Jaguar XF V8S

[POD]

Anyone have any experience of the XF supercharged 4.2 from around 2008/2009? I'm seriously considering buying one, call it mid-life crisis but that would mean I have to live to 116. Would love to hear from anyone with direct experience with these vehicles.

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

I have a 2008 XKR which has the same driveline as the XF SV8, and I've worked on a fair few XF's over the years.

What do you want to know exactly?

[POD]

I guess any general info about whether they are particularly troublesome or unreliable, are parts difficult to find, anything that might feed into a buy / don't buy decision. I'd be using it for my 140km round trip commute and putting the Defender 130 into semi-retirement, alternating the jag with the wife's mazda 3 to mitigate the fuel cost of having a high-powered luxury saloon as a commuter. Fuel consumption figures look similar to what I'm using in the 130 but a lot better suited to a long trip home after a long shift. Current pricing of a 2008 /09 SV8 is similar to what we paid for the mazda 3 but a helluva lot more car.

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

9.8L/100km on the highway, maybe 16-17L/100km around town.

The engine & transmission are solid, rarely an issue, some of them have been known to have premature diff failure but the diff is the same as the S-Type, and the XK/XKR, easy enough to find if you need one.

The SV8's were the top model pretty much fully loaded with every option, so they are much nicer than the typical standard XF of the day.

Suspension bushes flog out every 50k or so, but all modern Jags have that issue, soft bushes for a nice comfy ride so they don't last forever.

Be wary of the leather dashboard top, it shrinks in the heat and costs a couple of grand to fix. Hopefully someone already fixed it for you beforehand.

Little niggles like door latches failing (just like the Land Rovers lol) and wires in the boot harness breaking, not expensive to fix just annoying.

From a cost of ownership perspective, will be cheaper to maintain than a Land Rover of the same period.

Just remember it's tech from 2007 so the infotainment system is ancient by today's standards, but can be updated/retrofitted for phone connectivity (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto).

The 4.2 is not short of power, but if 310kW isn't enough we can turn it up to around 355kW with just a tune.

[POD]

That's great info thanks Cambo, sort of thing I was after thank you. I plan to have a look at one today.

[Homestar]

Keep us posted, lovely car and something I’d generally consider a bit new for me, but you never know - a pair of Jags in the garage would looks good... 😉

Which reminds me - must install the new window switches in the XJ6 before the car show on the weekend... 😇👍

[Pickles2]

That's great info thanks Cambo, sort of thing I was after thank you. I plan to have a look at one today.
Pics of new addition will be mandatory,......please!
Pickles.

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

So did you buy it or what????

[POD]

Drove it today, it was better than I expected. Best car I have ever driven I think. An offer will be forthcoming.

[POD]

It seems my stable will be expanding some time next week. Pics will be posted.

[justinc]

9.8L/100km on the highway, maybe 16-17L/100km around town.

The engine & transmission are solid, rarely an issue, some of them have been known to have premature diff failure but the diff is the same as the S-Type, and the XK/XKR, easy enough to find if you need one.

The SV8's were the top model pretty much fully loaded with every option, so they are much nicer than the typical standard XF of the day.

Suspension bushes flog out every 50k or so, but all modern Jags have that issue, soft bushes for a nice comfy ride so they don't last forever.

Be wary of the leather dashboard top, it shrinks in the heat and costs a couple of grand to fix. Hopefully someone already fixed it for you beforehand.

Little niggles like door latches failing (just like the Land Rovers lol) and wires in the boot harness breaking, not expensive to fix just annoying.

From a cost of ownership perspective, will be cheaper to maintain than a Land Rover of the same period.

Just remember it's tech from 2007 so the infotainment system is ancient by today's standards, but can be updated/retrofitted for phone connectivity (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto).

The 4.2 is not short of power, but if 310kW isn't enough we can turn it up to around 355kW with just a tune.


