Topic: Test Drive: 2012 Jaguar XJ

[Autos_Editor]

Every drive in the Jaguar XJ is an occasion, says Jonathan Yarkony.

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[dragonfly]

  Aaaaghhhh...103 thousand big ones!!!   I love this car...It's , perhaps, one of the most gorgeous cars on the road...What an interior..
  I love everything about it, except, of course, it's price...Did I mention Aaaaggghhh....hehehe... Thanks . You lucky dog   Jack

[aaronk]

A supremely elegant cruiser, to be sure. I'm surprised at the observed firmness of the ride - was this a 'sport' model of some kind? I guess I just expect big Jags to sort of 'float' - perhaps something they are trying to get away from.

[lebowski]

Hats off to Jag for having the guts to try something truly different with their redesign.  Definitely prefer the looks of the SWB version though - this LWB version looks ungainly.

[Arthur Dent]

It is certainly a beauty!

[carcrazed]

saw one on the road the other day.. the pictures do not do justice for this fine automobile.
I'm only 29, but love the XJ.. is there something wrong with me?

[sailor723]

Still can't get over the lack of hood ornaments on luxury cars these days. No star on Benzs or big cat on Jags just doesn't seem right....too much of a break with tradition for me.

[tooscoops]

that is a very elegant car...

it made me go back and read some older reviews of s-types and such saying that the jag brand was dead and couldn't come up with any good designs...

kudos to proving them wrong. that is a very pretty car... though the price tag seems pretty high as well.

looking through the pics, i found the seats to looks rather.... blah... maybe in a different colour scheme it would look more impressive. also in the pics... that egg mcmuffin looked tasty.

[carcrazed]

Still can't get over the lack of hood ornaments on luxury cars these days. No star on Benzs or big cat on Jags just doesn't seem right....too much of a break with tradition for me.

Too many people steal the hood ornaments from those cars.  Plus, although insignificant, it can't help with the aerodynamics, either.

[hemusbull]

What is funny for me is the fact the Jaguar's observed gas mileage of 12.7 l is much more in line with its own official rating of 13.8/8.9 L/100 km than last week's Hyundai Sonata Hybrid with observed 7.2 and official rating of 5.5/4.6 L/100 km. This comparison isn't without something common between the both - they are cars with extremly quick depreciation, although in different class and price range.

[Mike]

Still can't get over the lack of hood ornaments on luxury cars these days. No star on Benzs or big cat on Jags just doesn't seem right....too much of a break with tradition for me.

Too many people steal the hood ornaments from those cars.  Plus, although insignificant, it can't help with the aerodynamics, either.

The E Class Mercedes has a nice three star hood ornament on it.

[jyarkony]

Still can't get over the lack of hood ornaments on luxury cars these days. No star on Benzs or big cat on Jags just doesn't seem right....too much of a break with tradition for me.

Too many people steal the hood ornaments from those cars.  Plus, although insignificant, it can't help with the aerodynamics, either.

I believe it is because of pedestrian safety regulation in most markets, but I'm guessing you could get one installed if you shopped around.

[jyarkony]

A supremely elegant cruiser, to be sure. I'm surprised at the observed firmness of the ride - was this a 'sport' model of some kind? I guess I just expect big Jags to sort of 'float' - perhaps something they are trying to get away from.

as i said in the review, the firmness also surprised me, but it is just so fitting—this is like a dliettante athlete that can play any sport well without really trying, but also not necessarily being an Olympic calibre. It certainly handles better than the LS Mike had a couple months back, and I suspect that the Mercedes S-Class will also fall shorts of the Jag on dynamics—I'll drive an S 350 Bluetec in a couple weeks that should get even better mileage even if it might not be as dynamic as the Jag. But years ago I drove an A8 W12, and even with that tank engine over the front nose, the thing handled like it belonged in a movie about a guy who drives getaway cars...  and i drove an S8 at one point, so I was ruined forever after that... I have been pretty lucky, eh.

[sailor723]

this car is absolutely gorgeous.  i wish jag made a car that competed with the 3 series/a4/c class.   the xf starts at 60k!!!!

Jag tried selling a 40K car....it was called the Mondeo 

[mmret]

I'm only 29, but love the XJ.. is there something wrong with me?

I kind of like it too, though I wouldn't buy one even if I had the means.

Regarding the weight... I wonder if you can feel it relative to the S/7/A8? In the corners I can believe but is there a downside of less "solidity" over bumps and on the highway etc?

[aquadorhj]

this car is absolutely gorgeous.  i wish jag made a car that competed with the 3 series/a4/c class.   the xf starts at 60k!!!!

Jag tried selling a 40K car....it was called the Mondeo 

LOL.  the X-type was ...less than thrilling.  but if another one came along with XJ-mini styling, spread of 2.0T, 3.0T and 5L V8 engines, I ...  would be swayed..

[jyarkony]

this car is absolutely gorgeous.  i wish jag made a car that competed with the 3 series/a4/c class.   the xf starts at 60k!!!!

Jag tried selling a 40K car....it was called the Mondeo 

the sad days of ford ownership have passed.   it's really unfortunate that people don't think jag can produce a 40k dollar 3 series competitor.  i suppose it isn't necessary but i wonder why they can't.  it's such a lucrative market segment.  a mini xj would be amazing.

The XF is a mini XJ...

I think they found that the X-Type jus ruined the mystique of Jaguar, for which exclusivity is part of their DNA. But now that they are out from under Ford Umbrella, they can probably do something without the Ford roots, but doubt it would be worth it for them profit wise unless their next generation platform is a scalable aluminum frame like Lotus...

And I actually thought 100K was low for this car....

[OliverD]

this car is absolutely gorgeous.  i wish jag made a car that competed with the 3 series/a4/c class.   the xf starts at 60k!!!!

Jag tried selling a 40K car....it was called the Mondeo 

the sad days of ford ownership have passed.   it's really unfortunate that people don't think jag can produce a 40k dollar 3 series competitor.  i suppose it isn't necessary but i wonder why they can't.  it's such a lucrative market segment.  a mini xj would be amazing.

Jaguar is definitely working on a 3-series competitor. They have already developed engines that make sense (2.0 turbo and 3.0 supercharged) for a car that size. Car and Driver reports it will even be available with a manual!

[Jaeger]

Man, what a sleek ride.

[Jaeger]

 ^^^  

To be fair, it would make a lot of pretty good cars look like a POS.