Apparently when Tata saw the first sketches of the new Jaguar XJ, it was love at first sight and played a major part in the Indian automaker’s decision to buy the company from Ford.
It’s not easy to make a large sedan look sexy, as the need for cavernous passenger room tends to make such limos look bloated and slab-sided – it’s much like trying to stuff a fat woman into tight fishnet stockings. However, the new XJ has really hit a styling sweet spot.
The old XJ’s old-school styling theme – traditional grille, quad headlamps, and long flat boot – has finally been ditched and in its place is a thoroughly more modern shape that’s still unmistakably a Jaguar.
The vertical shape of the tail lights is controversial but there’s no denying they have a wow factor, as does the assertive face with its bold mesh grill. But it’s the side view that Jag has really massaged into a thing of grace and glamour, and the company’s new flagship has a much more athletic profile than German rivals like the S-class, 7-series and A8. The XJ is also the company’s most aerodynamic car ever.
Like the previous XJ the car has a weight-saving aluminium body, giving the normally-aspirated 5-litre petrol V8 a lighter load to move.
Despite its lack of force feeding the 5-litre V8 feels strong and lusty with 283kW and 515Nm on offer, and a subdued growl as charismatic vocal accompaniment. It’s good for a hot hatch-chomping 6.6 second 0-100km/h sprint at altitude, a governed 250km/h top speed, and mighty cruising and hillclimbing abilities.
It’s all the power most owners will ever need – which is just as well given the car sells for R1.1-million – but if you feel like spending more you can buy the supercharged versions which offer up to 375kW of power.
Or go for the R925 000 3.0 turbodiesel which is arriving in local Jag showrooms as you read this – it offers much less painful fuel consumption than the 17-odd litres per 100km averaged by the car in this road test.
In harmony with its modern exterior garb, the XJ also leaps into the 21st century with its plush but high-tech passenger quarters.
The XJ’s traditional J-gate gearshift has been dumped in favour of a rotary knob that glides up out of its flush-fitted panel when you start the car. First introduced in the smaller Jaguar XJ, it has a very James Bond feel to it.
The “virtual” instrument panel is fully digital but not in a cheesy Tokyo-boy-racer way; the graphics are analog-look and you still watch needles sweeping across rotary speedo and tacho dials in traditional style – it’s just that the needles and numbers are light pixels.
In the centre of the fascia is a touchscreen user interface for the satnav, audio and climate controls. It features Dual-View allowing the driver and front passenger to look at different content on the same screen. For example, the passenger can watch television or a DVD movie, while the driver views route navigation mapping.
The touchscreen system is mostly quite intuitive and user-friendly except for having to press the screen quite hard – I would have preferred it to react to a softer touch.
Blind spot assist and Adaptive Cruise Control (which automatically maintains a safe following distance to the car in front) are among a raft of safety features.
If there was a fear that being taken over by Tata would result in any quality corner-cutting at Jaguar, there is no evidence of it in the XJ. The body shutlines, paintwork and interior finishes are all impeccable and I reckon the Queen and her Corgis would feel at home amongst all the cowhide, chrome and wood.
A panoramic sunroof comes standard, while a wrap-around wooden veneer circles the cockpit and comes in eight different material choices.
However, the XJ we tested unfortunately broke down and failed to start one day. Jaguar SA, which explained it was an early production unit which hadn’t been given a software update, gave us a second car which didn’t develop any problems.
When all’s working as it should, the XJ’s driving dynamics live up to the promise of the sophisticated but sporty styling. This is primarily a grand tourer that covers distance in swift, silent, and bump-soaking grace, but it doesn’t shy away from a set of bends either. Continuously variable damping continually softens and stiffens the suspension according to the road situation.
Press a button marked with a chequered flag and the car changes character and grows metaphorical fangs. The air suspension hardens, the throttle response quickens, the light around the instrument panel turns an appropriate red, and the seatbelt tightens against your chest. It all says: Hang on baby, we’re going for a ride.
VERDICT
The new XJ marks Jaguar breaking the final link with its stuffy past, as it celebrates its 75th anniversary year.
Whereas the old XJ was still the car for tweed-wearing, silver-whiskered gents of a certain age, its replacement follows the smaller XF’s lead and takes Jaguar’s luxury flagship into the new millennium.
But it does so without losing the charisma that has always differentiated the marque from the Germans.
It’s a stunning piece of work with all the comfort, glamour and driving dynamics expected of a million buck limo.
I find its failure to make the list of finalists in next year’s SA Car of the Year competition inexplicable. - Drive Times