S type R or older XJR V8.

[cerbman]

An S type R would set me back £15K+, an older XJR 97-02 would be £6K+. Is the STR worth the extra? performance figures are very similar, both hit 60 in the low 5's and 100 in less than 13, so?

[LSPC]

Hi cerbman ,matter of choice really as you say performance is similar.S type R probably the safer bet ,no nikasil or tensioner issues and i think they handle better!!.But 9 k is alot of dosh to save if you can find a good un .Personally i love my S type R so i could be sligthly bias, cheers Lee.

[job38]

Why pay more for the porky and ugly little sister?

[bigdavy]

Late model XJR (01/02) i believe are ok regarding the nikasil issue??

Personally i prefer the look of the big XJ over the s-type, especially the later ones with the better alloys, that would be my choice.

[tempest]

The Nikasil issue disappeared on XJV8s from as early as November 1999...they built the first "2000 model year" cars in Autumn 1999 according to Jaguar.

I bought a 2000 year XJR recently and was interested to find (while checking the Nikasil story) that my VIN has the suffix for a steel lined engine but a build date of Nov 1999. The main dealer who sold it to me confirmed it.

As for XJ vs Stype well, major issue is seating as Stype is a bit more "cosy" incl headroom. Also the XJ is gorgeous, moreso than the Stype in my book. And it is half the price....

Edited by tempest on Tuesday 30th January 22:15

[cerbman]

The trouble is I like both, I already have the XJ8 and the only thing I don't like about this one is the instruments.

[LewisR]

The S-Type R (all S-Types for that matter) has double wishbone rear suspension which didn't appear on the XJ until it went to X350. The X308 still has the driveshaft as the upper link. The S-Type R featured on the X202 model which has revised rear subframe over the launch model X200 S-Type. So, from a driver's point of view the S-Type R has a better chassis but in my opinion, the XJR looks better. Oh yes, the S-Type R has the 400bhp 4.2 litre whilst the X308 XJR stayed with the 370bhp 4.0 litre V8.