My grandparents were serial Mercedes-Benz buyers. They went on a short trip with friends who had purchased a new Jaguar. My grandfather was very impressed and took one on a test drive when it was time to trade. He purchased it and within the first year and 20,000 miles it had significant issues. Mostly electrical issues but also a complete failure of the HVAC system in Tempe Arizona when the temperature was 110° F. He was driving home one day after playing golf in the car lost all power and had to be towed. The problem was an intake valve had been installed on the exhaust side and had burnt up and broken. By the time it happened, the car was 7,000 out of warranty. Jaguar refused responsibility so my Grandfather paid to have it repaired drove it to the Mercedes-Benz dealer traded it and never entertained the thought of buying a Jaguar again!

A lot of Jaguar enthusiasts seem to dislike the taller body of the all-new aluminium X350 and to *really* dislike the radical Callum styling of the X351. For them, the XJ should be more like this XJ40 or like the X300 or like the X308! "Very long, very low, very sleek" indeed as Matt says.

It's amazing to see a XJ40 (or Daimler) in showroom condition like this! A not inconsiderable number of them seem to be more than a little worse for wear for their years. To see one that looks like brand new inside and out is quite the revelation! 😊

That model is often maligned for it's squared off design, but it looks surprisingly elegant in the shade of dark metallic green. Love the drone footage Matt!

A truly fabulous creation. The cabin is almost a space of spiritual refuge. Contrast this with many new cars; I sat in a friend's Tesla recently and found myself losing the will to live.

Had a 1990 Daimler XJ40 - 5 meters of understated pose & presences. "The seas would part" when driving it, trucks, cars would get out or give you rite of way. Long, sleek, floated along, just style & class. Without a doubt the XJ shape is globally instantly recognizable at any distance, its a jag even if you nothing about cars people just know. Had it for 4yrs, never missed a beat or let me down in that whole time. Only reason let it go was its size, was like keeping a Great Dane in an apartment.

As a former X300 owner, I can add that the right-and-left burlwood door panels are cut from the same piece of wood. The grain in fact matches on the doors. Cool fun fact.

Great video! I am the proud owner of a 1987 (early spec) 3,6 XJ 40 in glorious sage green metallic. A real headturner and a big powerful beast...goes like a bomb and just *glides* over our rotten, potholy roads. Love the Jaaaag!!!❤

I had a Daimler 4.0 XJ40, one of the last off the line in 1994 and had been owned by a Jaguar Executive no less. Picked it up for £3500, not bad for a car that had been serviced at Browns Lane for the first 5 years of its life. The last 2 years of the XJ40 were the best, thanks to the Ford money they were built like tanks. I now have a X358, one of the last built of those. I love the X358, but although a better car than the XJ40 I don't think it's a better Jaguar.

Good times. I had three XJ-40's at one point. All were the TWR version, badged as XJR. This got you special Speedline alloys, a bodykit, an uprated ECU for the engine and the gearbox + suspension mods including bilstein dampers. I have not seen one for many a year so I have to content myself with a TWR kitted Rx-7 as consolation.

My dad had one of these, a (used) company car in about 1994 following a Bristol 409. He had it for about five years, and it taught him new things, such as the concept of ‘Limp mode’. Was subsequently replaced by an 80 series Land Cruiser, which he still has 24 years later

Love the XJ40 range and actually preferred the big ( fish tank ) headlights rather than the quad set up on lower spec and Sport models. This is a proper Jaguar , end of. I don’t know what Sir William Lyon’s would have thought of all these diesel/ SUVs/ electric stuff which has materialised over the last few years , such a far cry from their intended heritage.

That kickdown noise (and the indicator noise!) brought back memories of my late Father's 3.6 Sovereign. It was a truly lovely car and basically as per this test one except no cd changer (E-reg, perhaps not offered then?). Oh, it had the slightly odd digital dahs as well, that was always criticised, but we had no problems with it. Sadly the car rusted badly, but it did live to a very high mileage and did top out on a few occasions on the autobahns! I really should look out for one of these again - they have a great appeal. Thanks for the great video!

