The tamed English cat: The new 2010 Jaguar XJ
Not only does the XJ appear to be the measure of its German competitors, it may play a strong foil for the Maserati Quattroporte and Porsche Panamera. Thankfully, the lanky Leaping Cat is at last in proud form once again, and under the new leadership of India’s Tata Motors, they are building on the success […]
Not only does the XJ appear to be the measure of its German competitors, it may play a strong foil for the Maserati Quattroporte and Porsche Panamera.
Thankfully, the lanky Leaping Cat is at last in proud form once again, and under the new leadership of India’s Tata Motors, they are building on the success of the massively impressive Jaguar XF of 2008. By our reckoning, that car was the first clear indication from chief designer Ian Callum and Company that not only did Jaguar understand that it had a past – it might have the blueprint for a bright future as well. As it reasserts its claim to the flagship slot in Coventry’s line-up, the new XJ finds itself with big shoes to fill. Is it up to the task?
The 2006 XK may have been the start of Jaguar’s recovery, but we didn’t really allow ourselves to find faith again until the XF, as it was a markedly more up-to-date, nearly clean-sheet take what a modern Jag could be – what a modern Jag needed to be in order for the brand to stay relevant. Admittedly, the XF’s styling wasn’t to everybody’s tastes (especially the lack of a gear stick)and certain interior details rubbed some the wrong way, but it was a very, very good car right out of the box, with unmistakable yet forward-thinking design, a surprise-and-delight interior, and highly entertaining road manners. Subsequent updates in commendably quick succession gave the XF more modern gasoline and diesel engines, as well as the amazingly quick XF-R, which I totally crazy about.
This then brings us neatly to the all-new 2010 XJ. After the XF rolled into showrooms, the outgoing XJ couldn’t help but look dated. Never mind that we are told it’s a good drive – or that its aluminium chassis was state-of-the-art – it didn’t matter, because not only did it look the same as the model before it – and the model before that -– it now shared floor space with the XF’s Cool Britannia, rendering it as current and desirable as presidential toy to golfing.
In profile, the XJ’s size becomes apparent but not overwhelming; with a surprisingly thin A-pillar leading the greenhouse with a tapered chrome surround that gets thicker at the rear by the D-pillar, the latter inarguably the design’s most controversial detail (it remains finished in piano black to emphasize the greenhouse form regardless of body colour). Below the glass area is a tornado line that runs uninterrupted from the headlamps (which have a BMW 3 Series-esque wishbone) to the tail-lamps, and the XJ eschews the larger vertical fender vent of the XF in favour of a slim horizontal fillet just behind the front wheel well. The rear window line (again, emphasized by the blacked-out D-post) is incredibly rakish and nicely integrates what might otherwise be an unflatteringly deep overhang. Lest we forget – that panoramic moon roof comes as standard-fit on every model.
The XJ’s rear graphic is completely unlike any Jaguar we can recall, with a simple, sheer drop-off in the boot lid (under which you’ll find a vast 18.4 cubic-foot trunk), a pair of tapering vertical LED tail-lamps, a sizable metal leaper and nicely integrated exhaust outlets. In person, if anything, the rear end feels a bit Gallic or Italian, reminding alternatively of the Citroen C6 or perhaps the Lancia Thesis. Perhaps more than any other view, the XJ’s rear aspect is the one that translates least well to photographs, but it fits well in person, even if it will take a bit of time to get used to. Either way, with a .29 cD, officials reckon it’s the most aerodynamic Jaguar ever built.
From the net, we were given the chance to see the XJ in several different shades of paint, and the design has real presence. It looks particularly sensational in black. Lighter colours bring out the surface detailing more, but in that ebony shade, the darkened rear pillar ceases to become a controversial detail, the panoramic roof blends in, and the whole car looks at once.
Light on weight
Like its predecessor, the XJ’s chassis features aluminium construction (augmented with bits of magnesium and composite alloys), which enables this big boy to be tremendously light. Jaguar’s managing director Mike O’Driscoll confided to us that the XJ’s body-in-white is actually lighter than that of a Mini Cooper. All-in, the company figures this new model will weigh slightly less than the significantly smaller XF – making it at least 300 pounds lighter than its chief competitors (primarily the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Audi A8), though the difference can be as much as to 570 pounds. Fully 50% of the aluminium in the XJ is composed of post-recycled stock, and 85% of the total car is recyclable.
