S-Type Jag is a must buy

Sep 1 2009 Peter Hayward

THE Jaguar XF is certainly a marvellous car but the model it replaced is no mean machine either - and many thousands of hard-earned pounds cheaper.

The S-Type is a marvellous car to drive if you can live with the low economy of the petrols and high insurance.

I have driven all the different models at one time or another, and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one.

It has the same sense of occasion as the XJ and the XK and good to superb performance along with a wonderfully cosseting ride and excellent road-holding.

The lovely retro feel is matched by some clever design flair and of course those classic looks will never go out of date.

There are 2.5 and 3.0-litre V6 engines with 201 or 240bhp, 4.0 and 4.2-litre V8s with 280, 300 or 400bhp and a 2.7 V6 turbo diesel with 206bhp.

All apart from the 2.5 have a five or six-speed automatic gearbox and are the better for it. Don't buy without full service history but do buy. You won't regret it.

Interior

Fantastic leather and wood is the perfect ambiance for any great car and no-one does it better than Jag.

All mod cons are present and correct together with quite a few you never thought of. Jag's sat nav is one of the very best but it was not standard.

FAST FACTS

Jaguar S-Type

Price: Pay around £7,900 for an '04 04-reg V6, £11,900 for an '05 55-reg S, pr £17,100 for an '07 07-reg Sport

Mechanical: 206bhp, 2,720cc, 6cyl diesel engine driving rear wheels via 6-speed automatic gearbox

Max speed: 143mp

0-62mph: 7.5 seconds

Combined mpg: 36

Insurance group: 14

CO2 emissions: 179g/km

Marks: 9/10

Main rival: BMW 5-Series