This shows what a properly maintained XJ40 can be like, whilst most were killed off by penny pinching owners when they reached 10 years old and were available for £1000. An absolutely gorgeous car and having owned 2 and some earlier & later XJ's the 40 has always been my favourite. A good one rides like no other car and even an average one is a pleasure to drive. Auto is the only choice to me though, changing gear just takes the edge off the utter waft experience of owning and driving a Jag. Yes there's a place for manuals in lesser cars but I'm sorry its not in anything that came from Browns Lane.

I love this car. They are beautiful. I remember when they were new. The Volvo dealer also sold Jaguar. These earlier cars were all 6 cylinder because the engineers deliberately designed an engine bay that could not hold any V engine. They were dead set that the Rover V8 would not find its way under the bonnet. Here in Canada, we did not see the Daimler. What was a Daimler in England was sold as the Vanden Plas. That wood inlay is parquetry, not marquetry. Marquetry is pictures made in pieces of wood.

Always loved these, and I like the square headlamps too. Makes the front end look less cluttered and more elegant. Beautiful car.

When I was a contractor working for Lucas in Birmingham back in the early 90s I remember seeing rows of those instrument clusters on test in environmental test chambers. I also saw a pre-production V12 one in the workshop on one visit.

Finally you test drive my favourite make of car. I have been passionate about them since my late father bought a Mark 2 in 1966. I have owned four Jags since more than any other marque and the first one was a gunmetal grey Mark 2 3.8litre.

Many years ago I had a 1988 one (with the gas fluorsacent display which never quite worked) and the Citroen style self levelling rear suspension . Lovely wafty thing with a surprising acceperation (and thirst).

I had one of these with the LED gauges. It was my first Jag, and cost me £600. Superb motor!

Grace, Space, Pace:

Had an XJ81 (XJ40 6litre V12) for 14 years bought at 18 months old at half the new price. A few problems over the years but with the lower suspension of that model along with the lattice allows and four headlights it was much admired. Sold it to someone who was intending to do it up but after standing on his driveway deteriorating for a year it disappeared, presumably scrapped or sold for parts.

This year I had a 308 sport. It was a dream to have, no problems and my family knew it was my dream car. Went back to my other dream car, my freelander 1 , life is good. Typically on a long drive, the mpg is almost similar 🤷 Great stuff Matt 👍

It's true that jaguar didn't want the rover V8. My BIL was on the design team. He also worked on the V12 conversion where his job was reversing the AC system to make room in the engine bay

I must say the looks of the XJ40 have grown on me over the years - I thought it was a bit too square when it came out in the mid-1980s but I prefer it to the cars that replaced it, which to me were trying to recapture the Series 3, although that in itself wasn't such a bad thing.

Very nice. I had a 3.6 xj40, followed by an x300 xjr then my final Jag was an x350 tdv6. The xj40 was the most sublimely comfortable car. The x300 xjr was an absolute blast,so much fun. The x350 was great on fuel. I spent a lot of time out in Germany and was able to unleash them on the autobhan. My favourite was the xj40,just, over the x300 xjr. The x350 was a good car but:1,I should have bought the v8 and,2, it just lacked something of the earlier models, even the air suspension was not able to provide the comfort of the xj40. I miss the first two, but not the x350! Models after the x350 have just not appealed to ne.

I loved mine, G437 SGD. Just the most wonderful cruiser, when I used to do a lot of miles. Sadly, she went to the great garage in the sky many years ago. Great review Matt, a very informed review of a car I always loved.

Lovely to see and great that people are keeping these cars alive. For me this generation is not my favorite, the curves of the XJ were rather out of style at that time and so the more squarer style does not stand up that well. I think I would rather go for the later x350 alloy versions which are criminally cheap to buy (even good ones). I keep looking at them but what puts me off is on a couple of occasions I have shown interest in one the owner grabs me and asks if I want to buy it!

Back in period, I did borrow one of these from our local dealer to demonstrate to a client customer whilst working for a leasing company. Sadly it was a 2.9 L version, which did feel a bit flat and I recall it was manual with cloth trim so not the best combination. The customer however, was still blown away but in fairness he was driving a Montego Vanden Plas!

