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Jaguar XJS, Buying guide, MOT record and UK numbers

2,634 Jaguar XJS cars are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 79.7% of initial MOT tests, 7.4 points above the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific XJS? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Jaguar XJS at the MOT

79.7% of 3,112 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the XJS 203rd of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Jaguar XJS79.7%
  • All Jaguar modelsLevel with the XJS79.4%
  • All cars72.3%

Where XJS cars fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Jaguar XJS tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment27.8%
  • Brakes22.7%
  • Suspension12.8%
  • Visibility8.5%
  • Noise, emissions and leaks8.5%

The items testers recorded most often were service brake performance excessively binding (4.8%), rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements (4%) and component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (3.6%).

The MOT page lists every common XJS MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Jaguar XJS MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The XJS's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.27.8% of XJS failure items

  2. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.22.7% of XJS failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.12.8% of XJS failure items

Jaguar XJS cars in the UK

2,634 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 18% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−18%from 3,220 licensed
Typical year of first use
1990half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 1990 or earlier
Declared off the road
5,74869% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Jaguar XJS cars since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 20143,220
End of 20153,157
End of 20163,029
End of 20172,953
End of 20182,728
End of 20192,658
End of 20202,464
End of 20212,486
End of 20222,327
End of 20232,145
End of 20242,054
End of 20252,109
End of June 20262,634

How old they are

Licensed Jaguar XJS cars by year of first use.

A further 20 were first used before 1977.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
1996121
1995195
1994172
1993156
1992117
1991126
1990188
1989240
1988158
198778
198670
198570
198471
198353
198245
198118
198025
197922
197831
197730

XJS engine sizes

5.3 litre engines made up 40% of Jaguar XJS MOT tests in 2025, followed by 4.0 litre at 37%. Petrol accounts for 100% of licensed XJS cars.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 3,110 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 5.3 litre40.3%
  • 4.0 litre37.4%
  • 3.6 litre16.2%
  • 6.0 litre5%

Other Jaguar models

The most-tested Jaguar models in 2025, against the XJS's 79.7% MOT pass rate.

All 11 Jaguar models

Jaguar XJS FAQs

How many Jaguar XJS cars are there in the UK?

2,634 Jaguar XJS cars were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 5,748 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Jaguar XJS reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 79.7% first-time pass rate for the Jaguar XJS across 3,112 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.

What should I check before buying a used Jaguar XJS?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes and suspension. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Jaguar XJS's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found an XJS?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Jaguar history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Jaguar VIN check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.