Wise Buyer: X350

2003-2009 Wood, leather, curves and bonus reliability, writes James Walshe

Now is the time to buy. Learn how not to get stuck with a lemon.

Following decades of svelte, low-slung Jaguar style, the X350 was the final ‘retro’ Jaguar to roll out of Coventry. It would be the last Jag to get the firm’s trademark quad headlamps – the company’s next all-new model, the XF, brought with it a new styling theme that would forever change the big cat’s face, which makes the X350 a real landmark model. Now is the time to grab the keys to a car with modern-day usability and a healthy dose of classic style. They won’t be cheap for long!

Why you want one

Style, we’ve covered. But don’t forget this is a Jag the product of a firm which has always been adept at building cars that shrink around you when you drive them fast – and the X350 is no exception. Handling and ride are a revelation for those not in the know, with ride quality cosseting and utterly pliant. The steering is fast and incisive, and cornering is keen and lacking in body roll.

Even the entry-level XJ packs 240bhp from its Ford-based V6 engine. Combine that with a relatively low kerb weight and you’ll always arrive

at your destination earlier than you planned.

Which one should I buy?

With five main trim levels – base (XJ6), Sport, SE, XJR and Super V8 – the XJ range was simple but buyers could choose from a wealth of options, so the trim level rarely de-notes the equipment on board. You’ll want Jaguar’s full touch-screen sat-nav and climate control, as a decade on, it’s still on a par with many of the latest systems. Range-topping models came with a blistering supercharged

4.2-litre V8 (available in sporty XJR or more dignified Super V8 trim), while the more standard V8s had the 4.2-litre unit from the S-TYPE. In addition, a smaller, more fuel-efficient 3.5-litre V8 joined the range at the mid-level, while the entry-level models came with the 3.0-litre AJ6 V6 as used in the S- and X-TYPES. Don’t be fooled into thinking these are the weak relations, as in many respects the V6 is the best choice – 240bhp may not sound a lot, but the X350 is very light, remember.

The X350 was the first XJ to come with a diesel engine – in this case the 2.7 V6 unit co-developed by PSA and Ford and seen in all manner of vehicles from the Discovery to a Citroën C6. On form, it is a cracking unit. Torque and power delivery are incredible, but the unit needs regular servicing.

A facelift (codenamed X358) came late in 2007, with restyled rear lights and bumpers, a second