Real Road Test: Jaguar S-Type V8 - GRRROWL 

I have to say I think its aged really well. It's a gorgeous shape and still looks really classy in my opinion

A 21 minute video without even the briefest of ads. You must be the only youtuber that forfeits this income for our uninterrupted enjoyment. We owe you Mr. Hubnut.

Picked up a black s type with the XS body kit on the advice of my 13 yr old godson! Honest. My 10 yr old nephew was very impressed at how cool it looked. Absolutely love it. It actually looks like a Jag. Never fails to attract admiring glances and easily holds it own against much pricier machinery. But my 9 yr old son said it was an old mans car so i could definitely drive it and not look out of place! Cheeky little fella...who needs Clarkson, Mays and Hammond when I've got the 3 miniature musketeers providing commentary? Downside; coolant issues.

Lovely review Ian, my father was Geoffrey Lawson who led the team who styled this car so arguably i am somewhat biased, I hope this car gains more fans as it grows older. It is great to see your RU-vid channel go from strength to strength, all the very best

I love these cars, the styling, everything just looks good.

I had two of these. First one a 3.0 v6 which got written off when a man and a digger rear ended me. Broke my heart. She was an old one but she had only done 48k and was one owner from new. I got it for a thousand pounds in a private sale and I felt like a robber. Second one was an 04 plate 2.5 v6 in sea frost blue. Loved her too. Traded her in three years ago for an all aluminium 3.0 sovereign. It makes me smile every time I get in it. It’s a proper jaaag.

Personally, i love the styling.... They still look good today

I find that the later generation is absolutely gorgeous. From what I believe is 2006 forward, they look absolutely beautiful, especially with the 18' Triton rims.

I've always liked the styling and I can remember getting all retro-excited when the S Type and the 75 appeared at around the same time.

Ian I bought one of these (2003 4.2V8) about four years ago after many years of owning Mercs. It is just the best car I have ever owned. Apart from having to replace corroded brake pipes a couple of years ago, it has been very cheap motoring indeed, the performance is stunning, 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds, it is very comfortable, and holds the road pretty well. Things to watch are the sills have plastic covers and can rot through underneath, so buy carefully (as I did!), the silly Ford Dual control climate control water valve is prone to failure leaving you toasting permanently (as it sounds your test car suffers from) but that lovely engine is more or less bullet proof. Interestingly the official fuel consumption figures show it as only 1-2 mpg worse than the 3.0 V6

Boss of mine bought brand new one in the early 2000's. He was very cocky, till one day one of his business partners (not really a carguy) told him: "Hey, very nice Rover you've got!" Boss goes full Hulk and it was a bad afternoon...

The styling is certainly a lot nicer and more appealing than it's Lincoln and Thunderbird sisters!

As always a great review. I actually worked at jaguar as an engineer in the Early 2000's so got to drive so many S-Types (particularly 2.7 v6 diesel cars as I worked on the Exhaust development) sometimes driving them all over Europe. They were a great car to drive and were so comfortable. I once drove one from Dover to Turin which was 990miles in a day. That was a great drive but tiring as well. The Type R was an absolute beast and just grin inducing when pressing the loud pedal :-). A piece of T-Type trivia for you is that the exhausts were made in South Wales. I must admit I am tempted to own an S type as I enjoyed them so much but already have too many cars in the fleet (including an X-type) that my good lady is constantly reminding needs to be reduced. Ah well maybe one day!!!

When I worked on pre-production versions of the s-type, one had a Lincoln steering wheel.

Had 5 of them over the years, love them . Replaced my last one with an xf which didn't grow on me and was sold when someone asked where my jaguar had gone and why had I bought a vectra! By the way the last of the s types were (to my eyes) the best looking.

I like very much and sounds better than supercharged as it is just pure V8 music to the ears. Looks like the owner has blacked out the grill and nice touch with the leper Jaguar bonnet ornament. The facelift with the smaller lights and the chrome strip across the width of the boot makes it look more stately. An early 3.0 V6 or 2.5 is now hubnut heaven. Under a grand their a bargain.

Mate of mine had a pre-facelift 3 litre. It impressed me more than I thought it would. It had it's issues though... Gearbox died shortly after purchase. He had a second hand unit fitted. £600. The heater never worked ( which made for a particularly grim journey from London to Manchester in freezing fog). We managed to ascertain it was because of a faulty solenoid valve. £90 for a new one and the need for disassembly of the entire dashboard meant it never happened. It had it's good points though. Hugely comfortable. Excellent factory Bose sound system with CD player and cassette player. Significant road presence. Respectably quick rather than downright terrifying. Best of all, it projected an image out of all proportion to the £2600 he paid for it (this was about 10 years ago). Ok, maybe I'm not completely sold on the styling but thankfully there's more to these cars.