Just a quick Q, sorry for the OT hijack, what sort of remap upgrade can be had with the 5.0Supercharged??😲😲

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

It seems my stable will be expanding some time next week. Pics will be posted.
Well done, hurry up with the pics [emoji846]


Just a quick Q, sorry for the OT hijack, what sort of remap upgrade can be had with the 5.0Supercharged??[emoji44][emoji44]
I guess we are talking about a Range Rover?

Frankly we don't push the tunes in the Range Rovers as far as the Jags.

In an extreme case, say a 2500kg vehicle with 3500kg trailer on the back, that's a huge amount of stress on the motor compared to pushing around a 1900kg sedan.

It also depends if it's an early model with Denso ECU or a later one with Bosch ECU.

And the intercooler setup is not as efficient in a Range Rover compared to the Jags.

In saying all that, the 5.0L with 510PS / 375kW / 625Nm factory tune is typically turned up to 575-590PS, 430-440kW, 680-700Nm.

EDIT

That's for the Range Rovers, there's a Jag F-Type V8 here in Sydney which we did cats & tune, it's around 650PS, 480kW, 740Nm.

[POD]

Apologies for the delay in posting the photos as demanded. I've had a fair bit on since picking up the Jag last Wednesday- like driving it! Thoroughly enjoying the new beast. And I'm finding the horsepower 'adequate' :)
I've done a week's worth of commuting so far but Friday evening, heading to my night shift, there was torrential rain the whole way and flooding that resulted in a 2-hour trip to work so I won't take this week as representative of ongoing fuel cost. Also, rather than the quoted figures for 'highway cycle' and 'city cycle', I have been operating a fair bit in 'I just bought a supercharged Jag' cycle. The thing just wants to GO. Sport / dynamic mode on a familiar twisty road is quite an experience.
The touch-screen master control / display is quite dated- no doubt it was 'state of the art' in 2008 but the art has moved states a few times since then. I'm happy it has a CD player though, as I don't use my phone for music. The head unit takes 6 CDs and there is a stacker in the boot- not sure how many discs that takes. The sound system is fantastic.
Heated and cooled seats are a new experience for me; we've had 95% humidity for the past couple of weeks so the aircon in the seat is great; took my wife for a drive the other night when it was quite chilly and the heated lumbar support was very much appreciated.
All in all, I'm wrapt with the car. The electrical niggles have started already though- one of the switches on the steering wheel has failed. Plenty of examples of the switch sets available online for around $30 though so I guess it could be a lot worse. This car also has the most crowded engine bay I have ever seen.
A few photos, as requested.
158055158056158057158058158059158060

If anyone knows of a source of a GOOD workshop manual for this vehicle, please let me know. Also I'm hoping there might be a Jaguar forum of similar quality to this Land Rover forum out there somewhere.

[justinc]

Apologies for the delay in posting the photos as demanded. I've had a fair bit on since picking up the Jag last Wednesday- like driving it! Thoroughly enjoying the new beast. And I'm finding the horsepower 'adequate' :)
I've done a week's worth of commuting so far but Friday evening, heading to my night shift, there was torrential rain the whole way and flooding that resulted in a 2-hour trip to work so I won't take this week as representative of ongoing fuel cost. Also, rather than the quoted figures for 'highway cycle' and 'city cycle', I have been operating a fair bit in 'I just bought a supercharged Jag' cycle. The thing just wants to GO. Sport / dynamic mode on a familiar twisty road is quite an experience.
The touch-screen master control / display is quite dated- no doubt it was 'state of the art' in 2008 but the art has moved states a few times since then. I'm happy it has a CD player though, as I don't use my phone for music. The head unit takes 6 CDs and there is a stacker in the boot- not sure how many discs that takes. The sound system is fantastic.
Heated and cooled seats are a new experience for me; we've had 95% humidity for the past couple of weeks so the aircon in the seat is great; took my wife for a drive the other night when it was quite chilly and the heated lumbar support was very much appreciated.
All in all, I'm wrapt with the car. The electrical niggles have started already though- one of the switches on the steering wheel has failed. Plenty of examples of the switch sets available online for around $30 though so I guess it could be a lot worse. This car also has the most crowded engine bay I have ever seen.
A few photos, as requested.
158055158056158057158058158059158060

If anyone knows of a source of a GOOD workshop manual for this vehicle, please let me know. Also I'm hoping there might be a Jaguar forum of similar quality to this Land Rover forum out there somewhere.


