(first posted 8/29/2015) I really can’t point the exact moment where luxury cars stopped being about how comfortable, refined and enjoyable they could make the journey for the plutocrat driving it and more about just how many gizmos and new technology they could fit in them. But even on a sea of computers and automatic gearboxes with ten settings for the ferocity of the gearchanges (can I have mine on “Fluid Drive”?) you could always turn to Jaguar for your old-fashioned, luxury car needs. Or at least you could until this went out of production. Although that may not necessarily be a bad thing.
For starters, the designs and the interior accommodations may have been old fashioned, but the underpinnings were fantastically modern. Aluminum construction, multi-link suspension rear suspension and optional adjustable air suspension would certainly make monocles pop-out, or at least bring back horrible, horrible memories of Hydragas suspensions. The new for 2004 XJ’s (or Forduars as some call them) were bigger in every dimension – the new short-wheelbase was three inches longer than the previous models long-wheelbase – and they were also much wider and taller than its predecessor, although weighed roughly the same.
I like the design, but comparing it to the previous design you can see why some people call it bloated. It really does seem like someone took an air compressor to an X308 and filled it like it was a bouncy castle. The unfortunate grille did it no favors either. But compared to the big cars of its time it looks the part. It was arugably better looking than the 7-Series and the Maseratti Quattroporte and about on par with the S-class and the Audi A8, but where the XJ won was with its interior.
Yes, I know that everyone, especially Britons, are tired of the stereotypical Mary Poppins, Jane Austen, Tweed, Tally-Ho-vicar heritage that England is all too commonly associated with. But when it comes to applying that to automotive interior design it just means that you end up with a lovely place to sit and rack up the miles. Yes, it may cause you to want to put a picture of the queen on the dash on occasion, but that just means that you find the interior homely. Nothing wrong with that if you ask me. Pair it up with the supercharged V8 and you end up with the ultimate gentleman’s express.
Speaking of which, in Europe you could get these with one of the best diesels available at the time: a 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 that was a joint venture of Ford in conjunction with Peugeot, it developed 201 horsepower and 321 lb-ft of torque. That meant 35 MPG and 0-60 in 8.2 seconds. The XJ6 name also made a comeback, with a 3.0-liter unit producing 232 horses. Neither of those engines made it stateside. There you only had the 4.2-liter AJ-V8 in either naturally-aspirated 300 hp or Supercharged 400 hp flavor. Woe. Regardless of engine, the transmission was a ZF-sourced 6-speed automatic.
The one I dreamed about as a kid however was this: the 155 MPH Super V8 Portfolio. What it was, essentially, was a long-wheelbase Jaguar Vanden Plas (Daimler in europe) with the Supercharged V8 of the XJR. It was the most expensive Jaguar for sale at the time. 2007 brought a facelift, coded X358, that brought a much needed new grille, other styling details and new front seats that improved rear legroom without sacrificing comfort. Everything else remained unchanged. But for those that were disappointed in how little it had changed, Jaguar had quite the surprise in store. A surprise that had been in development since 2006 and that was locked in even before the X358 was launched to the public.
It was only a matter of time before Jaguar decided to move as far away from the “Heritage Britain” image as humanly possible. Jaguar’s chief designer, Ian Callum, had already modernized the image of the brand with the XK in 2007 and the XF in 2008. A complete revision of the big Jag that’d bring it in line with the rest of the lineup was inevitable. In 2009 the all-new XJ was released and…Alright, there’s no subtle way of writing this. It lost absolutely everything that made it distinctive. It still screams “Big Car” and that’s a very good thing. Unfortunately, it no longer screams “Jaguar”. And some of the styling touches, like the blacked-out D-pillar, just don’t make sense at all. Maybe they’re there to make us think that there was an error in the factory when building it so we get some of that old BL-vibe.
However, you won’t hear me complaining even a tiny little bit about the interior, it’s absolutely fantastic to my eyes. Yes, it stopped looking like the inside of a country house and started looking like a nightclub. But I’m sorry, I adore it. The subtle touches of brushed aluminum and despite having a touchscreen, it still has buttons and thus remains usable. The interior itself is bathed in customizable lighting. And then we get to the LCD screen which, apart from being absolutely gorgeous, brings untold possibilities to the dashboard. To mention one, in case something goes pear-shaped the dash is not limited to give you a vague idiot light, but instead can pop up a large icon with a description of the problem, which would be easier to see and more difficult to ignore.
