Regular Car Reviews: 1987 Jaguar XJ6

A car so British, it apologizes for being on time. This is a car for looking like old money. When we were filming this, a lookie-loo walked up to the Jag and us..and said: "Do you have any Grey Poupon?" For real.

[JuddKramer]

To quote Jeremy Clarkson, every Jaguar makes for the owner to be caddish.

A man who goes on a honeymoon and spends dinner flirting with the waitress...but its okay because he's got a

[cheffington]

30 years old and it still looks better than any new jaguar

[AmericanSirenProductions]

my grandmother owned one always loved it....it felt so British and it still had that fresh new car smell. My grandma always went to Costco with me and my sister. Though she's no longer with us I still remember her showing me how to work on it and drive it .

[splewy]

To the British people furiously taking to the comments to correct the pronunciation, we Americans know it's pronounced "Jag-u-ar" (or at least most car guys do). The problem is that when you pronounce Jaguar in that way, in conjunction with our American accent, you just end up sounding like some dopey moron trying hard to imitate a British accent, but failing. So we choose to carry on mangling the pronunciation instead. It's better this way. Trust us.

[johnpatch]

"It doesn't accelerate... It 'advances'." Jesus Christ

[justsumguyu]

The most impressive thing about this review is that the Jag actually ran the entire time.

[casparpolitman]

i want one of these now, its a massive car, silent, heavy, elegant, classic, its like an old ghost in the streets.

[Christopher]

One of the most beautiful cars ever built.

[unregistredhypercam]

"It looks down on you, even when it's below you". Well, it is a cat.

[gosportjamie]

Don't forget a black XJ6 was the car chosen for Edward Woodwards "Robert McCall" in the original series of "The Equalizer"...

I remember my dad back in the '70s getting to drive a friends Daimler DoubleSix (the V12, plusher Daimler version of this car.) His friend told him to take it on the motorway, then put a card over the speedo and told my dad to take it up to what he thought was 70 mph (my dad had a Rover P6 2000TC which wasn't a slow or unrefined car for the time) so my dad did so and said when he thought they were at 70. His friend took the card away, and the speed was 125 mph. The XJ6 really did utterly change what a prestige car was when it was launched back in the late '60s. Without it there would be no BMWs as we know them, no high spec Mercs, no Lexus, prestige cars would still be big, heavy and ponderous because that's what they always had been...

[falagarius]

My dad was a mechanic in a jag dealership from mid 70s to the early 90s. He knows these things inside out and knows lots of stories of complicated repairs.

[savecolaclibrarynow]

I've owned a 1985 series 3 jx6 sovereign for 9 years and its never left us on the side of the road, it leaks virtually no oil and it burns virtually no oil. When purchased it had 160, 000 KM on it now she has 238, 000 KM and in the 9 years she has had a coil, starter motor, rear brake calipers, thermo fan and thats it, still not had the head off. These cars are very well made and feature the same Connolly hide that is used in Rolls Royce and the side window surrounds are not chrome they are stainless steel. Much of the body is finished by hand such as the rear end above the tail lights. The rear end is the same used in the E type jaguar including the diff, 4 shockers and springs and the front end featured anti dive technology. The xj6 chassis was considered to be the best rolling chassis in the World at the time. Don't be too quick to knock these cars as they are far superior to the modern ones built today at least in relation to quality. It's true that todays cars are faster, lighter and safer but they are built 30 years later. If you want a fair comparison to a modern car then look at the features on a late model Jaguar.many of the ideas used on modern cars emanate directly from the Jaguar xj6 which featured electric front seats, cruise control, 4 wheel disc brakes, two master cylinders one for front and one for the back. They had crumple zones front and rear too. They were and still are a great drive although lacking the airbags etc found in new cars. Every time I drive the more modern cars I fell like I am in a plastic box whereas in the Jaguar even after 9 years you always feel like you are sitting in a well made car with the leather and the real Burr Walnut and wool carpets. Can't see us selling "Bessie" anytime soon.

[royalmac]

Even though you are above it, it somehow still looks down upon you lol

[ChannelStage]

This was so great - I own both an '87 and an '84 XJ6.  While the '87 is for parts, the '84 has a 350 Chevy V8 out of an '88 IROC Camaro.  Two great tastes that taste great together! Another spot-on review, particularly the "Look Rich" part.  People almost fall over when I tell them the car cost $2300 from Craigslist.  It looks gorgeous. Of course, most of the electrical items didn't work on it when purchased, and the heavy slab of wood known as the glove-compartment door still flies open unexpectedly, but all is excused because Jaguar.

[AlfredvanKuik]

Awesome :D Didn't expect a Jag on RCR ever.

I have a 1990 XJ series 4 (XJ40) with the 4.0 AJ6. Bought it for €500 with a few friends to do a banger rally. They fixed a lot of the problems in the series 4, although it still has it's issues, like a very sensitive hydropneumatic suspension system that has leaked gallons of scary green fluid all over my poor town so far. But it only consumes tires when you do burnouts, it's properly fast, it has kinda almost decent gas mileage on the highways, the gearbox is awesome, all the electric systems work on our cheap shitty one, so I assume they're good, and it just looks more stunning than anything else you can get for the price. Although the series 3 does look better.

But most important of all, it allows me to smash my obnoxious Jaguar keychain and keys on the table and say I have a It indeed makes people think I'm rich, even though it cost me less than your average VW Golf. Should you own a Jaguar? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Do it.

[Aldairion]

I NEED ONE NOW! Seriously, I've always had a soft spot for old XJs, even up to the early 2000 models. Glad to see one here.

[Tbilling]

Finally something to do at 4 in the morning

[rfouR_]

$12, 000 ENGINE REBUILD applies here too I figure. 

[joebeastyg]

1983 XJ6 Vanden Plas was my 1st car. Wore the backseat out.

0-60... sure. 60-125? Fuuuuck yeah! That's where her speed was. Expensive to keep in the road!

[FNRifleman]

The fact that you said no one should ever own makes me want to own one.