Jaguar XJ 2016

Six years ago, this sedan received a whole new generation, and the mission of initiating a whole new chapter of its maker’s history. Sure, the first subversive Jaguar was XF, released one year earlier, but XJ deals with the wealthiest buyers, who can be conservative enough to make its job much harder. But the results couldn’t have been better. Along with Land Rover, the British company is establishing an entire luxury lineup of its own, enjoying huge acclaim vehicle after vehicle. In such awesome context, it was possible to make XJ’s update an opportunity to take its new values to a new level.

Given that going from an old-fashioned sedan to a cutting-edge four-door coupé is still considered a strong change for this category’s standards, Jaguar concentrated on improving the same product. The entire external lighting now uses LEDs, with the DRL units adopting a new “twin J-blade” design. The front grilles were refreshed too, as well as the chrome inserts. Other additions depend on the trim level, but this brings whole other news: Premium Luxury gained Portfolio’s old items, while the latter features quilted leather, embossed headrests and figured ebony veneer. The super-sporty R and the style-sporty R-Sport, in turn, use their own aerodynamic accessories and interior trim. But there will be something else to mention about XJ’s trim levels.

Opening the doors shows the all-new InControl Touch Pro, whose interface was inspired by smartphones’ in order to require less distraction to be operated. Besides the usual functions, it offers 60-gb hard drive, digital television, sat-nav, and two levels of remote access: the fancy one allows you to locate the car on a map, start the engine and even set the climate control, everything through a smartphone application. Regarding connectivity, there are Wi-Fi hotspot and a GPS service that can help in case of accident, theft, or when you just want the fastest route to go back home. The electronic safety systems took benefit from all that too, and there’s an All-Surface Progress Control to improve the car’s performance in low-grip conditions.

“Luxury sedan” is written all over this car, right? And you haven’t even read about its biggest addition: going back to the trim topic, this is the very first Jaguar to offer an Autobiography version. Yes, after decades of making Range Rovers posher than usual, this name now grants XJ exclusivities like 20” wheels, chrome vents, improved ambient lighting, leather headliner, oak veneer, semi-aniline leather seats, and individual rear seats with a 10.2” screen and massaging functions. This trim is only offered for the long-wheelbase vehicle, while the aforementioned sporty ones are restricted to the short one. Finally, there are also 12.3” TFT instrument cluster, and electric steering and a rear-wheel drive Jaguar claims to be better than hydraulic and AWD.

The new Jaguar XJ will have one diesel engine and four gasoline ones. The first is a 3.0 V6 which suffered several improvements to reach 296 hp and 71.4 kgfm. The others are a 2.0-liter with 236 hp and 34.7 kgfm, a 3.0-liter V6 with 335 hp and 45.9 kgfm (the only one with AWD option), and a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that reaches 463 and 58.7; 503 and 63.8; or 542 hp and 69.4 kgfm – the latter two are used only in the Autobiography and only in the R, respectively. All of these use ZF’s eight-speed automatic transmission, although in two variations. This sedan will make its first public appearance in the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show and go on sale in a few months, starting with the European market – in the UK, its base prices go from £58,690 to £99,350.