High hopes for XJ flagship

Jaguar's new luxury sedan represents the next stage in the prestige marque's reinvention in Australia. The XJ's style is bound to make a good first impression and the combination of new engines, state-of-the-art interior design and high levels of equipment across the range won't hurt the car's market appeal either.

As a car styled by Ian Callum, Design Director at Jaguar, and incorporating many of the modern cues from the XF and XK models, the XJ won't go unnoticed. In some quarters, it will be controversial, but it's undeniably different from its predecessor -- and modern.

"The new XJ is a thoroughly modern interpretation of the quintessential Jaguar. Its visual impact stems from the elongated teardrop shape of the car's side windows, that powerful stance and its wide track. It is the most emphatic statement yet of Jaguar's new design direction", Callum was quoted as saying in press material for the new car.

Callum has managed to blend that modern style with some heritage traits from the original XJ Series 1 of 1968 and Jaguar is confident that this combination will smooth the way for prospective buyers to place the XJ on their shopping list without feeling that they have to relinquish the marque's design legacy.

Jaguar anticipates the design of the new car will pitch it right in amongst its German prestige competitors -- and the Lexus LS460 -- for modernity, but it also expects the new XJ's character to shine through against competitors further upmarket, such as the Bentley Flying Spur, Porsche's Panamera and Maserati's Quattroporte. Based on price and specification, the XJ Portfolio level will compete with Panamera and Quattroporte, while the XJ Supersport goes up against the Bentley.

"The all-new Jaguar XJ reinforces the strength of the new Jaguar in the Australian market and with its spectacular looks and performance competes with a much wider range of competitors than any previous XJ", said Jaguar Australia's General Manager, Kevin Goult.

Beyond the exterior styling, the new range (codenamed X351) is a major advance over the previous (X350) XJ model in other ways. Featuring new engines already introduced to the Australian market in the XF and XK models, the XJ is considerably more expensive than the model it replaces, yet Jaguar believes it can ramp up local sales by a factor approaching four.

To do so, the importer is promoting the new model's advanced in-car entertainment and communications to appeal to buyers in this rarefied part of the market.

Available in standard wheelbase (Jaguar prefers not to call it 'short') and long wheelbase, the XJ weighs less than two tonnes, even in its heaviest form (the supercharged long-wheelbase variants). The relatively low weight is due to the car's aluminium construction, which Jaguar claims cuts 150kg out of the kerb mass of the car, relative to its weight if built in steel.

Both wheelbase lengths offer 520 litres of boot space, but the rear-seat passengers gain an extra 125mm of legroom in the long-wheelbase models. Overall length is 5122mm for the SWB and 5247mm for the LWB variants. Width is 1894mm with the mirrors folded and the wheelbases measure 3032mm (SWB) and 3157mm (LWB).

The engine range is largely a mirror of that powering the smaller XF model, although there's no petrol V6 in the XJ range and the XF misses out on the 346kW version of the supercharged V8 in the XJ range. For output, the 3.0-litre diesel V6 of the entry-level XJ matches the 202kW/600Nm figures for the same engine in the XF. Fuel consumption figures and CO2 emissions for this engine in combined-cycle testing are 7.0L/100km and 184g/km (SWB) or 7.2L/100km and 189g/km (LWB). Jaguar predict that variants powered by this engine will account for as much as 30 per cent of all XJ sales in Australia.

A naturally-aspirated 5.0-litre V8 develops 283kW of power and 515Nm of torque, as does the same engine in the XF. Despite being a larger car, the aluminium-construction XJ is close to the XF in weight and the fuel consumption/CO2 figures are correspondingly close when comparing SWB XJ with the XF equivalent. Jaguar's official figures for the XJ with this engine are 11.3L/100km and 264g/km, for both wheelbase lengths. The 346kW engine powers the SWB-only Portfolio model and the 375kW engine is fitted to the Supersport models, available in both SWB and LWB variants.

Jaguar offers buyers the option of the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 in two different outputs: 346kW or 375kW. The former develops 575Nm of torque and the latter 625Nm (as for the XFR). Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for these two engines are the same, 12.1L/100km and 289g/km.

All engines drive through ZF's six-speed automatic transmission. Jaguar says that the XJ's development had progressed too far ahead for the manufacturer to adopt ZF's eight-speed box, steadily finding its way into rivals from Audi and BMW. Air suspension at the rear and Adaptive Dynamics (automatically varying-rate dampers) are standard for all variants, with supercharged Portfolio and Supersport variants also equipped with Active Differential Control.

