The most old-fashioned looking big executive car on sale until recently had, ironically, the highest tech body. The just superseded Jaguar XJ saloon had retro carriage-clock style. Yet that old-fashioned tweed suit clothed an astonishingly youthful and athletic car. It was high tech mostly because of its intelligent use of aluminium. While big Mercedes and BMW saloons ride around on steel chassis and use mostly steel body panels, the XJ has aircraft-style, riveted and bonded aluminium. This gives numerous advantages – not least lighter weight (by around 150kg), which means better performance, handling and braking. Aluminium is also more recyclable, more durable and more corrosion resistant.
The outgoing XJ, first launched in 2003, was a thoroughly modern car crying out for thoroughly modern clothes. The new XJ, just on sale, finally delivers.
Design director Ian Callum is quick to point out that Jaguar style has not always been ‘old fashioned’. Far from it. The E-type sports car – 50 years old next year – was extraordinarily advanced. If a spaceship had landed on the Jaguar stand at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show, rather than the futuristically rakish E-type, it could not have caused greater sensation. And the first XJ, 42 years ago, was equally bold and progressive.
The retro rot set in when Ford took the helm in 1989. Ford was convinced that Jaguar’s ‘brand DNA’ (to use the marketing puff) was all about classic styling and traditional cabins: more Antiques Roadshow than Tomorrow’s World. Although there was nothing wrong with the technology, the company went through a prolonged phase of backward-looking style that tried to put a modern spin on its classic cars of yesteryear. The nadir was the S-type, a 21st century interpretation of the 60s Jaguar Mk2 of Inspector Morse fame. In a world that wanted modernity, it was an automotive anachronism, the car equivalent of a cravat. In the showroom, unsurprisingly, the S-type was outgunned by bang-up-to-date BMWs and Audis. The smaller Jaguar X-type and successive XJs were also about as avant-garde as Prince Charles.
Jaguar finally realised that boldness was necessary and hired Ian Callum, ex-design boss at Aston Martin, to make its cars brave again. His first big leap was the XF – Jaguar’s much-feted BMW 5-series competitor – launched two years ago. The new XJ, launched under new owner Tata, is another jump.
Its style combines Bentley grandeur with Maserati’s sporty elegance. “The best Jaguar saloons have always been sports saloons,” says Callum, “and we wanted a car that was both comfortable and fun to drive.” Note the meaty wheels and tyres and the chunky lower-body style. Yet the roofline is low, light and elegant, almost coupé-like. That, Callum contends, is very Jaguar. “We wanted to introduce a car that has some quintessential Jaguar cues yet also looks very modern.”
The result, judging from blogs, has proved as polarising as Chris Bangle’s early BMWs. There’s a Marmite-like love/hate reaction.
The car is high-tech in many ways, apart from its aluminium architecture. The instruments are ‘virtual’. When the ignition is off, a black hole stares at you from under the binnacle. When the engine is ignited, the computer graphics are illuminated. The gear selector
is a lovely knurled alloy rotary controller that magically rises from the centre console when the engine starts. It looks more computer- than car-industry.
The new XJ is a brilliant synthesis of nimble handling and comfort. No big luxury saloon does a better job of mingling sports and suppleness.
Gavin Green is a motoring journalist and consultant
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