‘The S-Type R is still a much-under-rated classic buy’

From the immediate post-war period to the end of the second-generation S-type and X308 XJ8, Jaguar consistently offered practical, capable, attractive and therefore eminently likeable saloons. But which one should you go for? As always, it’s all a matter of personal taste, but any decision is not going to be made lightly. The ‘Mk1’ in 2.4-litre form is possibly the purest of the earlier Jaguar saloons, and while it’s not fast, it’s a wonderfully sorted, honest car and one that’s now rapidly appreciating valuewise. The traditional bookies’ favourite, the super-sized MkX/420G, isn’t rising quite as quickly in the value stakes and is often overlooked because of its sheer size. But as a rival to a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud it’s firmly on the case, being quicker, better handling – and today it shouldn’t cost as much to run, providing that it’s not suffering from corrosion. The short-lived 420 is faster than the MkX/420G and even rarer and lacks the Mk2’s sometimes clichéd image. Think of it as a slightly more sophisticated S-type and you can’t help but wonder why more people aren’t hunting them down. But not all would-be Jaguar owners want something from the 1960s or ‘70s, preferring to compromise with something more neo-classic. Both the X300 XJ6/XJ12 and the S-Type perform that role admirably, with the S-Type R still a much-underrated high performance classic buy. Our choice, though, is the XJ12 Series 3, which in many ways remains the luxury car benchmark by which all others are judged. The revised V12 – and those wonderful looks, which have aged beautifully – make it our deserving top choice.