Prices for the new XJ range are as follows:
XJ 3.0D SWB Premium Luxury $198,800
XJ 3.0D LWB Premium Luxury $206,800
XJ 5.0 V8 SWB Premium Luxury $251,000
XJ 5.0 V8 LWB Premium Luxury $259,000
XJ 5.0 V8 SWB Portfolio $274,800
XJ 5.0 S/C SWB Portfolio (346kW) $311,000
XJ 5.0 S/C SWB Supersport (375kW) $354,800
XJ 5.0 S/C LWB Supersport (375kW) $367,800

In the Premium Luxury level of trim -- available in both wheelbase lengths and powered by either the diesel or the naturally-aspirated petrol V8 -- the standard wheel is the 19-inch 'Aleutian' style, but there are seven other wheel options ranging in diameter from 18 to 20 inches. The Aleutian wheel measures nine inches wide (front) or 10 inches wide (rear).

The XJ Portfolio -- standard wheelbase only, but powered by either the naturally-aspirated V8 or the 346kW supercharged V8 -- comes with the 20-inch 'Kasuga' wheel as standard, with eight other wheel options offered. Kasuga (also available in a polished finish), measures 9.0x20 (front) or 10.0x20 (rear). 

Another 20-inch alloy, 'Mataiva', is fitted as standard to the 375kW supercharged XJ Supersport, which can be ordered in either standard- or long-wheelbase form. These wheels measure the same diameter and width, front and rear, as the Kasuga wheels of the XJ Portfolio.

Standard comfort and convenience features for all XJ variants include: Jaguar Drive Control (Winter/Dynamic modes), electric parking brake, xenon headlights with auto-on/off, metallic paint, electro-chromatic exterior mirrors with power fold-in facility, front/rear parking sensors, power-operated boot lid, one-touch electric windows, glass sunroof with electric blind, electrically-adjustable/tilt-away steering column, electro-chromatic rear-view mirror, leather-bound three-spoke steering wheel with shift paddles/remote controls for audio/cruise control/phone, keyless entry/start, virtual instrument display, 600W CD/DVD entertainment system, media hub, voice control, satellite navigation, climate control and rear-window powered sunblind.

At the entry level, the XJ Premium Luxury comes with a dual-zone climate control system and a premium carpet mat set. Most features available as standard in the higher-grade variants can also be specified in the XJ Premium Luxury; the exception being the Supersport's leather headlining and carpet mat set.

For the mid-range XJ Portfolio model, the standard equipment extends to adaptive headlights, cornering lights, Intelligent High Beam, reversing camera, tyre pressure monitoring, four-zone climate control, suedecloth premium headlining, wood/leather combination three-spoke steering wheel, ventilated/heated seats, 1200W Bowers & Wilkins audio, digital/analogue-capable TV tuner, Dual View touchscreen in centre fascia and wireless headphones. Features fitted as standard to the XJ Supersport are also available as options for the XJ Portfolio, other than leather headlining and the Supersport carpet mat set.

Topping the range, the XJ Supersport adds to the Portfolio's specification the following standard equipment: rear business trays (LWB only), leather headlining, exclusive carpet mat set and Rear Seat Entertainment system (not available in Australia until the end of the year).

Among the safety features Jaguar lists for the new XJ are: two-stage/lane-change indicators, dual front airbags, thorax-protecting side-impact airbags for the front seats, side-curtain airbags, 'drive-away' locking, active front-seat headrests and seatbelt reminders for front and rear seats. In addition, the XJ features stability control, traction control, emergency brake assist and an automatic speed limiter for the adaptive cruise control. Jaguar claims that the aluminium and magnesium construction of the XJ provides one of the stiffest shells in the large, luxury-car class. A deployable bonnet is activated when the vehicle detects an imminent impact with a pedestrian, thus reducing the chance of the pedestrian's head making contact, through the bonnet, with the hard points of the engine.

The new Jaguar is already effectively on sale with the first customer car to be delivered in Australia this month. Jaguar intends to sell and deliver as many as 60 cars by the end of this year, with the forecast for 2011 to be 10 cars a month.

You can read more about the Jaguar XJ from our international launch and check out our local launch in the next few days.

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