SC430 v Jaguar XK 150 (60) comparison

[Boomer54]

Now I have got the V5 form all sorted out and the car insured  then tomorrow it will be road taxed and ready to go.

I am going to use this thread to make a comparison between the two cars based upon my experience of owning and driving them.

I will try to be objective, but bear in mind aesthetically I am a bit biased towards the SC 430. 

At this point I have not driven the Jag except to test drive due to me screwing up the V5 form at purchase completely forgetting that I was supposed to put this in my wife's name. That's now all sorted so we are clear for lift off. Having just come back off a 250 mile round trip in the SC 430 it's quite a good point to start the comparison.

I will use pics where I think it's appropriate. Hope it is interesting for more than just me.

[Malc1]

Most interesting ……. for me anyway, but then I am a little “ odd” no doubt ……. Not just Old but Odd too 😄

Deep analysis and photos most welcome please 

Malc 

[Spock66]

Do you mean the Classic XK150 or something more modern?

The Classic XK150 would win in the looks department but loose in every other category.

[Boomer54]

20 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

Do you mean the Classic XK150 or something more modern?

The Classic XK150 would win in the looks department but loose in every other category.

My apologies I should have said XK(X150). ! The extra X makes all the difference. Unfortunately I cannot see how I can edit the topic title.  If there is a way anyone knows then please shout out.

I wouldn't dream of comparing the original XK150 with a car half a century newer. It's pointless for obvious reasons.

[NemesisUK]

4 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

My apologies I should have said XK(X150). ! The extra X makes all the difference. Unfortunately I cannot see how I can edit the topic title.  If there is a way anyone knows then please shout out.

I wouldn't dream of comparing the original XK150 with a car half a century newer. It's pointless for obvious reasons.

Click on the three little dots, top right in your post

[Boomer54]

Just been to fill the tank of the XK as the guy I bought it off left it running on fumes.

So, couple of initial points to make.

1. After adjusting driving position controls my first take on the XK is I feel to be sitting lower in this car comparative to the SC 430. That is almost certainly a design thing and you may ,or may not like that depending on how you like to sit within the car. Probably makes it feel that bit more sporty than the Lexus FWIW.

2. Exhausts of course are a bit more difficult to compare as we are probably a long way past original on these cars , or at least the Lexus. The SC 430 carries a bespoke S/Steel exhaust courtesy of Tony Banks ,Leeds. It brings a bit of the V8 rumble ,but dare I say it has not been setup to to go throaty. The XK looks like the original exhaust system and there is no paperwork to suggest otherwise so chances are you buy one of these of that period this exhaust is what you will get. It's significantly more throaty on startup and delivers more of that with acceleration so essentially a bit more noisy than the Lexus. Not bystander awful levels though. This probably sounds a bit more V8 than the Lexus to most drivers. Good thing ,or not, depends on what you like from the V8 by way of sound.

3. Now that beautiful sloping rear window and 'hippy' rear panels on the XK leaves rear vision pretty limited to say the least. Perhaps even more so marginally than the SC 430. Fortunately wing mirrors are good on both (turning down in reverse) and rear sensors on both are for me a must have. I will wait and experiment to see if the XK experience needs an additional rear camera. On the subject of wing mirrors the XK is that bit more advanced. They turn inwards when you power off the car and turn outwards automatically when you start up. They are also heated so good on frosty mornings. The SC 430 does also turn inwards ,but does so via a switch on the lower panel. Personally I think wing mirrors are a bit like dishwashers in that when you have ones that do it all there is no looking back as you get to appreciate the convenience and extra functionality.

4. Most of the controls that are physically accessible on the SC 430 dash arrangements are accessed on the XK via the touch screen. Fortunately the front and rear window heated elements are also physically accessed on the XK otherwise I would definitely mark that down for convenience. I don't think spending too much time having to look at the touchscreen to make changes is a positive thing. I prefer to be looking at the road when driving and especially so in heavy traffic.

Ok, well 5 mins going to fill up only gives me so much to say ,but more will follow as I explore the car both for driving performance and for features.