Had two S Types and love them, both 3L petrol, amazing performance and noises, much underrated and so enjoyed this road test.

I've got an S-Type - a 2000 3-litre V6 - and it's the best car I've ever had. I've owned it for coming up to three months now, and it hasn't put a wheel wrong. Everything works on it, and although there are some cosmetic issues which I will get 'round to fixing one day, it's a joy! My last car, a 2 litre Rover 75, was a nice enough car, but it kept overheating all the time, and neither the AA, RAC, garages or the owners' club could get to the bottom of it. Still, I feel better in a rear-wheel drive car because, in a skid, it's easier to correct: not that the traction control will let that happen in the first place...

The chassis was so good that it continued on into the first gen XF.

What I'm saying is that modern cars all look similar, not the same but similar, the s type and rover 75 are at least very recognisable on the road

All the 70s rock stars are old men now, but they're still really cool. It's much the same with the S Type and 75. Two of my favourite cars from the 2000s.

I didnt know the dash represented the profile of a Spitfire...what a fantastic touch...thanks for the info...

I owned a 3ltr R and it was fantastic. Had a cream leather interior and was nice a bright inside

Great to get the British perspective on these beautiful cars. In Canada they were rather overlooked, unfortunately. Love the sound of the engine. The one thing with that gearbox, as with others that have electronic control, is that they "learn" your driving style. If you are normally quite sedate, the transmission, even in sport mode, remains lazy and slow shifting. Drive it hard for long enough and it does become crisper. The Lincoln LS had the same platform, but with very different suspension tuning as well as different heads and cams on both V6 and V8 examples. I suspect the Lincoln had more torque low down to suit Interstate driving better. I used to know someone had one of these in light blue metallic with Magnolia interior. What a gorgeous car. It looked super with the chrome grille on it. His seemed to have smaller wheels and tyres with a higher sidewall, which sorted the ride well without it becoming wallowy. Must be nice to be able to repair a gearbox for £600 or so. That is $900 or so Canadian. Last I heard, rebuilding that gearbox here was nearer the $3,500 mark, which is way too much. Still, cheaper than payments on a new car with similar capabilities but worse ride and less comfortable seats. I miss the days of good V8s.

Grace space and loads of pace always liked these cars

23, got a 3.0L Sport+ as my spice on the side, absolutely love the car to bits. That fact about the Spitfires made it so much cooler!

I was at the 1998 Birmingham Motor Show so saw the S-Type and Rover 75 launch cars. I had a 3ltr V6 Mk1 2002 and a 4.2 V8 Sport 2004 Mk2 (ex-Jag management) in black/cream and sunroof that I loved. You have a Mk1 body shell and Mk2 interior (Jag tended to use up old stock! Check the front suspension). A bargain at the moment.

Next year I want to replace a crappy, yet cheap and reliable Kia Rio 1.5 CRDI with either a MG ZT or an S-Type. I just checked and the S-Type V8 isn't too terrible on tax, as I don't do a lot of miles, MPG is not too concerning. Need to own a V8 for a while, before EVs become impossible to ignore.

Fell on this channel by mistake. Really enjoyed watching a Rover 75 fan, wearing Brown trousers.. trying to give jaguar styling criticisms! Keep up the good work!

Jeez that sounds nice, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for one of these for years. Warts and all, I’d love one. In a few years time we will lament losing cars that sound spirited, and I want to have at least one of those lost cars in my garage to keep my sanity intact.

I really love these cars. I actually prefer them to the XF. This is probably the time to start buying them and preserving them before they start the increase in value like the XJ40. They are good cars

The change in dash in 2002 was long awaited. Made them look a lot better inside.

Squire! Excellent S-type filled with 'tokens of time', and interesting to see where HubNut's 'powercraze' will lead us with all these magnificent sedans 😁✌

I have a ‘05 E53 Diesel X5 with a 6 speed ZF box. The slowness is more than likely down to the oil needing changing. I replace mine at ridiculously short intervals ( for a g/box ) and the change is always rapid and very smooth.

