High Peak Autos made an interesting review of the V8 from 2002.


The S-Type is one of the early-2000s vehicles that I find myself quite engrossed with alongside the Lancia Thesis. I didn't think much of it when it first came out because I saw it as another fad-follower of the faux-retro craze at the time alongside cars like the Prowler and Thunderbird and PT Cruiser, but seeing it through the lens of 2021 gives a different perspective. Even though it is billed as a retro-styled vehicle, in some ways its design was ahead of its time. The curvy banana-shaped body was very much a precursor to the Mercedes CLS, right down to the sharp character line running through the door handles- and ironically the CLS itself was billed as a "German Jaguar" upon its debut. Nowadays that banana body shape has become the norm on modern sedans.

For all its issues with reliability, brand image, and sales, Jaguar has always been very good at making memorable cars, even in the midst of company turmoil.

 

One thing that sometimes gets overlooked about that generation S-Type was that the design bore much more than just a passing resemblance to the original 1963 to 1968 S Type. The lineage is pretty clear.

 

 

It shared a platform, and some mechanicals, with the Lincoln LS.....back when Ford owned Jaguar. The LS, however, had a markedly different body and interior.

That said, yes, the S-Type was a gorgeous car.....especially compared to the Blah-mobiles Jaguar is producing today. I grew completely disgusted with the make when they dumped the Jaguar/cat hood-ornaments and rich woods/leathers inside....though I'll admit I wasn't a fan of that former J-slot shift-lever.

 

The Euro versions of all those early-2000s Jags never got the leaper. I think it had to do with safety regs that killed it over there.

 

Wow, my youngest grand daughter has a '05 type R, & she loves it....her 1st car that she's had for about five years.....Hasn't had to do anything but the basic maintencance.....Not a whole lot of trunk room & the back seats are a tad bit tight at least for me. On the same platform as the LS & last T-bird.....Those cars used the Jag 3.9 or the Ford 3.0 v/6 as you could of had a stick w/ the 6 cylinder....No room at all in the t-bird at all....4.2 v/8 w/ the blown type R.....Which Ford was throwning Eaton blower's on varies vehicles.....

 

Yes, hood ornaments are outlawed due to pedestrian safety regulations, they’re potentially lethal in even relatively minor collisions.

 

On the U.S. models with the leaper, it's designed to detach at the slightest impact before it can disembowel someone.

 

It's odd how much attention the S-Type has been receiving recently.

 

which is laughable given how 'lethal' the whole car is.

 

Not really, car manufacturers design cars to have few hard points under the bonnet (hood), allowing the bodywork to deform in the event of an impact with a a pedestrian’s head, giving them the maximum chance of survival. Tests and real life research bear this out, not every interaction between a pedestrian and a car results in a fatality, thankfully. Stick a hood ornament on a car and even the smallest impacts can be fatal. So not really laughable, no.

 

and that's why i don't live in the UK any longer... way too micro managed nanny state. I can see it now, the self-important bureaucrats so pleased with themselves banning hood ornaments. Just saw this car at a car meet here, i'm sure it would be ok in the UK

 

Its pedestrian safety regulations, but they mostly apply to sedans. The ridiculous American pick-up trucks I believe are exempt.

 

Yeah. Stupid argument. I once watched a 10 year old boy dart into traffic and get hit by a car. He rolled over the bonnet, windscreen, and roof before dropping on the road behind. He picked himself up, dusted himself down, and ran off. A hood ornament would have disemboweled him. I’m presuming you’re against seat belts, airbags, tyre regulations, laminated windscreen, or any number of safety regs? *shakes head…*

Remember, you live in the nanny States that won’t even let you buy unpasteurised cheese. 😀 Or, get this, Kinder eggs!

 

And yet, these things are perfectly fine.