What a fantastic vehicle.. we've always fallen towards Lexus, had a LS400 then a LS430, both magnificent vehicles how EVER after looking at these, maybe I ought to drive one....🤔😲😲

[Rok_Dr]

Nice veeeeery nice. I do rather like the XF and prefer it to the current model XJ........ but I’m addicted to the v12 so won’t be upgrading any time soon[smilebigeye][smilebigeye][smilebigeye]

As to forums Jaguar forums Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum (https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/) and Jag Lovers Jag-lovers Forums - Jag-lovers (https://forums.jag-lovers.com/) are 2 I visit on occasion. As my jag is a lot older I can’t comment about the XF sections but both are reasonably active.

There are also a few local facebook pages.

Cheers

Steve


Apologies for the delay in posting the photos as demanded. I've had a fair bit on since picking up the Jag last Wednesday- like driving it! Thoroughly enjoying the new beast. And I'm finding the horsepower 'adequate' :)
I've done a week's worth of commuting so far but Friday evening, heading to my night shift, there was torrential rain the whole way and flooding that resulted in a 2-hour trip to work so I won't take this week as representative of ongoing fuel cost. Also, rather than the quoted figures for 'highway cycle' and 'city cycle', I have been operating a fair bit in 'I just bought a supercharged Jag' cycle. The thing just wants to GO. Sport / dynamic mode on a familiar twisty road is quite an experience.
The touch-screen master control / display is quite dated- no doubt it was 'state of the art' in 2008 but the art has moved states a few times since then. I'm happy it has a CD player though, as I don't use my phone for music. The head unit takes 6 CDs and there is a stacker in the boot- not sure how many discs that takes. The sound system is fantastic.
Heated and cooled seats are a new experience for me; we've had 95% humidity for the past couple of weeks so the aircon in the seat is great; took my wife for a drive the other night when it was quite chilly and the heated lumbar support was very much appreciated.
All in all, I'm wrapt with the car. The electrical niggles have started already though- one of the switches on the steering wheel has failed. Plenty of examples of the switch sets available online for around $30 though so I guess it could be a lot worse. This car also has the most crowded engine bay I have ever seen.
A few photos, as requested.
158055158056158057158058158059158060

If anyone knows of a source of a GOOD workshop manual for this vehicle, please let me know. Also I'm hoping there might be a Jaguar forum of similar quality to this Land Rover forum out there somewhere.

[Rok_Dr]

Oh and a little PS. [smilebigeye]

@incisor is it time to reconsider having a Jag sub forum given the increasingly commonality of parts and joint ownership?

cheers

Steve

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

Very nice!

Black on black is where it's at with these things.

Yes the Bowers & Wilkins is a fantastic system, i've done the full retrofit in a half-dozen XF's now, it's better than the Meridian system in the later cars, for my ears anyhow.

There is no stacker in the boot, that's the DVD drive for the navigation, the 6-stacker in the head unit is the only disc player.

Send me a PM with your email address, I can send you the original/official workshop manual, wiring diagrams, technical guides, etc...

Which switch on the steering wheel? The left side with volume/track or the right side with the cruise control?

[Homestar]

Very nice! What a great car! I’m on the Jag Lovers forum with my XJ6 and they’re a very welcoming and helpful bunch - have had several issues resolved quickly from the folk there. Plenty of Aussies there too.

[POD]

Thanks heaps for the offer of the manuals Cambo, a PM will be on its way to you momentarily. The dicky switch is on the left panel, the one that selects CD track and radio station. Sticky when flicking downward. I'm thinking of taking the panel apart and seeing if it's salvageable, but I'm reluctant to start down that track so early with the new pride of the fleet.

[Cambo_oldjaguar]

Just on the topic of fuel consumption, this was my XKR on a drive from Sydney to the Gold Coast last year.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200218/55476191a5adf9729ad350d535a2ec58.jpg