Jaguar S-Type 3.0 > Reviews (14)

OK, Hello Everyone!

I'm looking to replace my 607. I have to tell you why. Basically I bought a Friday car from a dodgey forecourt and I just would like to sell it (now that all the problems have been sorted! as it just doesn't feel like MY car any more)

If I had the money, I'd go out and buy a Petrol 607 (mine is a Diesel) all day long. I can't afford it, so I have started looking at petrol alternatives from other brands.

Which brings my nicely onto the Jaguar S-Type.

I have test driven TWO S-Types now. The Standard S-Type S and the S-Type SE which has all the goodies. Both 2001 (same age as my 607)

I'm shocked quite frankly.

The Bog standard S-Type S

The first one I drove was an utter dissapointment, I thought stepping into a Jag would be like stepping into a whole other league. Boy was I wrong.

It felt like I had actually stepped into something worth nothing.

The engine in this model the 3.0 V6 didn't feel as torquey (which it probabley wouldn't) as my 607 and didn't push you into your seat like my 607 does. didn't feel like the correct progression to me!

The gearbox however worked flawlessly.

The inside of the car, was also abismal. Sorry, but it was, no leather, cramped and no toys!! I feel sorry for the people who bought these new!

Now onto my better part of the review, of the second one I test drove.

The S-Type SE.

This one has leather, so immediately feels much better to sit in.

Unfortuneately, it still just doesn't have that feeling my 607 gave me (before the problems started).

Engine and Gearbox - Not sure what was wrong with the other one, but this one felt lovely. the 3.0 Litre V6 made a gorgeous growl as you started her up and sounded quite sporty from the exhaust.

The moment you toe the throttle from a standing start, the traction kicks in, a growl is heard and boooom. You are off. That is one good thing about automatics, you don't have to mess about holding the car on the clutch getting it to take hold then taking your foot off, so laborious and you'd agree too if you ever drive an auto :)

Foot down and gone! :)

Step/Kick-Down works lovely and definately takes getting used to. In the SE there isn't a button at the bottom of travel. Usually on automatics, the kickdown occurs when you floor the pedal and then push it against a little button on the floor that lets the pedal click that little further.

The S had this button so you knew when kickdown would happen.

The SE does not have this! Don't worry, this is a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing, is that the SE has a more cleverer system that basically asses how far your foot is down and how quick you did it, initiating kickdown according to your driving style, nice eh?

The bad thing, is that it takes a little getting used to, in my 607 I toe it after about 1800 rpm to feel the lovely wave of power when the turbo kicks in.

In this, put your foot down a little too quick and she steps down two gears and bombs off in a blaze of fury and you're left wandering what happened to the last 5 miles and why you're doing an absurd speed.

It would seem all the Autos have a Sport Button. Press this and toe the car, the engine will redline before changing up. Mental.

You just cannot fault the engine, gearbox and sound it makes.

Ride Quality and Drive - This is a bit of a sad point for the Jag. It's rubbish basically.

Very bumpy, nowhere near as comfortable as the equivalent 607, BMW, Audi or Merc. Very discouraging and those of you (Jag Owners who think this is tosh) who think I'm wrong, just go and drive a 607, BMW 5 Series or Merc C/E Class and you WILL feel the difference.

It's appauling and honestly don't know if I could stomach it on a long journey.

The hard suspension makes for a choppy ride, and the road noise!!! my lord. Maybe I am used to the double glazing my 607 has as in there, it's soooooo quiet.

In the JAG it's just annoying and not something I'm happy about and is one of the main reasons I did not purchase right there and then. In a car like this, you expect the best no?

Due to being so cramped in the cockpit, it feels like a small car to drive, the stiff suspension mean you can feel everything going on which automatically means it's responsive in about every way. There has to be a cut off point though and I think the designers forgot that!

Interior, exterior and build quality - OK, this SE is alot better than the S.

The leather seats, the way they hold you, the comfort etc..I do like them and do put them above my cloth seats on the 607 and the leather seats in my friends BMW X3. The Jags, are good :)

Everything else seems a bit cheap though to be honest. Can't quite put my finger on it. when I think of a BMW, or a Mercedes, and I see bulges inside, or big features on the outside of the car, I think wo, there must be big clumps of cast iron for sheer strength and just think of the car as solid. Where as with the Jag, I just think it's very tinny and doesn't have that 'feel' the equivalents have.

The outside of the car looks groovy. Doesn't look anything like the original S-Type which some jag enthusiasts have mentioned before but it does remind me of Old England and everything British, which is a good thing for us right?!?!?

It looks strong, proud and you can imagine gulps of air being swooshed over the nicely curved features on the bonnet.

So to sum this section up:

Build - Shoddy, Cheap and feels....Tinny.
Interior - Not well thought out and also feels cheap!
Exterior - Looks Strong,Looks Like Old England, Stylish!

Practicality.

This is one part of the review I get to right something all good. You lot are sitting there thinking THREE LITRES!!! YOU MENTAL MAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU NUTTER??!?!

And well, you maybe right but let me tell you this.

My 607 2.2HDi Turbo Diesel, over the 5,000 odd miles I've managed to cover in it, it has averaged 34.5 MPG!! SHOCK SHOCK.

I'm 20 and drive like an old man (sorry to use such a cliche/pun or whatever and some older men drive like they're on brands hatch, but that's the saying so I'll use it :p)

I don't rag my 607, I do everything by the book to get as much economy out of it as possible.

On long runs the 607 will achieve 50mpg steadily on flat parts of a motorway which is nice.

However, you seen the price of diesel lately?!?! it's 131.9 pence here in the southwest.

The JAGs 3.0litre V6 will driven nicely average over a few thousand miles around 36mpg. Which...is about 1.5mpg better. doesn't sound much does it. BUT, Petrol is cheaper, so in the long run it will be cheaper to run.... (See's every man this side of the world who can speak this language run to his wife telling her this so that he can have a 3.0 litre hehe)

This is one thing I don't get. Our UK government are pushing diesels. yet, they take more crude oil to fuel, even though the carbon dioxide amount is relatively the same as a petrol, diesel also emits unburnt carbons etc which...it wouldn't happen to anybody but, if you were to stand in a room full of diesel fumes for a year and have an exact identical person standing in a room full of petrol fumes for a year, the one in the diesel filled room would be very seriously ill much faster than the guy in the petrol fumes. Unburnt Carbons are dangerous.

Diesel takes less refining than petrol so should be cheaper.

All this nonsense about buy a diesel to save the planet etc is total Government bull! It's profiteering as usual :(

Anyhow rant over.

The Jag. yes, better fuel economy than a 2.2litre turbo unit and better for everybodies health. Driven nicely you could really get some mileage out of a tank of fuel, all these numpties that floor their cars and get an average mpg of about 20mpg are silly. Don't listen to them.

Space wise, inside the actual car feels rather cramped and I wouldn't feel as comfortable in their with 5 people as I would my 607.

The boot space is very generous and I give that 5 stars, shame they couldn't let the cabin have a bit of the space.

Not sure what else to say really, I think I've covered it all.

Hope you've enjoyed the read.

Jamie :)