2004 Jaguar S-type Base Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

This or That: Mercedes S-Class 350SD vs. 2003 Jaguar XJR [w/poll]

Budget. It's a wretched word, whether you're going out to eat, shipping for a new outfit or, more relevant to today's discussion, buying a car. Massive marketing machines have convinced us, as a population, to buy the best you can afford, repercussions be damned – If you've saved up some money, spend it! All of it, on whatever it is that currently sits atop your personal Amazon wishlist, be it a Timex that takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin', a $17,000 Gold Apple Watch or a $60,000 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. But what if the best you can afford is... say, $12,815? For that price, you can buy a brand-new 2015 Nissan Versa (including destination), assuming you're happy with zero options and a manual transmission. For that price, you'll get standard air conditioning, a CD player and... well, a warranty. Pretty sensible choice, Captain Frugal. But also ridiculously uninspired. And so that brings us to today's edition of This or That, in which two Autoblog editors pick differing sides of an argument and duke it out to see which one of us can convince you, dear reader, is better. Or at least less wrong. You be the judge. As a refresher, I'm two-and-two on these challenges, having lost the first and second editions before storming back in rounds three and four. Today, as alluded to above, we decided to throw our collective brainpower (oh lord, what have we done?) at what may be the single most difficult question currently confounding the best minds our planet has to offer: What is the best used used luxury car you can buy for the price of a 2015 Nissan Versa? Shall we meet our contenders? Allow me to introduce you to the most perfect luxury car money can buy (assuming the amount of money you're holding is equal to the amount of the cheapest new car currently sold in America, the Nissan Versa). My pick is the 1991 Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Not just any S-Class, but the legendary W126, which was produced between 1979 and 1992. And not just any W126, either, but one powered by a 3.5-liter turbodiesel engine. And with that, I send the argument to my esteemed colleague, Associate Editor Chris Bruce. Bruce: Jeremy, we had over $12,000 to budget for this challenge, and the best you can manage is a 24-year-old diesel Mercedes? I love oil-burners as much as any other auto writer with their mountains of torque and huge cruising range, but you're making this too easy on me. Also, you're really choosing a brown, diesel, German luxury sedan?

2024 Jaguar F-Pace makes more style standard equipment

Jaguar has overhauled its F-Pace offer for global markets, moving the rest of the world to the 2024 model year before the end of 2022. For countries that get the F-Pace P400e PHEV, the good news is the lithium-ion battery's been given an extra cell module to increase capacity to 19.2 kWh. That takes pure electric range from 33 miles to 40 miles on the WLTP cycle. Jaguar says this trim accounts for more than 10% of F-Pace sales globally, a healthy tally considering North America accounts for perhaps a third of global sales and Jaguar doesn't offer its flagship PHEV here yet. In countries that favor electrified vehicles like the Netherlands, Jaguar says uptake can reach 98%. The rest of the F-Pace range has been reworked so that every model gets the R-Dynamic trim package, eliminating the base F-Pace and F-Pace S. In full-featured markets, the trim step from bottom to top goes, R-Dynamic S on 19-inch wheels, R-Dynamic SE on 20-inch wheels, R-Dynamic HSE on 21-inch wheels, 400 SPORT and SVR both on 22-inch wheels, plus a choice of six engines. If this change is applied to our market, we'll be left with the F-Pace R-Dynamic S and F-Pace SVR, and two engines. New standard equipment means better spec for some versions, a TFT digital gauge cluster and the Pivi Pro infotainment system part of the purchase price. The infotainment comes with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, what3words navigation and Alexa integration. The R-Dynamic SE comes with wireless charging, the R-Dynamic HSE now comes with an Ebony Suedecloth headliner standard. If opting for the Black Pack on models that don't come with it, more external bits are drenched in the dark gloss: grille and grille surround, side mirror caps, fender vents, window surrounds, rear valance and rear badges. Detail changes include wheel center caps going monochrome black and silver instead of red and silver, and the R-Dynamic badge going monochrome black and gray instead of red and green. The 2024 F-Pace can be ordered now outside of North America. Jaguar should let us know soon what goodness we'll be getting. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Design Walk-Around | Autoblog Short Cuts

Take a trip down Jaguar's memory lane with Xcar

For decades, Jaguar has been a company of two minds. On one hand, there are its luxurious, British saloon cars. They might be quick, even sporty, but when it comes down to it, they usually put a focus on comfort and accommodations above all. On the other hand, Jag has its sports cars to really get its buyers' blood pumping. Think about it: the XJ might look pretty sweet, but you know deep down that you would rather take the F-Type for a spirited drive, reveling in its snorty exhaust note. In its latest video, Xcar Films takes us on a very enjoyable history lesson covering some of the Brit brand's most exciting models ever.
Xcar hits all of the highlights, starting with the often-overlooked C-Type from early '50s with its somewhat bulbous shape. Things then progress to the drop-dead gorgeous D-Type. The one in this video is actually the first ever made and therefore worth a fortune. Because of that, the host isn't really able to get too aggressive, but it's fantastic to get an idea of what it's like to experience being behind the wheel of this icon. Finally, it ends with a Series 1 E-Type. This was when the classic model was still something of a sports car; instead of the grand tourer that the E-Type became in its later days.
All three of these cars are legends in their own right, and maybe one day the F-Type could be too. Scroll down for a history lesson on some of Jaguar's best sports cars.