Jaguar XJ Series

It's bigger and better - is this the car to take on the Germans?

By PH Staff / Saturday, 14 September 2002 / Loading comments

The new Jaguar XJ is out soon and looks aside, it's a major advance for the Ford owned company. The new XJ body is manufactured almost entirely from aluminium. The bodyshell is some 40 per cent lighter than that of the equivalent steel body. Equally important, the new body is 60 per cent stiffer than its predecessor.

Style wise the new car draws heavily on traditional influences although will no doubt be compared with an inflated X or S type. The family resemblance is now so strong that only enthusiasts will be able to distinguish the cars in the range.

The Jaguar design team led by Ian Callum has styled the XJ to be longer, taller and wider than its predecessor - which results in more room for occupants and luggage alike - addressing criticism that interior space on the previous models wasn't appropriate for a car in this segment.

The doors are noticeably deeper and the waistline higher than in the previous generation and overall the new car has a slightly more 'cab-forward' approach, with the four wheels closer to the corners. The front overhang is much reduced and the windscreen rake is less steep, but the resulting smaller bonnet retains the characteristic sculpted XJ shape.

The headlights - vital in setting the tone for the look of any car - have evolved into a more distinct element of the front-end style. Now oval in shape, they are arranged in a classic quad design, positioned either side of a new grille of intersecting vertical and horizontal bars that takes its inspiration from the original 1968 XJ6 (XJR models have a different grille).

The famous XJ6 badge is making a return in the new XJ range, taking its place alongside the XJ8, XJR and new XJ Super V8 models.

The new XJ will be available with a choice of four engines. Two 4.2-litre engines set the pace at the top of the range. A 4.2-litre supercharged V8 delivering a massive 400bhp powers the XJR model, while a naturally aspirated 4.2-litre engine developing 300bhp sits just below it. A new 3.5-litre V8 makes its debut too. The XJ6 will feature a 240bhp 3.0-litre AJ-V6.

Under the body is a new air suspension system which compensates for load and adjusts ride height accordingly. It also lowers the ride height when the car is travelling at speed.

All in all it's a much more sophisticated vehicle than its predecessor and will once again give Jaguar a vehicle with enough credibility to take on the Germans again. Whether its enough to bolster slow sales in the US remains to be seen.