Been mobile in an S-Type 2003MY (first minor facelift) for four years, one of the best cars I have owned in my 30-odd years of driving/pottering around the roads - a distinguished drive. Agreed that it has been a minor financial burden, that it is a bit old man and certainly a Marmite car but I am an old-ish man now, I do like Marmite and I also have a problem with compliance. Who wants to drive the same car as sheep? One thing I can advise from experience is that if any warning lights illuminate the first thing to do is place the battery under investigation. These cars are very sensitive to under-voltage and are prone to parasitic electrical drains. Handy hint: go for a drive, wait a couple of hours, use an infra red thermometer gun to check the temperature of the relays in the fuse boxes in the boot, under the bonnet and in the driver footwell to see if any are still drawing current. Then attach your battery conditioner of choice (for me a CTEK MXS) and after the next run it's surprising how many times the lights of doom go away. If battery is not salvageable replace with Varta H3 Silver 019 100Ah/830A or similar (~£100). Rover 75 also rather nice, always go for the Connoisseur trim. /R

Man, your passion and knowledge never ceases to amase me. I only wish I had more time to enjoy motoring :)

Fabulous video, thanks for posting. I recall going to the jaguar factory for the launch event of this model :) an interesting experience and some good memories. take care out there.

I've always liked the look of the S type. I think they had style, but it didn't shout about it, much like the 75.

I have the aluminium XJ that you compared the S-Type with. You said that the XJ is more complicated for reasons including the air suspension, but I think that the air suspension is actually the only thing more complex about an XJ than an S-Type. Mine is at 160,000 miles and I have had no troubles at all with the air suspension; the only problem with them is that if anything does go wrong then you will need access to a Jaguar SDD/IDS computer to fix (I have my own). It's interesting that you say that in the back you can get your feet under the front seats, because on my XJ you couldn't; Jaguar didn't fix that until the X358 facelist in 2007. I retrofitted X358 seats into mine but it wasn't easy to do. If you every want a go in an aluminium XJ then let me know.

I hope I never have to own a car with infotainment, or electronic handbrake. Any car with such a system will find itself off my 'next car' shortlist! Thank you for another excellent review :-)

I always liked these. Looking forward to your review of the original S Type which I love the look of.

I remember the S Type being released at around the same time as the Rover 75. I much preferred the Rover.

I think the S Type is a rare example of a car where the facelift versions actually look better than the originals. Even the S Type R is vastly cheaper than its rival the E39 M5. Great review.

I have one of the last 2.7s and is a keeper. Comfortable, quiet and frugal on a long run. Managed to fit in a complete Ford Puma interior for my little restoration project.

That's actually what's often called a mk1.5 or 2002.5 model. It has the later dash, front suspension, can-bus and electric handbrake etc. But apart from the grill the outside was the same as it was at launch and stayed that way until the nose and tail changed substantially a year or so after this one was made. My main beef with the early rear end is the massive bumper. At the sides it's trying to be part of the body shape but at the back it sticks out like a bookshelf, it just looks wrong. I've got an early 3.0 V6 manual which you should drive one day, if I can get it welded back together that is.. Allegedly they were galvanised but I don't know what with, strawberry jam maybe.

I had a maisto model of this a long time ago... Mmmm tasty v8 soundtrack, an old man's choice viewed by today's youth definitely, seats look supremely wholesome to sit in. Nice test!

I have a 2004 3.0L V6 petrol one of these, Ian, in Emerald (Metallic) with 'biscuit' leather (as it would've been known with some manufacturers). It's a lovely drive -- as sweet, quiet and almost as comfy as my C6 3.0HDi (but not really as classy!). I recently spent £1,000 having its "soluble" underside welded, treating it myself with Bilt Hamber's Hydrate-80 rust preventer, then squirting its underside and members with their Dynax S-50 wax. I cannot bear to part with it now...

I do like the s type. One of the last jags that resembles a jag. 👍

I lost it at the deleted scene, some tea was lost in the process. Brilliant video as always.

been hankering after an s type r, but looking at these, they are superb value... there's one on autotrader with 80k and one owner, looks immaculate at £1600.

I always liked these cars (obviously I'm therefore old too). I ran a 2001 V6 Lincoln LS from new until the oil pressure started failing in 2012 @ ca. 135,000 miles (known issue with the V6 Duratec motors from this era due to incorrect material formulation of the main bearing shells, after lead was removed). FYI the platform code for these was DEW98 (D/E size class World platform 1998 release - except that several Job 1 delays meant it was ca. 1999/2000 before they appeared in volume)

Gearbox warning is usually rear wheel ABS sensors dirty/worn. You also get numerous lights on the dash if the battery is not in ultra good health.

