Jaguar XJ: love at fist sight by Ian Beasant, motoring correspondent
Jaguar is really a success story, since being bought over by The Indian corporation TATA and completely re designing and introducing new models which are all selling extremely well with exports at record levels. I must admit I love a good news story and it something of a rarity at the moment. Jaguarʼs factories are even running three shifts in their factories and recruiting 1000 new jobs ‒ brilliant.
The all new XJ is a point in present, built around a monocoque chassis it is riveted and epoxy bonded; this makes it lighter and stiffer and is very similar to the way FI cars are built. On top of the chassis is a beautiful very modern, sporty and charismatic body. Even though the car I drove was a long wheelbase car it did not look just like a stretched model ‒ it looked really handsome.
I drove a 3.0 litre diesel engined version which is V6 with a power output of 275 hp and 0.60 sprint time of 6.0 seconds a top speed limited to 155mph! ‒ So this big cat is no slouch. Fuel economy was really impressive for such a big car as 40 mpg was easily achievable. All Jaguar XJ are fitted with adaptive suspension which automatically adapts to the road constantly ‒ and yea it works a treat, it is always comfortable and at the same time gives the driver a nice sporty feel to the car with little or no body roll at all. Driving the XJ is a real pleasure as for such a big car ‒ it does not feel big on the road ‒ well except when you are looking for a parking space or two. The engine is silky smooth and very torquey the gear box is a sequential automatic or if you want you can play with the paddle shift behind the steering wheel. The XJ allows you to select a sport programme on the transmission which allows higher engine revs in each gear before it upshifts. This is all controlled by the Jaguar drive selector; this is an alloy rotary dial between the front seats which rises from the centre console when you start the engine. This is
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then used to operate your choice programme for the transmission; itʼs simple and looks gorgeous.
The interior is fit for any Statesman, Royalty, Popstars and Moviestars well really it so good it would suit anybody. The build quality and design is just way ahead of anything I have driven in this class for a long time. The XJ offers comfort, opulence, plenty of room, a beautiful finish and itʼs filled with extras including TVʼS yes TVʼS. The XJ offers a dual view on its very easy to use touchscreen dash ‒ this means the TV can be turned on and the rear passengers can watch as can the front seat passenger.
The in car entertainment is made by a British manufacturer ‒Bowers& Wilkins and is the best radio I have heard in any car. The big Jaguar with its full length sunroof, its tremendous road presence and its modern styling is a brilliant car in everything it does. The quality and thought that went into the design is outstanding and the build quality is the best I have come across. I can only describe it as a drivers and passenger car because it does both so well. Jaguar is really back on the map with all their models and to be truthful I think leading the pack.
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