Forward leap with Jaguar

The world stood in awe when in 1968 Sir William Lyons, the founder of the Jaguar marque, unveiled his XJ 6 masterpiece saloon. With its sublime beauty being way ahead of the times, the car was unlike any other saloon on the road. Naturally, it went on to be a resounding success, with the Mark 2 XJ going on to be the best-selling luxury car in the UK. Sadly though, after this brief glorious streak, Coventry got mired in its storied past and didn't care to reinvent the saloon according to changing times. As a result, even after 40 years, the XJ still looked unlike any other saloon on the road, though not in the same way as the original XJ did. The competition had zoomed ages ahead leaving the staid XJ looking like a remnant of the past, and even hardcore loyalists of the brand started looking elsewhere for a luxury saloon.

So when Jaguar's design director Ian Callum set about redrawing the stagnant lines of the company's flagship saloon, his mandate was simple and clear; come up with "a thoroughly modern interpretation of the quintessential Jaguar." Of course, the company's new design direction had already been set by the 2006 XK and the XF a year later. So most of us believed that the redesigned XJ was going to look like a supersized XF, though it was the C-XF concept shown the same year that mostly formed the basis for the next XJ. When the car was finally unveiled last year, Jaguar again managed to leave the automotive world gaping in astonishment. Although we had to wait nearly 12 months to actually get our hands on it, we are still among the first in the region to have driven Jag's game-changer.

Grace in motion

Having been bombarded with press images of the car over the past months, I thought I knew what to expect. But honestly, pictures do not tell half the story. Jaguar has pulled off a design coup with the all-new XJ. It's a beautiful car that's way better looking than any of its competitors. In fact, it's yet another Jaguar that looks unlike any other saloon.

Although at first glance the new model looks entirely different from the original XJ or the subsequent versions, Callum explained how it still links to the original. The wide and upright grille with the growler badge in the middle is evidently taken from the XF, which had taken its cues from the XJ6. The slim headlamp clusters resemble the ones seen on the 2007 C-XF concept, but house two lamps on either side, just like the 1968 original. The bonnet design, with a power dome in the centre, has also been inspired by the first model. Apart from these very subtle hints from the past, the XJ's sleek, flowing lines clearly indicate a sure-footed step towards the future.

The XJ doesn't look particularly big from the front, but it's when you walk around to the side that you realise it's indeed a car of formidable proportions. Its streamlined profile is accentuated by the stretched teardrop shape of the side windows — or daylight opening in design-speak — and the low roofline flows gracefully down the rakish wraparound rear window on to the boot. Jaguar has kept the exterior details elegant and simple. There are just two lines that subtly break the smooth flow of the profile; the waistline that runs along the length of the car starting from the front arch all the way to the rear bumper, and a crease on the lower half that adds to the car's crouching stance.

The simplest looking, yet most controversial bit of the new car is the rear end. Nothing but a flowing sheet of metal with the only ornamentation being a leaping cat in the middle, it had the scribes divided. Many were of the opinion that more detail would have rounded off the back end better. However, I personally find the rear a perfect match to the rest of the car, with the LED rear clusters featuring three red vertical strips that signify the extended claws of the car's namesake.

Locked and loaded

The grace and sophistication of the exterior is carried forward to the interior as well, which is unarguably the most stylish in class.

Large doors make climbing in and out easy and a pure, minimalist design of the fully leather-clad dash with just a handful of buttons and knobs is a welcome break from the confusing clutter seen in other cars of the segment. A strip of wood veneer sweeps along the entire dashboard in a graceful arch and merges with wood panels on the doors. The round air vents and the centre console are finished in a combination of high-gloss piano black and chrome metal, while the phosphor blue lighting adds a sense of drama to the interior.

The 20-way adjustable seats (I didn't try all 20 though) have the usual heating, cooling and massage options that have come to be standard in the class now. They're comfortable alright, but if you happen to be a six-footer and want to lift the driver's seat up so you can see a bit of the bonnet, you'll find your head just about an inch away from the low roof. However, this doesn't in any way make you feel claustrophobic, as the panoramic glass roof helps enhance the sense of space inside. And there's a lot of it inside the XJ L, the longer wheelbase version which I got to drive on the first day. The massive 12in TFT screen behind the three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel houses the virtual instrument cluster with three dials. There's also an 8in centre display which has touch screen controls for everything from sat-nav and seat ventilation to the brilliant 1,200W Bowers & Wilkins audio system pounding through 20 speakers.

Spirited drive

Engine options include the base 385bhp naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8, the supercharged version that churns out 470 horses and the 510bhp lump that's available only in the top end Supersport model. There's also a 3.0-litre V6 diesel available for other markets.

The biggest endorsement of the XJ's striking design came when we unleashed a convoy of these beasts on the unsuspecting holidaymakers out in Paris on Easter Sunday. There was not a single person, walking, cycling or driving, who didn't pause to take a second or even third look at the car, evidently impressed. The drive from Versailles through the breathtakingly beautiful countryside in the arrondissement of Pontoise to the stately Chateau de Mery and then to the Hippodrome in Chantilly on the second day, threw a varied mix of roads at us making it easy to test the car's capabilities. Hit the button on the centre console with a chequered flag on it and the Dynamic mode kicks in, which firms up the suspension. In this mode, the XJ, especially the 510bhp Supersport, offers one of the most precise and engaging drives in a saloon this size. This is mainly due to lightweight aluminium architecture that's 11 per cent stiffer than the previous version, and continuously variable dampers that keep adjusting the suspension settings according to terrain variations and driving patterns. There's an additional Winter mode, for greater grip in slippery conditions.

All the engine variants are coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission, according extremely smooth and seamless shifts and controlled by the same rotary shifter on the centre console seen in the XK and the XF. If you need a more involved drive, there is the manual mode with steering mounted paddle shifters.

Verdict

The agility and responsiveness of the Supersport make it a much better drive than both the S-Class and the 7 Series and even a less expensive alternative to the likes of the astonishing Porsche Panamera. When it finally goes on sale in the UAE by the end of May, the XJ will be available at a price range of Dh310,000 to Dh340,000, making it an attractive proposition.

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