mentioned I'd avoid anything with an Ingenium engine and actually the >2015 XF's have a more premium feeling and better built interior than the later cars.
Cheers,
Chris
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