My brother bought an 94 xj gold after a few quenchers on ebay on a bank holiday, he'd lend it to me when my car was in the garage, lovely to drive, 11 mpg and questionably electrics. Sometimes the radio and heater fan wouldn't work until you touched the headlight switch

This is actually my favourite Jaguar saloon design. Even without the fluted front-end, I think the front and the rear work so well together. The driving position is also very cosseting and sporty. Having owned a Mk1 Rover 827 Sterling and an 827 SLi Coupe, I know all too well the good things about them, and I chose my 800 Coupe over one of these. Back in the day, the Mk1 827 won a shootout with the 2.9 XJ6. And the 827 Coupe was favourably reviewed by Bentley owners. Even Clarkson's first review of the Coupe was very favourable, although later he changed his mind. The MK1 800s and these both suffered badly from rust, and that's very much the main thing to look out for. It's very hard to find an example that isn't or wasn't a rust bucket, although good clean ones do come up from time to time. Of course, these are still relatively plentiful, as opposed to Mk1 and even Mk2 Rover 800s. If I didn't live in London, I'd probably have a late XJ40 (or an X300, even though I actually prefer the XJ40's styling) as my main car, assuming I didn't do many miles.

Preferred the styling of the 3.2 (had two of them - not at the same time) but wanted the 4.0 engine; apparently it was designed as a 4 litre and worked better. My 3.2's didn't have very inspiring torque but went OK in kick-down or using the J-box as a semi-auto.

I bought one of these in 1990. Metallic blue with barley interior. Beautiful. Turned out to be the worst car I've ever owned. Electrical problems galore & when the crankshaft came loose that was the final straw. The Lexus LS400 came out at the same time for less $! Boy did I make a mistake not buying that but in 1992 I rectified that & bought the Lexus I should have 2 years earlier & never looked back. Lexus is the best...period!

I bloody love jags. Such a great balance of comfort and sport

THANK YOU so much for such a dignified and positive review of this car. Too many critical and negative videos out there on this model. I have a '92 VDP "Majestic" here in the US (or Daimler in the UK) - it's great!

A very fine car - only on today's diabolical roads do you realise just how good they are. A proper Jaguar.

A beautifal looking Jag, parents neighbours had one of those many years ago, was he rich, a pub land lord, nope he was a bus driver for the local bus company, and I bet he got the looks in the company car park!

AHHHH!!!! You profile my own car (well, the model)!! I've loved this car since before it was introduced and the spy photos of weather testing disguised prototypes in Arizona and Northern Ontario. Not a daily driver even in the US, but a lovely long-distance cruiser. Unloved by most who remember the Series III, but this car took Jaguar forward. It was modern looking and forward thinking. Unfortunately the long gestation period shortened its shelf life somewhat. Ford investment did improve the factory, production line, etc., but I remember seeing the X300 in January 1995 in Toronto, and thought, I don't like that facelift. Lowering and widening the grille of a wide car made the X300 look too wide. And Dearborn's meddling / directive's in Jaguar styling never produced anything exciting, design wise. It's as if the money men's concept of Britain was based on the original 1960s Avengers, and the X300 styling attempt to harken back to the stunning Series III was not successful. When the XJs finally got the investment of an all new replacement car, the 2004 X350 did look attractive with styling that is much better balanced. And despite being excellent, it was too outdated. Of course Ford jetisoned Jaguar right before it hit the ground running with exceptionally modern and contemporary styling when Ian Callum's XF was released, burying the interesting but excessively retro S-Type, and in my opinion, I like the greater freedom of design that TATA's ownership of the company has yielded. And, hah, I absolutely cringe when people call it a "Jag" or "Jag-wire". I do call it by the American pronunciation "JAG-Wahr" for three reasons. That is the pronunciation used in USA marketing at the time. Using a British pronunciation makes me sound affected and pretentious. And as is often pointed out, the animal it is named after is native to the Americas. Yeah, the company pronounces "Jag-U-Ar", including contemporary marketing, but I'll only change if I get a more recent one to keep mine company. Love this car!!!!

Currently looking at one of these to become my next daily, so this is a perfectly timed video!

I saw on KZfaq recently the old Top Gear, showing the 1986 Motor Show at the NEC, Birmingham. The presenters of the day, seeing the launch of the new XJ40 Jaguar Damilar, showed a Jaguar stand of the show like Furious Driving was driving on his video. Top Gear showed Sir John Egan, the chairman of Jaguar cars at the time, was interviewed on the show at the NEC!

That is one of the best looking cars every to be made in my opinion, amazing.