Have owned an 04 MG ZT-T 190, 01 Jag XJR and 04 Jag S type 2.5. The MG made the nicest noise, felt a bit cheap inside but otherwise very nice and underrated. The XJR kept going wrong as I was a damn fool as I put LPG on it. The S type was a great compromise. It was amazing at swallowing large journeys, sounded nice, built well and only fault lights that came on was a result of a low battery voltage.

I really think the quality has skyrocketed in your videos recently. Keep it up

That Jag didn't need cup holders. It needed pipe holders.

300hp car in a HubNut video... nice You look like you are enjoying yourself 💪

'I hope that doesn't blow my Invacar over.' caught me unawares. Thanks Ian! 🙂 👍

We had the 4.2R supercharged version. Boy did it move! The grey and black R sports seats were lovely too. Very nose heavy though. As a kid it was comfy to cruise in and very exciting when dad needed to overtake anything. That normal V8 actually sounds nicer as the supercharger tends to drown out the V8 which is a shame. You could easily overtake several cars in a queue on a B road. But if one of those pulled out as well you suddenly find yourself overtaking at the speed of a fiesta 1.1 and nowhere to drop back in to! Scary. Dad didn't like it as much as the previous E39 5 series even though that was only a 525i I think because that handled better and was slower.

Good summary of the S type thanks Ian - I'm a Jaguar fan, having owned 4 XJs, a Mk2 and an XF, but I agree with you that the 75 style has aged better.

Damn it Ian! I'm saving up for one of these! Now I'm gonna have to save harder now! 😂

Ah well about to sit down for lunch and Hubnuts posted....this is definitely all the good times

Nice cars, fairly light weight, very composed and great handling for the size. Pretty similar driving characteristics to an E39. Big problem is, you will always regret not getting an X308 instead.

Love a nice growler 🐱👍🏻

Always loved these and would buy a decent one now. I remember the Sting video Desert Rose which featured one of these cars, I fell in love instantly.

Stellar content. First you get a 75, then do a road review of an S-Type!? Cant believe my luck. Though it would be interesting if you could do a 2.7l diesel S-Type review for comparison.

Love this. Never really liked the shiny oval grille on the S-type (somehow old fashoned and didn't work for me). But with this grille and that body colour, this is really wonderful !

I must be old as I like the look of the Jaaaag!

Aluminium Tape is like Christmas as a gift. Very handy during first tea break considering how one should proceed into a day. You know aye.

You really look much more professional since the wireless mike arrived. Love your honest reviews ian. I've looked at a lot of 4.2 V8s and they all look mint but the cills rot out under the plastic cill covers.

What a beautiful car....and what an engine

Great work hubnut

Never on my radar as regards buying one, but I definitely liked the looks of the S Type when they came out and I still like them now - maybe that's an age thing on my part!

Oooh that Spitfire wing dashboard fact... the juiciest fact I've heard in a while!

Hi Hubnut, I’m a friend of dutchman Albert, whose Talbots Tagora and Solara you have driven. I own an S-Type 2.7d and it is a fabulous car. The V6 diesel is a wonderful engine for these cars. Silent and powerful. Mine has the Executive spec cream leather interior with piping and burr walnut veneer, so not so dark. It is a very, very comfortable car and I love driving it, although it is not very cheap to run. Garage bills can be eye watering, but it is worth the effort. Didn’t know about the shape of the dashboard, so I have learned something today. When you are in Holland you are welcome to drive mine!

Nice road test! Could see this one has the optional "Skeletor Accelerometer"--works for accel., decel., lateral accel., and even jangles wildly over speed humps. Also nice of the owner to supply you w/ some "poverty chrome" (a "Vice Grip Garage" expression) for various repairs.

Brilliant video Ian beautiful car what a roar that engine has waw

Classic example of a car which got sooooo much better with the facelift. The interior of the pre-facelift models is one of the least 'Jaguar' places I have ever sat, but the facelift models are so much nicer.

I had never seen the thunderbird recreation, a little bit of sick came up.. The S-Type on the other hand has aged rather well.

I didn't expect the comparison of the S-Type's boot space to that of a Kia Venga!