Ideally, I’d love to have this interior on an old-style XJ, as it would’ve been absolutely sensational. The Jag purists would’ve loved the fact that the exterior kept true to the image that Sir William Lyons envisioned when creating the first XJ yet updated for the gadget-obsessed limo buyer of today. Such a buyer would’ve considered the Jag because it looked different from all the S-Classes in their pay grade’s parking lot but without sacrificing much in the way of toys. As it stands, the current XJ just looks like another big car, but we can take solace in one thing…
…you can still have it with brown leather and wood.
Curbside pictures courtesy of William Stopford
I kind of think Ford should’ve held onto that new XJ design for itself in the divorce, adapted it to Mustang running gear and sold it as a Lincoln Continental. With body-color D pillars.
great idea.
Sadly, Jaguar is not the only luxury car maker to have lost its way. If you want someone to blame for it, and want a “Patient Zero” to mark the starting point, then the original Lexus 400 is it.
Before that car, every luxury car had some signature point that made it stand out. Mercedes had engineering and quality. BMW was the gentleman’s racer. Jaguar had “Pace and Grace” with wonderful wood and leather comfort. Cadillac (in its day) had space, comfort, and silence. Acura (hey, but this is the original old-days quality Legend Acura ) introduced customer pampering.
Then Lexus combined them all together. Perhaps they didn’t get every element as perfect as the signature brand they were copying, but the gestalt was amazing. Everyone else had to scramble to catch up.
Today, everyone has all the essential elements in place. So, until someone breaks the paradigm, the makers are left with trivial things on which to compete. Worse, once somebody adds a gimcrack everyone else has to follow.
My 2014 5-Series is an example of the dangers of this route however. With computer controlled suspension, electric steering, a small turbo engine, and gimcracks and hehaws out the Kazoo, it is no longer a BMW somehow, but a German copy of a Japanese car. There is no road feel and no electric-motor straight-six torque. While I have no real complaints about the car after a year, I have decided that if I am going to drive a Lexus copy anyhow, I might as well drive the real thing, so it’s Lexus for me next time.*
* As proof that hope springs eternal in the human breast, and that fools follow their hearts through Hell, IF Alfa manages to get the new Guilia to market by the end of 2016, I will
buylease -I’m stupid, but not crazy lease one. A man just has to believe that Alfa will still have some Italian personality in there, even if it is only that it breaks down a lot.The Alfa Romeo Giulia will be on the market next year, no doubt. It’s a BMW 3-series competitor though, not a BMW 5-series fighter. This is FCA’s BMW 5-series opponent, the Maserati Ghibli.
Sadly I have to agree with you about the F10 5 Series. We have a 2013 535i, and even though it is equipped with the sport package, it’s just somehow lost that edge that I used to love in older BMWs. My wife is happy enough with it (though her eye wanders to other cars, which she never used to do when BMW made BMWs). As for me, I’d rather have our E39 or E34 5’ers back…
I would also be a prime candidate for the Alfa, worries and all, just because it looks to have a great sporting personality, which seems to have been anesthetized out of the segment.
F10? The current one is called F10?
Has Car and Driver done an F10 vs. F10 comparison yet? 😉
If they did, I think the Datsun would be noted for having better, more direct steering feel than the BMW…
I owned an indigo and parchment 2007 XJ8 from 07-11. My company had done really well in 05-06 so I rewarded myself. Most of my business colleagues were around 60 and I was 38 so I also hoped it would enhance my credibility. Lot of those guys calling me son during negotiations. Maddening. So Gerardo it was fun to go down memory lane with you about this car.
The good. Don’t under estimate how much the aluminum construction helped this car. The 300hp V8 had only 3600 pounds to push around. The response was immediate. I drove an 08 BMW 640 and 740 during one of those breast cancer benefits that BMW did and my car felt much more like the zippy 640 than the lumbering 740, that seemed to have a lot of inertia to overcome. On the inside the wood, leather and headliner were of very high quality. The seat support was a notch or two below the V90 seats that were the best ever in my family cars. The V90 also had slightly better steering feel, again to my tastes, the best I have experienced. The mileage of the XJ8 was quite good, 18 around town and 28 on the highway.
The bad. There were some quality issues. When the car was built the parking brake was not hooked up. This happened on the test drive, when the warning message appeared. They “fixed” it, but half way home after buying it the warning message reappeared. I went back and it turned out that they of course reset the warning and didn’t bother to check the actual parking brake. The factory had obviously done that too as they claimed a 20 mile quality road test at the factory. So this minor slipup managed to show the poor quality control of the factory and dealer. Other minor problems were rear brakes that only lasted 35k mainly highway miles and constantly beeping parking sensors. The car also lost 2/3rds of the 63k I paid for the car in 4 years and 40k miles, despite still looking and driving great, so resale value stunk. I was scared to own the car out of warranty.