 

[Malc1]

Maybe a month’s round Britain 5k mile trip in each will give you a great “ feel “ for both cars and enjoy them each for what they are intended …….. leisure and huge pleasure 👍

Enjoy 

Malc 

[Boomer54]

3 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Maybe a month’s round Britain 5k mile trip in each will give you a great “ feel “ for both cars and enjoy them each for what they are intended …….. leisure and huge pleasure 👍

Enjoy 

Malc 

I think what is already clear is that it was the right thing to do to get two different make of cars. I can already see that the differences are going to be a source of appreciation rather than irritation. If I had bought two SC 430's inevitably I suspect I would have gravitated to one with the other doing more standing until I sold it off. With the SC and XK to move between I think there is less chance of that happening. Bit like a great roast dinner and baked pasta dish. Both to be enjoyed for different reasons. You don't have to choose between them !

[Boomer54]

Great weather today so the XK is going to get it's first major valet from me. Stand by for warts of which I suspect there will be at least a couple. The guy I bought this from was not another Localhero for sure. He was a bit 'slobby' so that could mean some tidying up issues in more than the strictest sense of that word.

Did get a chance to drive a little more yesterday. Need to go back to adjusting the driving position ,because as it stands it seems not really comfortable to me right now. The ride is firmer than the SC 430 which is ok , but it is not the armchair ride I get from the SC 430. Over a longer distance that is probably important. The noise from the exhaust is more intrusive. That means more to me than most ,because my deafness has always been a  function of difficulty hearing against background noises. Struggled a bit yesterday to have a conversation with the wife whilst in the car. Not so bad as the bits I caught seemed to be about various jobs that needed doing. In summary, if you don't hear it you don't do it 😉

Whilst I didn't get the chance to really open it up I did at least get to play a little. The acceleration is what I would call muscular as opposed to the smoothness of the SC 430. It remains to be seen what that feels like moving upwards from 60. Up to 60 it's certainly fast enough to get you overtaking when you wish to. Bear in mind I only had it in Drive not Sport mode which should be interesting in itself. Comparing those two Drive modes I would say there is less lag on the XK although my SC 430 does have a throttle controller which more than delivers comparable performance when engaged. Without the controller though the XK edges in terms of response on acceleration.

Trawling through the manual it's clear this thing has a few bells and whistles for me to explore. I will report on them has I come to them. The first two were the fact it has heated windscreens back and front and I can say they will be handy in cold snaps. The a/c works furiously well and in truth quicker than the SC 430 to clear the glass etc. The other nice little thing was the completeness of functionality on the wing mirrors which I mentioned earlier.

More to come later.

[Malc1]

That seating and comfy legs positioning …….. in all these past decades and even now with my immensely comfy and powerful 3.5ltr 2006 Honda Legend …….. I just CANNOT get comfy legs position for more than 20 mins driving it

Both my Ls400s and all my past Ls400s I’ve never had a problem driving for hours non-stop …… supreme leg comfort …… and all else comfy too of course 

I would urge you, if there’s no way you can achieve 100% leg comfort especially, for at least 2 hrs, driving the Jag ……. to part company with it, flog it, scrap it whatever ……. Your legs comfort needs to be 100% otherwise it’s a FAILURE and a lesson learnt …….. presuming the Sc430 gives you 100% comfort in all respects 🤔

Jag for the scrapper then ? 🤩

Malc 

[Mossypossy]

Old age can also be a problem when you accelerate in a fast car! In my GS450h I floored it and the g force hurt my back.

I think 300bhp is enough for us old folk.

[Boomer54]

40 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

Old age can also be a problem when you accelerate in a fast car! In my GS450h I floored it and the g force hurt my back.

I think 300bhp is enough for us old folk.

Agreed. That's why I did not seriously look at the XKR version. Don't need the extra horses and of course the extra maintenance that comes with them.

[Mossypossy]

How painful will this be?

 

[Boomer54]

So having given it a good wash I would put money on it this car has been ceramic coated in the not too distant past. The way it washes/ polishes up leads me to that conclusion and indeed the coachwork is extremely good for any year never mind 2008. There are a couple of inevitable stone chips plus two lower body scuff marks that I think will cut out.

Internally not quite so good. Rosey tinted glasses off I have a couple of leatherwork marks to deal with plus a small scuff that will probably not be improved given it's depth. Fortunately ,it's in the area just behind the front seats so not very noticeable. Clearly someone tried to put something in the back and wasn't careful enough.

