Jaguar XJ
Debut: 2010 |
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I have a soft spot on Jaguar XJ since childhood. Many years ago a British guy ran a classic car garage near my house. Everyday on my way to school I walked pass the garage in front of which a Jaguar XJ6 Series III was parked. Of course, at that time I had no knowledge about the history or fame behind this car, neither had I heard the name William Lyons or Pininfarina. However, that did not stop me from admiring the classical shape of the XJ. Since then the Jaguar saloon had a special place in my heart. History told us the original XJ was the most enduring saloon design of all time. From its birth in 1968 to the last generation ended in 2009, its style barely changed a little. Even though the underpinnings were thoroughly modernised from time to time - with major redesign in 1986, 1993, 1997 and 2003 - its appearance still sticked to the original design by Sir Lyons. However, this situation cannot carry on forever. As reflected by sliding sales in recent years, new generations of customers are not in fond of classical styling. Many of them went to the Avant-garde camp of BMW and Audi (now also Lexus). Moreover, the classical approach is difficult to work with modern aerodynamics. Further tweaks may damage the integrity of the original design. That is why Ian Callum, Jaguar's design boss, decided to reinvent the design language of XJ. Compared with his predecessor, the late Geoff Lawson, Callum is more willing to take risks and more eager to make a statement of his own. This sounds worrying to traditionalists and the hardcore fans of Lyons (like me). However, perhaps we should think in the other way: if William Lyons were still alive, would he do the same ? or would he choose to play safe ? Remembering his approval of the forward-thinking E-type, I think he would most probably agree with Callum.
Having experimented with XK coupe in 2006, Callum hit the jackpot with the new XF launched next year. The latter is a landmark design, combining the sportiness of coupe and the elegance of luxury car in a way no one else has succeeded - not even Mercedes-Benz CLS. Now the new XJ develops further in this direction. Given a more generous length than the XF, the flagship Jaguar can only look better. So what is the outcome ? Let me save a thousand words and summarize in this way: think about how a real jaguar (I mean the big-cat-style animal) looks - slim, light and athletic on the one hand, calm and noble on the other hand. You can see the same character in the new XJ. In my eyes, this is the best ever interpretation of "four-door coupe", and way more attractive than the conservative Mercedes, BMW and Audi etc. Drive it in urban area and you will find everybody staring at it. It is easily the most head-turning luxury car on the market. The only controversial point is the black-out C-pillars, introduced to lighten the visual mass of the back. It takes some getting used to, but it does make the XJ even more special, thus becomes a signature of the car.
Incredibly, under the sheet aluminum is the same platform as the last generation XJ. Jaguar spent substantial money to develop the outgoing car's aluminum monocoque chassis, so it has to recoup the investment from the new generation. Since the underpinnings are fundamentally the same, the 3034 mm wheelbase is unaltered. Its overall length has grown by merely 30 mm. Its width has grown by another 30 mm to house wider tracks. The 1448 mm height is identical to the old car's, making it lower than its mainstream luxury car rivals but taller than the sporty Porsche Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte. As expected, the sleeker shape returns lower drag. Cx is lowered from the previous 0.32 to a much more competitive 0.28. As before, Jaguar XJ and Audi A8 are the only mass production cars in the world that use aluminum chassis. They are more costly to build than conventional steel monocoque, of course, but the price pays off on the scale. Take an XJ 5.0 V8 for example, it tips the scale at 1755 kilograms with full tank of fuel and fluid, undercutting BMW 750i by 190 kg, Mercedes S500 by 125 kg and Maserati Quattroporte by 235 kg. Without burdening by 4-wheel-drive hardware, it also beats the new Audi A8 by 80 kg. In fact, the XJ is even lighter than the steel-bodied XF !
As before, the lightweight chassis of Jaguar is made of stamped, extruded and cast aluminum parts bonded by rivets and epoxy, like Lotus Elise but unlike Audi A8 (which uses mainly welding). However, plenty of fine tunings improved the new chassis:
But before assessing its dynamic behaviour, let's get on board first. Open the door, wow, what you see is the most visually attractive cabin in the mainstream luxury segment ! It looks really special, like nothing else in the class thanks to its unusually sporty and bespoke feel. It makes the cabin design of BMW, Mercedes and even Audi dull in comparison. The German cars employ top-notch materials, unquestionably, but none of them mix and match leather and wood as tastefully as the British car. First of all, you will notice the dashboard level is set much lower than those in conventional sedans, more like that of a sports car, especially with the presence of a big transmission tunnel. The dashboard architecture recesses from the shoulder line by a couple of inches. Brilliantly, Ian Callum filled that gap with an arc of wooden stripe, which flows to an ocean of wood at each door. As a result, you feel like sitting in a luxury yacht ! The dashboard architecture is as simple and intuitive as those of traditional sports cars, but it is elegantly decorated with lacquer black (on center console) and a lot of chrome. Callum chose classic eyeball air vents to enhance the sports car feel further. They are nicely chromed and has a tactile feel in swivel. The small-diameter helm looks sporty and feels great in hands. Regarding fancy technology, how can we miss the XF-style rotary gear selector, which rises from the transmission tunnel when you wake up the XJ ? New toys include a virtual instrument panel by TFT screen, which also changes colors depending on driving mode, and a center console touch screen that displays something (e.g. sat-nav map) to the driver and something else (e.g. DVD movie) to the passenger at the same time, though both features were already available in Mercedes S-class. On the downside, the Jag does not offer a lot of advanced safety equipments like its rivals. Things like night vision, lane departure warning, blindspot warning or drowsy alert are all missing.