The worst part of Jaguar ownership was frankly the anger of some. My barber for instance, who was my age and drove an old Pathfinder, always made a point of telling me when he saw a Jaguar broke down at the side of the road. I changed barbers, but the anger of people became palpable as the economy worsened. It became so I would hide the car from people I expected trouble from.
The ugly. The current XJ. Gerardo was right when he stated that the new one looks more like a night club than a country house. It is like Jaguar designed the car for the last owner instead of the first. Why do they all do that now? No longer a car for me.
You probably know, but if you drive luxury, you need to be able to tell the class warfare commandos to go eff themselves. At first I was apologetic, now I just get right back in their hoi polloi peasant faces. I’m not actually like that, but if you insist on being an a-hole, I’m going for broke on faux-riche obnoxiousness.
Hell, I’m just an undertaker who drives things like Caddies, Buicks, Lincolns and Chryslers-all of which have pretty much went or never left “near luxury” status. I even get that sort of crap from people who think its some sort of virtue to drive a rustbucked or penaltybox and wallow in commoness.
I am not sure the people are demonstrating what economic class they are from so much as their rudeness/poor upbringing. They were the ones bringing it up. The few really poor people seemed more excited to see it.
I am surprised it happened to you as an undertaker. I mean do they expect you to drive an old Accord painted black?
I didn’t explain well, but yes, it comes from rudeness poor upbringing and not mere economic class. Poorer people (and I’m speaking generally) like seeing nice cars and they don’t tend to make asinine comments about their drivers. In my experience, such commentary seems more a product of middle/upper middle self-loathing class guilt they got from somewhere and/or some of it is from the kind of mindset that thinks that if you ever happen to get into a better socio-economic situation and/or develop interests and tastes outside of the usual scope of your born in situation then you must think you are “better” than the rest of “your people”. That’s how I see it, at least.
Its not with the hearses or limos, its more with the lead cars (which are unmarked and unaltered) or my own personal vehicles which are typically the same kind of cars I drive for work because that’s what I like. I, at least, really don’t see Cadillac and Lincoln as that “exclusive” and Buick and Chrysler haven’t been for quite some time but they seem to have some cachet to some degree still and for some reason pisses certain kinds of people off.
In other words, its the kind of people that get uncomfortable if you wear a suit, or if you actually try to speak/write properly, or know what fork to start with. Regardless of how much money they were raised with or make now, they just have a very uncouth and misguided egalitarian attitude.
Excellent commentary, Dominic.
enjoyed this commentary as well- well said
You don’t get to see it very often. What I don’t like is the bulky and “heavy” looking rear end.
A while ago I found the 2014 sales numbers and market shares of the F-segment cars in Europe, so the automakers’ flagships. The Mercedes S-Class was the King, is the King and most likely will always be the King as long as Daimler AG is around. By an almost unbelievable margin. And look at the position of the Lexus LS.
For those who are interested, here are all segments:
http://fiatgroupworld.com/2015/03/30/fca-europe-2014-sales-results-insights/
My impression of the Lexus LS is that it is much the same car that it was in 1989. It really isn’t of course, but I think it has not improved nearly as much as its competition. The new Cadillac CT6 may be competitive with the LS. In 1989 Cadillac was barely competitive with the Avalon.
We still have a few official Cadillac dealerships throughout the country. The last model I saw quite regularly was the 1992 and later Seville. I like that model, and the contemporary Eldorado.
Here’s a 2003 Seville STS, it fits between the lines just fine !
This particular STS has three significant milestones for Cadillac.
It was first Cadillac model to be built at the factory in both left and right hand drive version. The export version was also built along with US version at the factory rather than shipping the US version out to the conversion specialist to be modified for export market, specifically Europe, as it was a common practice from 1970s to 1990s.
This STS was first Cadillac to be designed specifically as a five-metre car for the European market. The five-metre length is important for lot of European buyers due to the lower taxation and standard parking space (they are commonly five metres in length).
The visual difference is subtle: the American version (5150 mm length) has thicker bumpers on both ends as to absorb the impact at higher speed of 5 mph without damage. The European version is roughly 200 mm shorter.
In the top segment just above 5.00 m length is the norm. The current Mercedes S-Class (the standard version, not the long one) is 5.12 m and a Maserati Quattroporte is 5.26 m.