 

[Boomer54]

One issue which I knew about is the window trim which is showing some signs of oxidisation. I presume the trim is Chrome ,but could it be Aluminium? I thought this could be dealt with so I was not too concerned about it. Will give it a go and post up the results when I get to it.

[Boomer54]

All things under the bonnet. I am not really tooled up to detail this area at this point, but now I have two cars to see to I might just buy a few things to help with that.

[Boomer54]

All things booty (ful).

Various things to say about this. Gulleys had not been cleaned 'forever' ,yuk.

Size, no doubt about it ,more generous space in their for dead bodies if you have the odd one to get rid of.

Down the well I noticed a quite small amount of water under the spare. On closer observation it looks to me that the seals around the well are not all intact. I think they could be made good quite simply using a little clear silicone to form a barrier where the seal has perished. However, you don't want water sitting in there so I think when valeting just pop the spare out and check for any sitting there. Suppose there is the possibility the water was produced from condensation? Hmm, not sure about that though.

The boot strut covers are badly oxidised. I had seen this when I viewed it ,but again  I thought this could be dealt with. We will see how this goes, but even if I have to replace them I cannot have that in my car. Don't do a close up on them struts, I mean yuk!

Lastly, the Spare ! It's got one unlike the SC 430. We know this can be remedied ,but frankly it is nice not to have to.

[Boomer54]

Took this shot to identify the tangible size difference. Anyway Lexigirl making nice with her new boyfriend.

[Boomer54]

22 hours ago, Malc1 said:

That seating and comfy legs positioning …….. in all these past decades and even now with my immensely comfy and powerful 3.5ltr 2006 Honda Legend …….. I just CANNOT get comfy legs position for more than 20 mins driving it

Both my Ls400s and all my past Ls400s I’ve never had a problem driving for hours non-stop …… supreme leg comfort …… and all else comfy too of course 

I would urge you, if there’s no way you can achieve 100% leg comfort especially, for at least 2 hrs, driving the Jag ……. to part company with it, flog it, scrap it whatever ……. Your legs comfort needs to be 100% otherwise it’s a FAILURE and a lesson learnt …….. presuming the Sc430 gives you 100% comfort in all respects 🤔

Jag for the scrapper then ? 🤩

Malc 

Nope, it was a typical idiot in charge issue. I believed I had set up my driving position. In the event the settings had not been memorised. I have redone it and it's fine now. leg room was not an issue. What I didn't like was sitting low. I like to sit high and straight to drive. that gives me a certain sightline and puts the wheel at the height for comfortable hand position. Without those it all just does not feel right. Anyway I have gone through the process of setting driving position again and this time it's been memorised so I don't expect to have this problem again.

[Boomer54]

I remember when i was looking for the XK I came across an Ad from a guy who was selling ,because he could not drive the jag for more than 10 mins. Just too uncomfortable for him. He said he was 6 ft 4 ins and essentially there was not enough leg room ,or head room. I was sceptical of it at the time thinking is he selling quickly because the car is a 'dog'. Now I have one i can see his issue to be genuine. I have the car in the position on maximum extension for leg room and it is ok for me, but there again I am only just over 6 ft not 6 ft 4ins.! Likewise I have the seat set nearly to max for height with the wheel just dropped slightly. Head room is ok, not cramped, but if I was 4 inches taller I bet I would be polishing the head liner.

Came across Head Adaptive Support in the manual. Basically, in the event of impact the head rest is supposed to move forwards and upwards to reduce the amount of room your head can move on impact thus reducing the whiplash effect! Ooh !! Shall try very hard not to put this feature to the test.

Concerned about petrol consumption. The trip reading suggest an average of just 15mpg giving a range of 200 miles (ish) per tank! Now if that is right it won't be staying long. When I researched this I believed the Av was not dissimilar to the SC 430 25 ish. Looked up the review data on the car and it agreed with that figure. So, not sure if the car is just still using the previous owners commute data which I suppose could be low given he was crossing Manchester a couple of times a day at peak hour. I will reset the Trip function and keep a watch over the next couple of tanks. Alternatively, plan my trips and advertise on facebook for trip sharing  ! 😉

Not really ,but there is a line I wouldn't be interested in crossing for economy in a V8, or any car, and 15 to the gallon is the wrong side of that line.

