2007 Jaguar S-Type Driving Impressions Review at Automotive.com

»Locate a Dealer»Find a Used Car»Get Financing

Most Popular: Hybrid Cars|Lexus IS350|Dodge Charger

HOME

2007 Jaguar S-Type Review: Road Test

Below is a full, detailed 2007 Jaguar S-Type review and road test from New Car Test Drive. A full evaluation of price, equipment, the driving experience, and specs are all here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with limitless experience.

• Latest Reviews
• Discuss Online

QUICK PRICE QUOTE

DEALER LOCATOR

User Rating

2.0

Rating:

Value Rating

Poor

LEARN WHY

IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

Change Submodel

CHANGE VEHICLE

2007 Jaguar S-Type Review

Cats are beautiful. And fast.

Driving Impressions

Driving the Jaguar S-Type is satisfying, and it imparts a feeling of class and sophistication to passengers.

The S-Type comes with a great transmission, perhaps the best available. The six-speed automatic ZF is the same transmission used in the BMW 7 Series. This transmission is extremely responsive and silky smooth. With more gears to choose from, it offers excellent drivability around town. It delivers both good performance and decent fuel economy. A Sport mode allows the driver to shift manually. Select this mode and the transmission will not shift above the highest gear selected, though as needed it will shift down and back up below this gear. The transmission has two overdrive ratios. Sport mode stays in fifth unless the driver maintains a steady speed for 30 seconds. But most of the time we preferred to simply leave it in Drive and let it do its thing, as it does it so well. It's a smart transmission: lift off the throttle for a corner, and it senses the steering angle and holds the lower gear. It also holds a gear on hills, eliminating hunting between gears.

Review Sections

• Introduction

• Lineup

• Walkaround

• Interior

• Driving Impressions

• Summary & Specs

Get Your Free Quote on a Jaguar S-Type

The 3.0-liter V6 engine is smooth and delivers plenty of power for most drivers. We found it offers good power for passing. Floor it at 50 mph in fifth gear and in a heartbeat the six-speed automatic smoothly downshifts to second at 5500 rpm, surging without lurching. Jaguar says the S-Type 3.0 can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds. The V6 was smooth and civilized when cruising, and noise from the engine was isolated. Under hard acceleration, however, the sound it made reminded us that it is a Ford Duratec.

We found cornering to be exceptional in the S-Type 3.0. It felt a little squishy when driven hard on a winding road, but the car didn't lean a lot, and grip was very good. Add in the Dynamic Stability Control, and it's hard to get into trouble. The S-Type rides smoothly and is nicely damped, even if it is tuned more for handling than a soft ride. Driving through the Texas hill country outside Austin, the car jiggled a bit from side to side on bumpy rural roads, a little more than we would have liked. And you can hear the hiss of the tires. Completely isolating the driver from the road has never been a Jaguar design objective.

The 4.2-liter V8 engine delivers truly spirited performance with strong low-rpm torque for quicker acceleration. Jaguar says the S-Type 4.2 can accelerate form 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, which is quite quick. The 4.2 feels relaxed and responsive around town and cruising on the highway, but delivers spirited performance when driving quickly on back roads. The 4.2 V8 generates 86 percent of its maximum torque at just 1500 rpm for greater flexibility around town. This is a very strong car by any measure.

The 4.2 offers a firm ride without being too harsh. There is some road vibration on badly rippled roads, but it smoothes out on better surfaces. The 4.2 is quiet, with some wind noise at high speeds. It's stable at high speeds with precise, linear steering that makes the driver feel part of the car. The S-Type is not as stiff as the BMW 5 Series. It is the type of car that inspires confidence for those who enjoy driving without being a chore for those who do not. It felt wonderful when driving hard on narrow, winding roads. In short, it's a wonderful automobile, very pleasant.

The S-Type R offers fantastic acceleration performance. Jaguar says it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.3 seconds with a top speed electronically limited to 155 mph. We could clearly hear the whine from supercharger when hard on the gas. Hot rodders love it, but we wonder whether it would become tiresome. Superchargers deliver better low-end torque and more linear response than turbochargers and the R model offers significantly more torque than the normally aspirated 4.2. It's very responsive at low speeds as well as when being driven hard. Power is very linear. Handling is superb. Steering is precise and linear. The R is very stable at high speeds. Handling is very predictable when working the tires. Pushed to the limit, the R goes into a four-wheel drift. Yet the ride quality is quite comfortable. This balance between athletic handling and a smooth ride gives the S-Type R a dual personality. Most of the time, it's a relaxing, refined luxury sedan, but stand on it and it acts like a sports car, agile, quick, fun. It's easy to drive and not at all intimidating, as we discovered on some narrow, foggy mountain roads in Spain.

Jaguar's enhanced Computer Active Technology Suspension (eCATS) is now exclusive to and standard on the S-Type R. The eCATS optimizes ride and handling by automatically switching suspension damping from soft to firm in milliseconds. Accelerometers and a brake sensor send signals to an electronic control unit to dynamically tune the suspension to driving conditions. At low speed, eCATS can switch the rear dampers slightly ahead of the front to reduce transient understeer, for improved agility and turn-in. At high speed, it switches the front dampers first to enhance stability. The result is an optimized balance between ride comfort and handling agility. It's completely automatic and requires no intervention from the driver. We found that eCATS does a great job of filtering out road vibration and rough surfaces without isolating the driver from the road. The car feels unflappable in the corners without riding like a race car on city streets.

Anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Emergency Brake Assist come standard on all S-Type models. ABS allows the driver to brake and steer at the same time by preventing wheel lockup in an emergency stopping situation. Brake Assist senses a panic stop and maintains maximum braking force if the driver makes the mistake of relaxing pressure on the brake pedal.

Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) is also standard on all S-Type models. This anti-skid system works extremely well and can help a driver stay on the road in dicey conditions. DSC links the brakes, steering, and traction control systems and analyzes information from on-board sensors to determine when the car is deviating from the driver's intended path. It then applies braking force to each individual wheel to readjust the car's course. This system helps the driver avoid losing control of the car, by reducing oversteer (sliding rear wheels) or understeer(sliding front wheels).

Adaptive Cruise Control, available only on the R-model, works most of the time like normal cruise control, automatically maintaining a speed pre-set by the driver. But it is also able to detect slower-moving vehicles ahead, and will slow the car as necessary. When the traffic ahead speeds up, Adaptive Cruise will return to the driver's chosen speed. next page