Fortunately, interior space is adequate, although its coupe shape suggested otherwise. It is not as spacious as Mercedes S-class, of course, but it is not ashamed to compare with A8 or 7-series, at least in the popular long-wheelbase car (which adds 125mm). An XJ LWB offers vast of legroom and enough headroom to accommodate passengers up to 6 feet 4 inch. In short-wheelbase form, rear headroom is a little in short supply. However, either cars treat its driver well with loads of head and legroom, comfy seats and an ambience lightened by the glass moonroof. This is perhaps the most important to the driver-oriented Jaguar. Limited by its small economy of scale, Jaguar can offer only three choices of powertrain - 275 hp 3.0 twin-turbo diesel V6, 385 hp 5.0 V8 and 510 hp supercharged 5.0 V8 (remark: some markets are offered with 470 hp version of the last engine) - all come straight from XF together with the compulsory ZF 6-speed automatic. Fortunately, all of them are excellent engines. In Europe, majority of sales will go to the diesel V6, which is immensely torquey (442 pound-foot), quick (0-60 mph in 6 seconds flat), frugal (40 mpg combined) and remarkably refined. It is the most sensible choice in the bunch. Globally, the naturally aspirated V8 is expected to take 60 percent shares of the total sales because clean diesel is not available in America. It is also a good engine, being the smoothest and quietest in the range. Though not as quick as the turbocharged BMW 750i, its 0-60 mph time of 5.4 seconds is by no means slow, and definitely feels faster than Audi A8 4.2 FSI which claimed the same time. It's not a surprise, because the Jaguar V8 is not only larger in capacity but also packs virtually any technologies available, from direct injection to variable valve timing and lift. The Jaguar's 6-speed ZF box might be a generation older than Audi's 8-speed unit, but in terms of response and smoothness it lost nothing.
The supercharged V8 of range-topping XJ Supersport is carried over from XFR. As both cars weigh the same, you can expect the same performance - we are talking about 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds and 0-100 mph in about 10 seconds. Jaguar could have named it as XJR, but a change in marketing strategy means the flagship large car will no longer be promoted as a fire-breathing performance saloon. That task will be left to the smaller XFR. The XJ Supersport is more about strong performance at minimum fuss. Its extra sound insulation (see that plastic engine cladding) effectively filters out most of the supercharger whine, although you can still hear pronounced exhaust note once you hammer the throttle. On the road, if you had driven the old XJ, you will be impressed by the new car's effortless performance as well as its quiet cabin. Not so sure is the ride quality. While previous generations of XJ were renowned for a magic carpet ride over poor surfaces, the new car with its stiffer suspension setting and lower profile tires feels far more connected to the road. On broken surfaces, it is not as comfortable to back seat passengers. Some may feel disappointed, but in return the car provides you unprecedented level of control. Each encounter of bumps gets responded immediately and cleanly without following by bounces. As a result, on normal roads the ride is actually more composed. If you go cross country, the new XJ will be the more comfortable companion.
However, what makes the XJ special is its handling. This car feels really agile and light on its feet. It delivers much the same cornering prowess as a 7-series or A8 without resorting to active anti-roll bars, active steering, 4WD or 4WS. The only fancy electronic driving aid it provides is a simple control system with the choice of comfort, dynamic or snow mode, which alter damping stiffness, gearshift speed and throttle response. That's all. The Jaguar utilizes its inherent advantage in weight and balance to tear its rivals in pieces. Therefore, its driving feels natural and engaging. While the German cars feel like a summation of different systems and their handling/ride characteristics depend very much on the settings you choose, the Jaguar feels old-school honest, and it delivers handling and ride in one consistent manner. With a light yet accurate and uncorrupted steering, a neutral cornering attitude, excellent body control, progressive braking and deeply contoured driver seat, the XJ is the most enjoyable big limousine to attack winding roads. In this way, it sounds closer to the camp of Maserati Quattroporte and Aston Rapide. Because the new XJ is this good to drive, this good to look and this good to sit in, we have no reason not to declare it as the new class leader. Although Mercedes S-class is still the better car to back seat passengers, to those who drive by themselves, nothing else is as great as the XJ. |
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| The above report was last updated on 14 Mar 2010. All Rights Reserved. |
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 Jaguar XJ |
 Jaguar XJ Supersport |
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tested by: *Autocar, **C&D |
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by Mark Wan @ AutoZine