![]() ![]() The XJ’s extended brightwork package also creates some harsh reflections, especially when the shades for the panoramic roof are folded away.Ī taller profile at the rear of the XJ has given it one major advantage over its predecessors: boot volume has increased to 520 litres, a volume that’s now class average and betters that of a BMW 7 Series. Unfortunately, despite revisions throughout the car’s lifecycle to date, our grievances with some of the interior trim still stand: they lack the tactility of some German rivals. In 2015, the infotainment was upgraded to the far superior InControl Pro unit and features a 360-degree camera. However, it serves to make the central touchscreen display poorer than its mediocre resolution and design would otherwise appear, while in a few other places the cabin doesn’t quite come up to scratch the materials of the air vents and centre console facia, for example, can’t match their appearance. Its resolution is fabulously high and there are some neat graphics: speeds closest to the car’s current velocity are highlighted, manual gearchange selection is shown beautifully and the left dial is replaced by a small sat-nav map prompt at times. Leather and well finished wood adorn most surfaces, and there is a new-to-Jaguar digital dashboard display, in place of conventional analogue dials. It’s also one that looks the part both at a distance and in detail. ![]() The XJ’s driving position is fine and features a particularly well shaped and sized steering wheel, with gearshift paddles to its rear. Back-to-back testing suggests that to be the case a minimal weight penalty of between 25 and 50kg certainly helps. Jaguar says the long-wheelbase model was actually developed to have dynamics to match those of the regular car. The XJ L gets a wheelbase extended by 125mm over the standard-length car. The bold move taken by Jaguar initially has clearly proved popular with buyers. Regardless of our reservations, it is perhaps telling that Jaguar has chosen not to alter the XJ's styling during mid-life revisions. Jaguar says the three distinct red strips are reminiscent of a cat’s claw marks. Automatic LED headlights and revised daylight running lights are standard on all models. To accentuate the XJ’s length and give it a ‘waisted’ look, the swage line that starts from the top of the front wheel arch fades away through the middle of the car, before reappearing over the rear arch.įinally the headlight design first seen on Jaguar’s C-XF concept makes it to series production. Arguably the XJ’s most controversial feature – the black-clad C-pillars – are designed to blend seamlessly with the rear screen to give the impression that it wraps around, although it’s an idea that works best on dark-coloured cars. We know it’s subjective but, for the record, we like the XJ’s overall design stance, even if we’re not entirely convinced about its rear. ![]() Certainly the XJ is forward-looking and, as with most advanced designs, it doesn’t entirely avoid courting controversy. But to keep up with the fast-moving large saloon segment, Jaguar has updated the XJ twice with minor facelifts in 20 to keep pace with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the new BMW 7 Series and the growing threat from the Tesla Model S.Įven though it’s still a saloon, this Jaguar XJ looks like no other XJ before it. It’s part of an outwardly and inwardly revived Jaguar marque that seems more comfortable within itself, having found its place as a maker of, as Jaguar says, “fast, beautiful cars”. That it’s ‘more confident and forward-looking’ in appearance is in absolutely no doubt. Despite its landmark diesel engine, advanced aluminium structure and air suspension that allowed it to “beat its rivals for refinement and luxuriousness”, there was no doubt that the XJ TDVi should have been “more confident and more forward-looking”.įast forward to today and the latest XJ couldn’t be more different. When we road tested the previous generation XJ, we concluded that it was “a great shame this cutting-edge car is wrapped up in a body and interior that hark back to a different age”. And for the record, true Jaguar-ness wasn’t reflected in the faux-retro styling of the previous XJ, a model produced in an era where Jaguar had lost confidence. Indeed, Callum would challenge those detractors to describe what a typical Jaguar looks like. ![]()
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