Matt doing his best Joseph Lloyd cosplay! :)

I remember driving my Godfather's 2.9 XJ40 when it was new. Very under powered! I've never heard it called a 'J Gate' before - at the time, the motoring press always referred to it as the 'Randle Handle' (named after Jaguar Director Jim Randle).

If I had an England flag I would wave it. Sadly I don’t, so I’m eating tea and crumpets instead and it makes me feel better.

I've owned lots. The XJ40 is by far my favourite Jaguar.

My uncle had one of these and I got to drive it once. A bit cramped inside but what a car to drive, a proper wafter 😃👍

Have a chance to buy one now for next to nothing. Still in great condition. Was kept in a storage unit. Light blue in color though, with a grayish interior. What should I be on the lookout for regarding issues?

I look at an XJ and Arfer Daley comes to mind, can imagine many a buyer having to live that down. I think that sales dropped after 'Minder' first aired but Capri sales went up. The 40 still reminds me.

The XJ40 is such a dangerous car to buy, as they drive so well that even a horrendously knackered one will convince you to part with your cash.

I have been lucky enough to own two XJ40s, an early 3.6 but I really didn't like the part digital dash which used to periodically throw out spurious warnings and after that a late 6.0 V12 which was an excellent car but electronically very fragile, I only owned the car eighteen months and it failed to get me home on three occasions. That said when it on the days when everything was working it was and absolute joy. I replace that with a V8 Sovereign LWB which is the best Jag I've ever owned and still would if some clown hadn't driven a 35cwt van over the front of it. I currently own a 350 Sovereign which will be my last Jag i simply can't get on with the styling of the later cars.

Had two XJ40s - 4.0 sovereign and the 3.2 Gold. Great cars but really have to be driven differently to a more modern technology advanced Jag. Adverse camber!!!!!!!! Scarey in an xj40. Later had an x350 and now an XF pre facelift.

Sorry Matt I have to say it ? TWEED and JEANS 😱 in a Jaguar !!!! OMG very 1980s and was expecting Crocket & Tubbs to pop out of that huge boot at any moment 😂. What a beautiful car and yep I am definitely a wafter , not a woofer 😂 Woofters would definitely be banished to the boot for sure 😉.

I'm not a Jaguar enthusiast but could be one after this road test! Great review of an obviously great car!

Love it! Same colour as my 1994 XJ40 Sovereign. Great review 👍

This one is in very nice shape! Mine is a 1991 Sovereign and had quite a few more options. Seems like the name Sovereign wasn't exactly the same trim level in every market.

I recently bought my first Jag, she's a 1989 XJ40 3.6 Sovereign, unfortunately somewhere along the line bits and pieces had been taken off, such as the toolkit. She needs some work but she drives beautifully. Ahhhh....

Curious as to why you refer to the J Gate gearchange as "the infamous J Gate". I always thought it is a very clever piece of design and enjoy using it in my XJ40. I also remember many a road test item in magazines praising it as well and you seem to be the only person I have heard having a bad word to say about it.

The hotel owner next door to me had one back in the day. His also had those indicator repeaters set into the front bumper.

Ive got a low mileage x300 currently but i do fancy adding an xj40

The 2.9 with cloth interior was also rather nice

Shock horror, never sat my bum in one of those. Lovin your commentary. What a piece of machinery. They don't make them like that anymore.👍

My father's business partner in the early 90s, in rural Victoria Australia of all places, had a dark blue Daimler double six... They were in the leather business, but he also owned a pub. Trying to decide who had the coolest car in town, Mr. Burgess in the Daimler, or my Dad's atlas grey HSV SV5000. Important considerations as a 7 year old.

This car didn't have a tweedy old money image when new. It was favoured by the nouveau riche. When at boarding school late 80s I was getting a lift back to school with a friend. His father turned up in a new Soverign - wearing a shell suit. That was the image.

i never saw a round headlight one in aus

This to me is TRUE luxury - cream leather, acres of wood and Waft Factor 10. Not harsh generic all black and chrome with touchscreens everywhere. my uncle had two of these and then an X308 XJ Sport after those. All beautiful and just the comfiest cars I’ve ever travelled in. That 6 cylinder sounds wonderful too - the perfect combination of waft in silence and sports car growl if required. Who needs exhaust valves? Brilliant review of a fabulous car.