The rest of the XJ’s interior is marked out by a round theme, with circular elements notable everywhere from the steering wheel boss to the speaker grilles; various control knobs, and so on. We expected the XJ to adopt the XF’s showy motorized rollover air vents, but instead, Jag has gone with classy spherical metal and piano black pieces that echo the “organ stop” air registers of their countrymen over at Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
Even the analogue gauges are surrounded by chromed rings. Only they aren’t really chrome – and come to think of it, they aren’t really analogue at all. The entire gauge cluster is a massive 12.3-inch TFT screen, and in addition to virtual gauges (speedo, rev counter, fuel, temp), the displays can show all manner of information as well as do some neat tricks like unique start-up visuals and the ability to ‘spotlight’ key information like fading out the tachometer in favour of a low fuel warning, say. In another interesting twist, if the car’s Dynamic mode is selected, the ‘gauges’ glow red and the transmission’s gear indicator becomes more prominent.
As with the XF, many functions are controlled by a touch screen setup, and mercifully Jag says this is a new generation that’s significantly faster to change through menus and plot routes in the sat-nav system. Regardless of which audio system you choose or what input you are playing, the eight-inch screen will be your guide unless you use the voice controls, which is actually beautifully simple to operate, employing “speak what you see” prompts that display the available choices on the screen in the instrument binnacle.
Plump for the headrest-mounted rear-seat screens, and the XJ’s “theatre on the move” system can route four different signals at the same time, so the rear seat occupants, driver, and front-seat passenger can all be listening to different things simultaneously. If that sounds confusing, the rear seaters are treated to infrared wireless headphones, and up front, for foreign market XJs, the aforementioned eight-inch touch screen will actually be a “dual view” monitor, meaning that the driver’s angle can see the high-definition navigation screen while the passenger can be watching a movie simultaneously on the same display. We understand that this technology is not yet legal in the U.S. for front seat use (presumably Washingtonians fears we’ll all lean way over to watch a movie from the passenger side while driving), but where there’s a hacker’s will, there’s a way…
Heart of the Cat
The engine line up is very much the same as its smaller siblings. With its light weight it will pull very nicely on the tarmac, though with a new car it has to receive some sort of upgrade. That of course is as results of introducing super chips for more power and performance.
The supercharged model will hit 60 mph in just 4.7 seconds, essentially obviating the need for a dedicated XJR model.
One of three variants on the company’s new 5.0-liter direct-injected AJ-III V8, two of them with forced induction. The base engine is a naturally aspirated mill that delivers a 385 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm and 380 pound-feet @ 3,500 rpm – representing a 28% increase in power over the base engine on the 2009 car. The midlevel engine is supercharged to produce 470 horsepower @ 6,000-6,500 rpm and 424 lb-ft (between 2,500-5,000 rpm) – 18% more than the outgoing supercharged model.
The top cat model’s motor (seen previously in the XKR and XFR) is the 510 horsepower SuperSport that delivers the full beans at 6,000-6,500 rpm and all 461 lb-ft of torque from 2,500-5,500. Given that this car figures to weigh as much as the XFR, we expect similar performance, especially considering it gets the same electronically governed rear differential, Jag’s Adaptive Dynamics system and the three-mode Jaguar Drive Control with Normal, Dynamic and Winter detents. The latter governs everything from throttle mapping and shift points to the aforementioned differential, stability control thresholds, suspension firmness (coil springs up front, air out back) and even seatbelt tightness. Official estimates say that the full-house supercharged model will hit 60 mph in just 4.7 seconds, essentially obviating the need for a dedicated XJR model – which the company says it doesn’t plan to offer.
All XJs are matched to six-speed paddle shift automatic gearboxes, with power arriving exclusively through the rear wheels. Jag tells us that an all-wheel-drive version isn’t in the cards, but an armoured version very much is. I’m sure it will work well but I’m not a fan of paddle shifter, DSG or whatever you want to call it.
Incidentally, the XJ will be available from launch in both standard and extended-wheelbase (XJL) forms, with the latter receiving a further five inches of legroom (the stretch is well-disguised in the rear doors – the rear fender and quarter light remain the same, but the door glass is longer).
On the safety front, expect more airbags than a hot air balloon festival, along with options like pre-charged braking, a blind-spot monitoring system, adaptive cornering headlamps (Xenon are standard), and so on.