When I was looking for the above data I came across a very detailed independent perfomance review. Based upon that and my short driving experience the XK is faster on the acceleration than the SC 430. I can certainly believe the 0 to 60 in 5.7 secs. As an aside though at my age do I really care very much about that extra bit of humph? Indeed, do my driving skills ,or attitude to driving at speed even come into play to take advantage of it? I doubt it.

Mat cleaning day. I like the condition of the carpet and mats in the car in terms of pile and wear. What I don't like is the mats imparticular are filthy. So, scrubbing brush, soapy water, and power washer here I come.

[Malc1]

Old Scrubbers Day then for you  🤣

Petrol consumption is simply irrelevant being a man of significant Means and not to be Mean spending your spondoolies ....... on yourself ............  just kid everyone else you're being very very careful with the consumption and promise not to realy exceed the speed limit when " testing " her fully  ...... is the Jag really only  0 - 60 in 5.7 secs   ?  the Ls400 is in 5.9 secs ?? and a much heavier beast to move around surely .....  the Sc430 is what in 0 - 6- terms ?

Malc

I'm only a short 5'9" and shrinking over the ages and that leg comfort I just can't achieve in my Honda legend BUT never ever been a problem in any Ls400

[Boomer54]

The SC430 is usually cited approx 6.2 secs 0 to 60 although I think it is probably quicker than that with the throttle controller engaged so may be 6 secs. With me driving about 10 secs.

[Boomer54]

And 'spendoolies' is important stuff for planners like me. I know I will be bust and outside Waitrose with a bowl and 3 legged mutt in exactly 991.65 years.

[Malc1]

Make sure it’s a china bowl from this Chinese Xi Dynasty ……. worth all your fortune in 991 years hence …….. will Waitrose still be there tho ‘ 👏

Malc

[toffee_pie]

Interesting to see a XK on here, I was nattering on about replacing my Subaru a few years ago on here and some chap mentiond several vehicles that were 'doable' and falling into line with what I was looking for - a few of the cars were a Porsche Panemara and a Jaguar XK - now I quickly - ish ruled out the former as it was just a bit too gangly, boaty and a bit much but the Jaguar XK, well now we are talking. 

I spent considrable time researching these and somehow ended up getting a XKR-S in January, a 4.2 XKR-S - these are so rare even bods on FB groups thought I put stickers and body kits on it - it was a skunk works project by the three lads working for Jaguar back in the day who wanted the 4.2 XK to go out with a final flourish so they came up with this and Jaguar made the 200 units, 50 were sold in England but my guess is less than 15 are actually around

Spotted this in December 2023 and could not stop looking at it and drove over in January a 8 hour round trip to take this home otherwise I would never forgive myself, I still had a Subaru which eventually sold in May.

I am using mine as a daily, servicing on these is absolutely crucial so the person here who has a XK should have replaced all the fluids as a matter of priority, plus the tranmission fluid and a new fuel filter. Mine gets around 18mpg on my crappy commute to work, if you reset the counter and wing it up to Scotland you would get around 30mpg. These engines are good for stellar mileage once looked after, Electrical gremlins need to be treated with caution there is a whole list of DTCs that are actually nonsense - there is a list if you google it.

Its quite low down and it might be my age but you let out a grunt getting out of this thing, not Lamborghini Huracan grunt but getting to that stage - interior finishing is sublime, for a vehicle 15 years old.

Driving this home I was thinking to myself how can I describe this and my words were a guided missile with a free armchair attached - the mad thing is I have not shifted this into S yet and I have it over 8 months. Quoted performance is 0-60 in 4.4s and 174mph but with the limiter removed its good for 180mph+ 

CAR did a review of this in 2008 - they done a 1:1 with a Maserari Granturismo S - the reviewer said not only was the Jag better than the Maser, it was better than an Aston Martin Vantage and a Bentley Continental too and you would need a Ferrari 599 to trump it, Not sure what Mike Cross, Dave Pook and Matt O'Hara done to the 4.2 lump but they done a heck of a job

Cheers to the chap who mentioned Jag...!

I think I will be back to Lexus but not just yet

...Now that S mode is like what Father Dougal was feeling like on the airplane