Having driven 3, I know they're pretty decent JAAAAGS. I still can't forgive the square front lights though...

Always loved those. Can't remember I saw one on the road.

just keep em coming matt they good and so is your channel ......

nice car matt, a proper gents cruiser, it would suit you!

What a coincidence! Samme day in Sweden there is a Jaguar/Daimler version with only 39,000 km for sale, very tempting.

Clarkson’s main contribution to car culture. Saying Jaaaaaaag. And he’s right. My dad worked for Jag and I love them.

Just one thing, Jaguar never did "plastic" wood. They had a special wood shop at Browns Lane and did it all inhouse originally.

Best looking sedan ever! And of course it looks better with the rectangular headlamps. The XJ40 was clearly not designed for the round ones, they look like an afterthought.

Very appropriate hat for the review

Another great review, what a stunning car! The car is in beautiful condition, love the colour combination. This car oozes Britain, love it.

Very nice, Matt - but I'll stick to our XF :)

Was this on the Ilse Of Wight cos i reconise the bus you were behind, green Vectis (Latin for Ilse of Wight)

Lovely lovely motor there was a G reg one rnd my way exactly same same colour mint

I’d only ever buy an XJ40 in 4.0 Sovereign guise or XJ12, I’ve had 3 4.0 sov’s and they were all fabulous, incredible cars.

Jaguar is one of my favourite British marques. These were quite common in North America back in the day. What did these cars in wasn't the build quality or design, it was those darned electronics!

The quads never looked right on the xj40. The long maligned squares have aged BEAUTIFULLY.

For me THIS is the best Jaguar out there. I love the looks and it's interior. For me this is the typical oldschool English luxury

Good you dressed for reviewing this Jaguar a bery nice car and has got a lot of go takes of like scalded rabbit and of course plenty of wood and leather

Just love your reviews Matt ,keep up the good work . Where are your cars coming from to review now Wayne not in Kent . 😮😊

I bought a Daimler xj40 in March. Great piece of kit

Since you mention the five-speed manual transmission option, I suspect you would thourougly enjoy driving an XJR6 X306 with the manual transmission. They are pretty special.

The XJ40 really the series 4 Jaguar was launched in late 1986, but the 5.3 XJ12 and Daimler Double Six continued in the shape of the series 3 with more curves because the engine wouldn't fit under the bonnet.

I had one of these and loved it, it was better than the X300 I replaced it with.

Love everything about it, nut I never liked the odd flat panels with buttons on either side of the steering wheel. The plastically cheap looking plinths just jar on me.

The Whitesnake cassette might be a fun reference to the fact that Whitesnake featured Jaguars in some of their videoclips in the 80s and 90s...

In terms of styling alone, this has always seemed to me like an interim stopgap between the classic Jag XJ and the 300/308, both of which I much prefer to this. [After the last variation on that theme in the late aughts and with intoduction of the X351 in 2010, Jaguar completely lost me and I've neve wanted to own one of the sedans since. While I'm more of a high trim BMW prospect (M550i) - I would never be tempted by a modern Jag - or is it Tata?)]. As a second or third car simply for enjoyment, I'd still go either earlier or later than the XJ40. n.b. Here in the US, most models got this blocky and undistinguished headlamp workout except the pre-1990 models.

Cool cars just found a tidy one in the same color to for 2k NZD

Anyone who knows or has owned these in any number will also know the AJ16 straight six 3.6 and 4.0 engined models were virtually bulletproof, particularly the 3.6's ...... forget your V8's, these were capable of truly huge mileages if looked after properly, as were the ridiculously reliable auto gearboxes, I sold so many I forget the numbers, but never had a single engine or gearbox failure, great cars and for me the 1986 to 1997 were the least problamatic, although rust and early digital dash model problems did occur as they got older, the analogue dash introduced in 1989 /90 sorted that problem though.

One of the most elegant and best looking Jaguar of all time.

What a lovely Jag,, I learnt a lot !

Did you get the tweed jacket off Joseph Lloyd 😁

One peculiarity I found was that (with my 3.2's) you'd get the same mpg (not great!!) at 90mph as you did at 60mph - never quite understood that...

Goodness gracious, I've waited for an XJ40 review for so long.

Love it so much! Hello from Finland!

Such a beautiful car. I think I prefer the double round headlights though.