by Jack Lee
The car voted the most dependable in the world will probably come as a big surprise to most of you, but not to their owners. They’ve been giving them rave reviews for over a decade. Given this car was once beset by poor wiring, leakage from poorly designed seals and low performance, this is a major turn-around.
The worlds most dependable car is a Jaguar! JD Powers and Associates who rates products said Jaguar leads the industry in nameplate performance. “In terms of individual model performance, Lexus and Toyota still do very, very well.” For this study, J.D. Power surveyed 46,313 original owners of 2006 model-year vehicles in October 2008.
The top 10 most dependable car brands: Jaguar and Buick (tied), Lexus, Toyota, Mercury, Infiniti, Acura, Lincoln, Cadillac and finally Honda. That is a big slip for Honda that was in the top spot a few years ago.
Jaguar is arguably one of the most esthetically pleasing of any make at any price. Here’s the kicker; the Jaguar doesn’t hold its resale value very well making it without a doubt the best buy in a used car. Why the Jaguar used price is so low can probably be attributed to its old reputation of a gas hog, low performance and poor assembly. In the 1970’s a Jaguar owner was likely to spend and amount equal to the purchase price in repairs before the car was eight years old! The result was…it may look sharp, but don’t buy it!
Speaking from personal experience my XJ8 is Corvette fast, extremely dependable and agile as its name implies. In a recent MPG check I averaged a very respectable 27.5 at 55 MPH. The suggested MPG by the mfg. when new was 19 MPG average, however by changing to a K and W air filter, Bosch Platinum 4 way spark plugs and Michelin tyres I gained 20% more MPG. The power curve went up as well. I was about to cross Hwy. 32 at Bruce road the other day and the signal turned yellow, it was in the evening and only two cars were on the road. I was loping along at 30 mph, but when I put pedal to metal kicked it down to 2nd gear and rocketed across and exited the other side at 60 mph, this was a distance of about 15 car lengths! Of course there are faster cars, but for a luxury car this is a real sleeper and it’s a head turner whenever I (infrequently) pull into the gas station.
The only complaint I have is that the car sits a little low ( of course it corners like its on rails). I’m 6′ tall and I have to duck a few inches getting out, but other than that I like everything about the car. It’s even easy to service…half the time I do my own oil changes, so I appreciate the designers consideration for mechanics. Some cars need the engine jacked up just to change the spark plugs, but on the Jaguar, they are right on top of the overhead cam engine, super easy access.
A Jaguar owner will get built in GPS navigation, an incredible sound system with a fool proof stackable CDs setup in the trunk. Sun roof, premium leather upholstery, faux burl wood panels on the doors and dash, leather covered steering wheel, 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS, push button traction control, push button sports gearing (works like an underdrive gear), a Multi-point injection fuel system produces 300 HP and this is mated to a 5 speed manual or automatic shift all in one, heated seats, torsion bar suspension, power everything, one touch sets the drivers seat, rear view mirrors inside and outside. There is even an automatic steer wheel position that can be preset! Jags also have a full size spare tyre with a matching aluminum wheel to the other four, great if you should damage one. Replacement cost is $340!
The one and only true draw back to running out and buying a new Jaguar XJ8 is the mfg. sticker price for a basic model…. $95,075. This makes the Cadillac STS priced at a mere $69,000 look like a real bargain! The Jag price goes up with add on’s like a super charged model called the XJR, or an extended wheel base or more luxury items, like fold out tables on the back of the front seats or a built in phone system. The price might give you pause, but then again, it’s a whole lot of car and finicky owners have sworn it was worth every cent!
Jaguar is manufactured in England and is owned by the Ford Motor Company. Ford is the only US car manafacturer not to ask for bailout money. There’s a lot to like about Ford!