I must compliment you on the thorough history. You have gained 250 points for not stating that it is a Mondeo. Indeed it is similar to a Lincoln LS, the Yanks said it ws the best driving Lincoln ever... and yes the T-bird. I have a 3 litre. The V8 is a bit faster but thirstier (not much faster... and I have a manual which makes it quicker, too). With the manual the six feels a bit sportier. Generally it uses 9-10 liter per 100km... plenty performance, too. Also I have the "sand-colour" interior which is much lighter. And about the all-aluminium XJ... yes I'm looking for one. With a 3 liter, don't need the V8. It is even better and weighs a lot less. Less fuel, more performance, less roadtax (goes by weight in NL). So far though, nothing goes wrong (thanks Ford for kicking out Lucas & Co). And I prefer it over a BMW 5, Audi, or Merc E. Much more comfortable, and less common. Also, less off the associated "road rage types"...

Nice hubnut very nice, bit of a lemon in a good way do like it 👍

I remember reading a few motoring magazines when this was new and they were comparing it to the 75 and slating the 75 because it couldn't compete with the S-Type. Always thought it was an unfair conclusion considering they were competing in different classes.

Always thought this was a model that interior trim colour made a great deal of difference to the sombre feel of the car especially in the back seats. I drove one with a cream leather interior and light headlining and it felt and looked far less claustrophobic than the spec you have here, but still a superb noise.

Lovely car, top road test too 👍🙂

I Worked at second hand used car showroom. I wasn't jag fan until I drove one of those I was very impressed with it very comfy cruiser. If the radio aircon doesn't work my tip is take off alarm power sounder 👌

Sounds superb! I'm now looking on Ebay...purely for research purposes of course.

I have a 4.2 normally aspirated. Indigo with cream interior. Boot is big enough for my Scott CR1 Ltd bicycle. I sold my Kawasaki Ninja and purchased the Jaaag. Not disappointed. 250 kph early morning drives on deserted autoroutes are such fun. I check the condition of the ZF fluid every year.

I think it is a beautiful shape from every angle.

A very heavily reworked version of that 4.2 ended up in the VH chassis V8 Vantage. Only the external dimensions remained the same of the block and heads.

Fancied one of these - but really needed a sensible estate. Enjoyed this - thanks Ian!

Jad 6 stypes v8 v6 manuals and autos V8 auto is lovely and powerful the v6 manual is awesome too. Looking forward to getting another one one day. Have a TT at mo so happy days

That crazy. People didn't get bored. They just couldn't handle the vehicles price tag off the lot! Those who have driven and own or owned a jag know that they are perfect vehicles , beating rivers and American made muscle cars all the time ! A sleeper if you will ! Ha I own and style R (2003)yr. And it's my second s type and I encourage everyone to test drive and better yet one one for the reliability , handling cargo space, the raw power and control even for the price tag they cost now they are damn good vehicles !

I love the S Type. I'm loving the leaper on the front of this one.

Great review Ian I test drove an S type 4.2 V8 last year and i loved it so much so i bought a manual 2.7 diesel this may for daily use and has not let me down apart from replacing the oil pump. which is notorious for failing .

Reminds me of my 2001 XJ-R that I bought in 2012 in Llandadno and took to Germany the same weekend. What a roadtrip. Even Back then the ZF gearboxes on these X308s where known for it's problems. Only the supercharged ones came with a 5 G-Tronic from Mercedes which is absolutely bullet proof. Compared to the S-Type the interiour and boot space is ridicously tiny. Nonetheless I loved that car until the fuel pumps went out which were a pain to replace 😂 I knew of the the Spitfire connection so I had to have a supercharged one😊

I had a 3.0 v6 SE facelift model and I loved it for 18 months. It drove absolutely lovely, the gearbox changed gears seamlessly and it went like a stabbed rat when poked . It handed very well for such a barge and with traction control off , was some fun 😁 . However......... it hated snow and ice , wouldn't drive at all in anything over a harsh frost. The problems started after 18 months with brake issues, abs etc . This would throw the car into limp mode all the time. Finally traced it to a faulty servo ( apparently it became a common problem on the S Type) . Replacement was not cheap . Then the electrical gremlins started. For no reason at all it would go into limp mode and then just conk out completely leaving you stranded. Many many visits to the dealer couldn't find any faults . They changed the battery twice , abs sensors, some components on the ZF gearbox plus other sensors too including the coolant level sensor twice ! The final straw came when the HVAC went psycho and tried either to cook you alive or freeze you to death . The cost of replacing it was eye watering and even though this car hated me I loved it , however I didn't love it that much ...... px'd it for a MG ZT-T diesel. I still have the ZT-T ..... it just keeps working with simple requirements for maintenance ...... my top tip , lust after a Jag but buy the ZT-T 🤣👍

Jaguar... Welcome to the Jungle. How fitting!

Agree castle Bromwich also built the Avro Lancaster

Always loved Jaguars