For comparison, a Mercedes E-Class is 4.88 m.
The Seville’s successor, the STS, did absolutely nothing, saleswise.
Sure, Johannes Dutch, there are vehicles sold in Europe that are longer than five metres like Maybach 62 and Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase. Oh, yes, Mercedes-Benz S-Classes, BMW 7-Series, Audi A8, and others are pretty much common and everywhere in Germany.
My point is the buyers (and fleet buyers) in most European countries are influenced by the cost of registration, taxation, and insurance. Not to mention fuel cost. If they can afford all of three ‘necessary evils’, they can get larger, more powerful, thirstier, and such vehicles. The small variation in dimension or performance can make a huge difference. Look at Denmark and Italy, for example.
In the 1990s, Cadillac wanted to change how the Europeans perceive its products and to expand its sales base to include the mainstream buyers (rather than catering only to niche buyers for years). Cadillac pointed out that it had those three factors in mind when designing the Seville/STS for the European market.
Are the Cadillac dealers selling anything? What do they have for inventory? The CTS is just under 5 meters.
If you navigate to Cadillac Netherlands, with Cadillac Europe as the starting point, you end up here: http://www.cadillac.nl/
According to a Dutch car website, Cadillac sold 2 cars in the Netherlands in 2014….
The biggest problems are lack of advertisements, old perceptions of Cadillac products by Europeans, and skeletal sales channels.
Seeing Cadillac advertisements in German media are as common as spotting the unicorn. I cannot recall when was the last time I saw the advertisement for Cadillac.
Americans still conjuring up the images of self-disintegrating Olds diesel V8 every time they hear about diesel engines today even though it happened more than thirty years ago and the diesel technology had advanced so much. That’s how the Europeans still perceive Cadillac today: gargantuan, excessive, ostentatious, etc.
Oliver, it’s not a lack of advertisement. Europeans just don’t buy foreign cars (if you know what I mean) in the D-, E- and F-segment. And those are exactly Cadillac’s segments.
No matter how hard Cadillac will try, the European sales numbers will always be small beer. Just look at the sales numbers of Lexus and Infiniti. It took a brand like Audi at least 25 to 30 years to get them where they are now, and they were not even outsiders.
I think it’s a shame, the more variation, the better ! But sadly those days of variation in the higher segments are gone. Not one mainstream Euro-brand offers an E-segment car anymore model these days, let alone an F-segment flagship. With “mainstream” I mean brands like Ford, Opel, Renault and Peugeot. Cars like a Renault 25, a Peugeot 605, a Citroën C6, a Ford Scorpio or an Opel Senator.
I found the website. I think the dealers are multi brand import dealers. For Cadillac to get much of a market will require them to be considered a top brand name. Right now Mercedes and BMW are the benchmarks. Before World War Two Cadillac was probably the equal of most (not Rolls) luxury brands. After the war GM gradually fell behind in design while Mercedes became the undisputed leader. Where I live there are no nearby import luxury cars, so my choices are Lincoln or Cadillac.
I always thought that the 2004 Jaguar “X350” XJ (only XJ8 in the US) seemed “plain” compared to the XJ40/X300 that preceded it (which, in turn, seemed “plain” compared to the original XJ6). The styling came off as a blurry photocopy of a photocopy of a ’69…and it did virtually nothing to excite.
I’m also surprised that the X350 was bigger in every dimension, since its proportions make it seem smaller than what came before. The biggest culprit was the fixed glass in the rear doors…it made it seem as if the wheelbase was shortened from the XJ40/X300, causing the wheelarches to intrude into the passenger cabin. The beltline was also higher.
nlpnt,
When I was president of the Lincoln & Continental Owners Club in 2007, I sent a tracing of a retro ’63 Lincoln 4 door over a picture of the then slow selling XJ (see the attached picture), suggesting that, because it was the only “3 box” luxury car being made, The sketch showed that Ford could easily hold all the important hard points, reuse the front and front side glass and bring out a Lincoln Continental on the expensive to develop and underutilized platform. The response was…”Don’t quit your day job”. So, we tried! I didn’t quit my job, but shortly thereafter, my Ford contacts were asked to reconsider employment.
And people wonder why I hold onto my last generation Lincoln Town Car……
I’ll keep rebuilding mine until the end. They could have refined the Panther, modernized the electronics and continued to sell them like hotcakes regardless of C.A.F.E., etc. Sad…
Mmmmm… Super V8. I wanted one too. Still do.
