XJ Motortrend - First Drive: Jaguar XJ

[ree]

"A Jaguar has to have a point of view," says Jaguar design director Ian Callum as we walk around the sleek new 2010 XJ sedan. "We can't do what everyone else has done."The irony is, of course, that "everyone else" -- specifically, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi -- has spent the past four decades refining a formula Jaguar itself established with the original 1968 XJ, building wood- and leather-lined luxury sedans with excellent performance and roadholding, and superlative comfort and refinement. But Callum's point is the Germans now so dominate the segment that Jaguar simply cannot do the sort of luxury car it has always done and expect to be noticed.

"We'd been drawn into their way of thinking," Callum says, "and we wanted to get away from that."

The 2010 XJ is a complete repudiation of its predecessor. Well, almost complete: The new car's body-in-white is again made from lightweight aluminum, and a number of platform architecture elements and component sets are carried over from the old car. And after riding in a long wheelbase Portfolio version with Jaguar chassis guru Mike Cross at the wheel, it clearly has the same delicate, cat-like grace on the road. But everything you can see and touch is a time warp away from the cloying back-to-the-60s ambience of the last XJ.The new XJ is defined by its dramatic swooping roofline and coupe-like greenhouse, architectural elements decided at the very beginning of the car's development program. Two generic CAD concept models, one a traditional three-box sedan, and one with a coupe-like profile, were shown to 100 potential customers in Los Angeles in late 2005. They overwhelmingly indicated the coupe-like concept was more appropriate for a Jaguar.

With that information in hand, Callum's team began developing theme models in early 2006. Seven different models, all coupe-like but with different surfacing and graphics, were narrowed to just three by mid-year. The production car is an evolution of the most daring of the three.The whole car's architecture hinges around the thin cant rails that arch rearward from the base of the windshield, says chief program engineer Andy Dobson. Without them, the XJ's upper would appear heavy, pressing down on slit-like windows as in the Chrysler 300C and Chevy Camaro. The sliding glass roof is a key enabling technology: Because it articulates up and over the top surface, it enabled Dobson's engineers to reduce the thickness the roof -- and therefore the vertical height of the cant rails -- by an inch.……

2011 Jaguar XJ First Ride - Motor Trend

 

[HighestOfHigh]

^Ok, if I had any doubts about this car they just went out the window. Looks outstanding in black!

Nice find ree

 

[martinbo]

I agree - it looks its best in black.

That said, I'm losing the feeling for that faux-glass-blacked-out D-pillar. Too many discordant, jarring lines. It really does end up making the car look a little, say, French. I'd far prefer to see a solid, flowing D-pillar in regular metal bodywork with a lick of good ol' fashioned paint.

 

[mentir]

I agree - it looks its best in black.

That said, I'm losing the feeling for that faux-glass-blacked-out D-pillar. Too many discordant, jarring lines. It really does end up making the car look a little, say, French. I'd far prefer to see a solid, flowing D-pillar in regular metal bodywork with a lick of good ol' fashioned paint.

I like the idea of the blacked out c-pillar, especially on lighter body colors like silver or white, and I do think it breaks up the mass in the rear of the car as intended. That said, I think the design would look just fine without them.

My choice of exterior would be this metallic black shown at Frankfurt so the blacked out c-pillars aren't really necessary.

 

[Merc1]

I hope this car's design comes together in person because in pictures it is just plain goofy and ill-proportioned. It does look expensive and unique though, just not pretty or balanced. Final verdict will await local dealer having one on their lot.

M