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The originator of the Letter of the Month will receive a gift from Jaguar’s official lifestyle range. This month, a chrome Jaguar leaper keyring. For the full range of Jaguar-branded products, please go to the online store at shop.jaguar.com/uk/

LETTER OF THE MONTH

Following my recent trip to The Gambia, I thought I’d send you an image of a Jaguar S-TYPE I saw while passing through Serekunda, the country’s largest urban area that sits on the Atlantic Coast.

With most of the other cars I saw in my time in the country being either Mercedes-Benz or Japanese SUVs, the black saloon took me by surprise and looked more out of place than a pork chop in a vegan restaurant.

Although I didn’t have time for a close inspection, the car didn’t look to have coped with the country’s hot and dusty conditions well and it clearly wasn’t in the greatest shape.

Yet it was heartening to know even out there, 3,700 miles from Coventry, there was at least one enthusiast brave enough to drive a Jaguar in these harshest of conditions. Larry Smith

N No less interesting

The Spring 2022 issue of Jaguar World that marked the centenary of Jaguar was a masterful piece of publishing, covering all bases of the company’s 100 years. I especially liked the biographies of ninn ne important pp peopp ple and could easilyy y havv ve read nine more!

I also liked the E-type and DB6 twin test [p64], two cars I will never, sadly, get to buy myself but that made the article no less interesting.

And sorry to read Paul Walton is sufferinn ng my issues with his XF Sportbrake [p120]. I had a similar car for a few years and simm milar pp problems,, , finallyy y sellingg g it in 2018 for – whisper it – a Honda SUV which (fingers crossed) has been bullet proof so far. Jaguar certainly needs to improve its reliability if it’s to reach another 100 yearss s!

Congratulationss s to all the team for such a great magazine and keep up the good work. John Chapp pman

X-TYPE exploits

I have been following the X-TYPE estate ‘exploits’ of Laura Jones in various editions of Jaguar World with great interest.

I bought my first Jaguar X-TYPE (same Sovereign model as Laura’s) five years ago and fell in love with it. Sadly two years later, having slid head on against a kerb on an icy road, the rack, two driveshafts, two alloys and tyres deemed the car was ‘too expensive to repair’. I have always dealt with S & P Auto Services of Newton Abbot and as luck would have it, they had an X-TYPE Estate 2.2 automatic Sovereign in Chilli Red with average mileage and immaculate condition. S&P’s Pete and Simon couldn’t have been more helpful and against the value of the Jaguar write off, the deal was struck with a balance deficient of £600.

I was then the proud owner (and still am) of another 2009 Jaguar.

My reason for writing is having read Laura’s Our Jaguars in the February 2022 issue where she described the vibration experienced whilst accelerating, which takes place between 50 and 60mph.

I too went through all the possibilities as Laura and the problem was solved when the driveshaft was replaced. I guess by now Laura’s repair/replacement has confirmed this and the very frustrating vibration has gone.

My Jaguar has now covered nearly 40,000 miles since purchase and I have just had it serviced on 108,000 miles. I still get around 45mpg out of the diesel engine and overall the performance is just wonderful. I love the upholstery and overall finish inside the cabin and wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve had a wonderful three years driving it, with journeys to the Midlands and Essex from my house in Devon to visit family members.

Good luck to Laura in the future and I look forward to more of her Jaguar exploits Roy Apps

Favourite Jaguars

Thank you for the great piece on the XJ12 Coupe in the Spring 2022 issue [p78]. This has been one of my favourite Jaguars for as long as I can remember, loving its performance, gorgeous styling and relative rarity. I did consider buying one around a decade ago but didn’t after getting scared about the amount of corrosion they can suffer from. With these cars now fetching close to £50k today, how much do you think I regret that decision now? So thank you again for the article; reading your magazine is the closest I’ll get to ever owning one. David Kirby

Not heavy

Kudos to Richard Bremner for writing such a brilliant piece on the S.S.1 Airline in the Spring 2022 issue [p32]. I’ve often seen that car at Jaguar Heritage’s collection centre in Gaydon so it was great to read more about its history and what it’s like to drive. I will take issue with Richard, though, describing it as “heavy around the rear”. I think – and most will agree – it’s a very handsome car and not at all as Richard described.

Thanks again for a great magazine. Andrew Long