Love this design; modernize (slightly) the classic Jaguar design. Anything Ford did probably helped reliability, and they still kept the smooth comfort and quality characteristic of a British luxury car. Thinking of getting one for my next car, if I have the change.
As for the new design, I like it. I miss the old, classic design that screamed… wait, no, spoke with brisk authority that it was a Jaguar. But I’m game for the new, looks sleek, better then others. Would take one over the Germans.
I really like the older Jags, the whole shape of those cars were a symbol of sorts-sort of like Caddy fins. Even the era in question, the 2004 XJ6, still has those points. Not as good as the older versions, but its still there.
The newer version is a good looking car, but there isn’t much “Jaguar” in it. If they switched out the Jag symbols for Mercedes or Bimmer ones and you told me the XJ was the new S class or 7 series, I’d believe you.
Oh well, nothing new under the sun. Its like the old 20s luxobarges-until they get close enough to see the hood sculpture, the big Caddies, Pakards, Duesenbergs, etc. etc. all look the same to me.
Am I the only one that mistakes the new Jag sedans for Kia Optimas? Sure the Jag is a bit bigger, but many of the proportions and details seem similar. That never happened with previous XJ’s. I preferred some versions to others, but the shapes were always iconic and rarely copied by others, unlike some Mercedes and BMW details. Whether it was the lights and grille, or the greenhouse, or the kick up over the rear wheel arches, the XJ was always unique. No longer.
The Optima was heavily influenced by the new XJ, and to some degrees by Jaguar cues in general–I’m not sure if they ever admitted as much, but it’s quite clear. The XJ came first though (2009 vs. 2011).
Hate the styling of the new XJ. Doesn’t look like a Jaguar, doesn’t look like any recognizable brand at all. Jag has truly lost its way.
P.S. There is nothing wrong with an English country home car interior, I rather like that.
Great write-up Gerardo, and I completely agree with your points. I have had some experience with these Jags, as my mother got bitten by the Coventry cat and these became her car of choice in her…ahem… elder years.
My mother’s father had an XJ12 back in the 1970s. Though it was temperamental, it was beautiful and quick, and my mom lusted after it. Jaguar became her “someday” car, when kid shuttling duties in domestic cars came to an end. Her first XJ8 came in 1999, when Ford had successfully worked out the kinks and refined the design. When her X300 got flooded in Katrina in ’05, she replaced it with an ’06 X350. The “XJSabre”–the perfect mash-up of Jaguar and Buick… While it was a very luxurious car, it already felt old when it was brand new. The XJ had lost the “gleam in its eyes”–stylish, sexy, ready to pounce– that defined the best Jaguars. However, the car served her well, and she scrambled to replace it with another X350 before the arrival of the all-new, and to my eyes (and hers) very unattractive ’09 XJ. She literally took the last X350 off the dealer’s lot to avoid the new car.
I agree that the interior on the current XJ is stylish and unique, but who can get past the exterior long enough to even open the door? Sales reflect that, and I wonder how long the company will even keep making a car for the uber-luxury segment.
I have to disagree with most here – I do like the current car and considered getting a used one before sanity prevailed. The predecessor shows you can only flog a dead horse so far and, to add insult to injury it looks like a larger version of the dreadful X-Type (Mondeo in a drag). In Austria the X308 sold reasonably well (better than Lexus) but the 2004-up were a disaster. The current car I think does not sell very well because of its price and the XF (which does sell – modestly when compared with the Germans).
Another problem with the current one is the Tata ownership. It is a lot to ask to get someone to spend 75k when the brand is owned by a third world entity few have heard of. Warranty? Resale Value? Parts?
I can assure you Tata is a very strong company. you can have concerns over many things on the new Jags but its parent company isn’t one of them,
Remember though that Tata was after Land Rover and had to also take Jaguar to get it. That doesn’t speak of much commitment. At some point, the technology sharing agreements with Ford will end. Can Tata keep Jag and LR going on their own. At that point will if have been profitable, or seem more like Proton and Lotus?
They have already rolled out a new platform under the XE and XF sedan, I think it is separate from the XJ. Ironically the new XF is a ‘proper’ Jaguar in one sense – it looks identical to the old model.
yer man Tata who owns is is one of the wealthiest industrialists on this planet cars are only a tiny part of his empire.
