July 201 9\JaguarWorld|6 9TWINTEST
XJ40vsROVER 800HenrySmith’scar,testedhere,isas
goodasanXJ40gets.Withlessthan
60,000milesontheclockandrecently
renewedsuspensionbushes,itfeels
immeasurablybettertodrivethanmany
XJ40sonthemarket.
Inessence,then,thesearetwovery
differentcarsthatwerebuilttoservethe
samepurpose,andeachhaselementsofits
characterthatareendearingintheirown
way.Thekeytoenjoyingthemistofinda
goodone,asaropeyexampleofeithercan
veryquicklyturnintoamoneypit.
Botharepronetocorrosion,especially
onearliermodels.Laterexamplesofeach
aremuchhardier,thoughthescarcityof
goodearlyexamplesmakesadecentone
ofeitherquitecollectablethesedays.
BBBothhharepronetoelllectriiicalllmallladddiiies,
theJaguarmoresothannntheRover.Again,
laterexamplesofeachaaarefarbetter,
sothere’salessonhere:::bothcarswere
under-developedwhennew.
Mechanically,thereislittletochoose
betweenthem.TheHonda2.7isan
exceptionallyreliableunit,althoughits
cambeltchangesneedtobekeptontop
of,whilethePGM-FI(programmedfuel
injection)relaycanoccasionallyleadto
non-startproblems.Somepartsaregetting
hardtosourcenow,too,althoughthe2.7-
litreenginewasusedinseveralAmerican
Hondasandcomponentsareofteneasier
tosourcefromtheUSA.
TheJaguarAJ6isasuperbengineand
onethathasprovenitsreliabilitytimeand
again.Mileagesofmorethan200,000are
easilyattainablewithoutmajorproblems,
thoughheadgasketfailureandwater
pumpsareknownissues.
So,whatofmarketvalues?Well,just
twoorthhhreeyeeearsago,youwoullldddhhhave
hadafightingccchanceoffindingadecent
XJ 40 orRover 827 forlessthan£ 1 , 000 ,
butthosedaysaregone–unlessyouget
reallylucky.EvenropeyXJ40sareworth£1, 000
thesedays,andwhilerough800sare
stillavailableforpinmoney,theRoveris
nowamuchrarercarthantheXJ40,and
thatmeansthegoodonesfetchstrong
money;£2,000to£3,000willgetyoua
tidyone,buttheverybestexamplesare
£5kandupwards.
XJ40shaveabroaderspectrumof
prices.It’sstillpossibletofindagoodone
forbetween£2,000and£3,000,butthere
areindifferentexampleswithinthatprice
range,too.It’sessentialthatyouspend
timelookingforthebest.Indeed,many
buyersarehappytopaymorethanthat
(sometimesalotmore)forareallygood
one.Thedaysofthe£10,000XJ40are
uponus,asthat’snowthegoingratefora
superbbbbdddealllerexampllle.
Giveeentherapidriseininterestforthese
Eightieeesclassicsthey’reasafeinvestment,
aswellasbeinginterestingcarstoown
anddrive.