I have adored the Jaguar XJS car since my neighbor brought home theirs in the early 90s. Whenever I bring up the idea of adding one to my stable, people just talk about how unreliable these cars are, and I hate that I love this car so much.
A true gentleman’s grand tourer, the XJS was Jaguar’s replacement to what Enzo Ferrari considered the most beautiful car ever made - the E-Type. It’s not as loved as the E-Type, but I think the XJS is a beautiful car. Sharp lines. An antique and British cockpit. Beautiful floating rear quarters. The perfect car for wood trim.
Introduced in 1975, the XJS was a grand touring coupe initially only offered with a V12, but later model years offered a 6 cylinder motor as well as the V12. Although plenty in cylinders, opportunities to drive were few and far between for most owners, as these Jags were notorious for being unreliable.
The XJS’ production run spanned 21 years, spawning 3 generations, and offering 3 body styles - a coupe, a convertible, and an extremely rare targa. The first generation was riddled with issues with the big V12. The second gen’s V12 is much more reliable and has much better fuel economy.
The third generation is by far my favorite generation thanks to my neighbor having the most beautiful Black with Black interior 1995 XJS. The styling, in combination with the redesigned dashboard, steering wheel, and interior amenities do it for me. Oh, also the fact that Ford owned Jaguar during the 3rd gen makes me a bit more confident in wanting to own one of those instead of the earlier ones.
Even though owners on message boards claim that they are reliable car and only peripheral electronics like the fuel injectors, throttle positioning sensors, and throttle bodies have issues, I hope that one day I can bite the bullet and be a caretaker for an XJS.
Until then, I will continue to drool over the beauty of the XJS, have people tell me how unreliable they were, imagine myself cruising on a forest road in fall when the leaves are changing colors, all while hating the fact that I love this car so much.