I remember lusting after the Portfolio model when it was new, or nearly new. There was a sub-20k mile one on eBay from a dealer in Texas around 2007 with a pricetag under $30k. I thought it was a deal. Wouldn’t want the repair costs now, however. Perhaps no worse on repair costs or depreciation than its major European rivals. That generation 7-Series hit you-pull-it junkyard status about 2 years ago, and the contemporary S-Type and Lincoln LS are virtually worthless. The Mercedes name (and air suspension fail-safe mode) are what keep most S-Classes on the road from that era, and the Lexus LS might still be in production virtually unchanged (kidding).
This was the last of the Jaguar XJ6s I’ve ever found attractive.
This car always struck me as a textbook example of retro done wrong. Intended to evoke the classic XJ6 of two generations back, it instead just looked like a used car. A very attractive used car mind you, but it just didn’t look new.
I thought the new S type was great when first launched but it looked very dated quickly. There’s only so far you can go with retro styling as Ford are finding out with the Mustang.
The last 4 door Jaguar to look like a Jaguar? While still good looking, luxurious and with enough performance for most people the new Jaguars have lost the character and style. of the older models.
The local Maserati dealer is pushing a Ghibli lease for $599…which raises an issue…what percentage of these luxobarges are leased? New luxury cars are so overloaded with fancy schmancy electronics that I’d be scared to own one out of warranty…you’d go broke keeping the thing on the road.
On the subject of funeral lead cars, for some reason, funeral directors in Cincinnati don’t use lead cars at all, they lead the procession with the funeral coach. In St Louis, the director drives the lead car, with the priest/pastor/rabbi riding shotgun, and a chauffeur drives the coach…regional thing I guess. I’m a cemeterian, so I see LOTS of processions roll in the front gate.
This is an interesting one. I remember seeing these at the auto show when they were new, and liking a lot of the styling details even if overall the same-old XJ style was past needing replacement. I think the new car also has some good elements, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark for me overall. Now that the cars are not ‘low’ I wonder if they could take some more inspiration from the Mark 7-9 cars that were more limousine-like.
The X350 series was always a little “meh” for me. Still attractive, sure, but the look was really starting to show its age. Plus I think the inflation analogy is a good one–it did look “puffed up” compared to the X300. Perhaps unavoidable to get more space into the car and to meet current impact requirements, but kind of unfortunate.
The X358 update–I just can’t get past those aluminum accents on the fender. Garish and completely unnecessary. A car well past its sell-by date resorting to glitz to keep from looking old hat. (Though I’d take a V8 Portfolio, and paint the fender accents and any other unnecessary brightwork body color).
Overall I’m in the camp that likes the current car. I understand the choice–a clean break had to be made. The awkward X358 update proved that. There was literally no way to keep the classic shape any longer. And while the new car has some anonymous details, overall, I like it as a Jaguar and as a design.
I agree with you Chris on the X358. I never liked the front end of the Super Portfolio as pictured either, the grilles just look to pinched.
Enjoying the reruns which I mostly missed back then.
Nice job on this one. It’s up to Paul N level.
The 2004 Alumnajag was a nice try and replacing a really ancient design. Among other things the long low trunk of the old one was really obviously from another era. But it was just too tepid everywhere. They should have tried much harder.
An interior photo of a 2004 Vanden Plas interior is below. I am a sucker for a burl Spitfire wing shaped dashboard, also seen on the XK where it’s more obvious because the console doesn’t intrude. The VP would also have folding burl picnic tables for the back seat, another thing I think are awesome. Perfect for the McDonald’s drive thru.
But I have to disagree about the 2009 replacement. I saw a black one in Manhattan recently (the black color also disguises the weird C pillar panel) and even after ten years I thought it was the only luxury car that hits the mark. All the competitors just are big pretentious barges covered in brand styling cues, even if all up on the edge of latest tech. The Jag is slick, sleek, and beautiful like an exclusive 1930’s luxury car only without period references (well, other than the grille, sort of).
I’ll disagree re the ’09 XJ. At launch I thought the styling was distinctive, courageous and beautiful. It looked nothing like the competition inside or out. 12 years later, it’s still distinctive and courageous, and even more beautiful than ever. A friend has a ’16 XJ, and the only thing I have reservations about is the windows are so shallow and far from the floor that I feel hemmed in. But what a beautiful, beautiful interior in which to be hemmed!
The only nice thing I can say about the last Jaguar XJ, was that I saw one parked outside a somewhat “hippie” vintage clothing store in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles. It was the only vehicle in the parking lot. When I went in, there was just one customer, so clearly it was the driver of the XJ. It was Dick Van Dyke. And though his car was debatably un-lovable, he was the definition of lovely.