Overview Posh full-sized luxury/sport AWD sedan a solid alternative to German brands
Pros Bold styling, all-wheel-drive, lightweight, priced well for its segment
Cons Rear-seat room could be better; poor rear visibility
Value for money Reasonable
What would I change? Dull the finish on the car’s interior bits
How would I spec it? As is
As might be expected, the big-buck full-sized luxury auto segment is but a drop in a 45-gallon drum compared with total vehicle sales, a piddling 3,070 cars out of the 1,850,001 vehicles sold last year in Canada, according to sales tracking website goodcarbadcar.net. Then again, there are only nine cars in the segment as listed by the website, most of them German — the Audi A7 and A8, BMW 6 and 7 Series, Mercedes CLS- and S-Class and Porsche Panamera — as well as the Lexus LS and Jaguar’s XJ.
2015 Jaguar XJ 3.0 AWD
Brian Harper, Driving
I don’t normally mingle with people who can drop $100,000 and more on a car (or, far more likely, lease), though my wife would certainly prefer if I hung with a better crowd instead of the usual riff-raff. But, making the assumption that the well-off put their Gucci blue jeans on the same way as the working poor do their Levi’s, I’m guessing they like the same things as most people — cachet, luxury, comfort, performance, technology, safety — just more of it.
Each of those nine cars are formidable in their own right, though some are quite conservative/dated from a design standpoint. But I have a soft spot for the XJ, a car that, in previous incarnations, came with a checkered history, notably less-than-stellar reliability and stuck-in-the-past styling. In its current form, which debuted in North America for the 2011 model year, it broke the same-old-same-old mold of the four previous generations (God bless you, Ian Callum). It improved its desirability for 2013 with the belated addition of an all-wheel drivetrain — de rigueur for the segment, especially in snow-belt regions — and only the second Jaguar so fitted, the first being the much-maligned and seldom-missed X-Type.
It’s the dichotomy of the XJ I find appealing, thoroughly modern on the outside and underneath, with a sophisticated powertrain to boot, yet quintessentially English on the inside, which is to say all posh and proper.
2015 Jaguar XJ 3.0 AWD
Brian Harper, Driving
The all-wheel drivetrain is matched with a supercharged 3.0-litre V6, which is derived from Jaguar’s 5.0L V8. It pumps out 340 horsepower and a fairly broad torque curve — 332 pound-feet available from 3,500 to 5,000 rpm — imbuing the lightweight sedan with a decent turn of speed. (Naturally, lightweight is relative; at 1,871 kilograms, the XJ boasts extensive use of aluminum and other alloys throughout its architecture. The BMW 740Li xDrive, by comparison, is 2,053 kg; the Audi A8 4.0 is 2,045 kg.) While fuel economy is likely not the first priority when shopping the $100K luxe segment, the XJ tester’s average of 12.6 litres per 100 km (91 octane or higher, please) during my week with it was a pleasant surprise.
The boosted engine handily responds to a prod of the gas pedal (Jaguar claims the XJ will hit 100 kilometres an hour in 6.4 seconds) and is mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, which includes steering wheel paddle shifters. (It also comes with an auto stop/start system to improve fuel efficiency in heavier traffic situations.) Aiding the sedan’s performance bona fides is Jaguar’s Drive Control and its three modes — normal, Dynamic and Winter. Each one alters the characteristics of the engine’s response, the transmission shifts, the active damping system and the dynamic stability control’s intervention. Dynamic is clearly the sportiest setup, allowing the XJ to better grip in corners and power onto on-ramps at sporting speeds. And, to provide a reminder you’re about to get your freak on, the dials change from a cool blue to a red hue, and the gear position indicator glows red.
Twisting the hockey puck shifter from Drive to Sport and using the paddle shifters ramps up things a further notch, the big sedan shrugging off the soft and cushy cloak that comes from being a luxury car and demonstrating a decidedly more athletic demeanour. Oh, it’s no F-Type; the steering feels a little too artificially heavy when the road gets interesting, although the suspension — double-wishbone up front with weight-saving forged aluminum components and coil springs, and multi-link rear setup that has cast aluminum links and self-levelling air springs — does offer a pleasing amount of cushion while still communicating enough of the road conditions to keep the driver aware, even more so with the tester’s optional 20-inch, low-profile Pirelli rubber.
Also see our video review of the Jaguar F-Type
Very little else intrudes into the cabin. Jaguar cites the XJ’s secondary bulkhead, laminated windshield and door glass and optimal aerodynamics as the reasons for the interior tranquility. It’s not tomb-like, as found in most Lexus products; more the hushed tones of a proper gentleman’s club.
Design-wise, I’m a sucker for the look and feel of stitched British leather, which adorns much of the interior surfacing, though I found the polished piano black trim bits as well as the chromed shifter and other switchgear too shiny for my tastes — especially on sunny days, when their reflective qualities proved distracting.
2015 Jaguar XJ 3.0 AWD
Brian Harper, Driving
Standard amenities on all XJs include soft-close doors, heated steering wheel, power trunk lid with adjustable opening height; xenon headlights, blind spot monitor, and rear-view camera (absolutely necessary as the rake of the back window makes for poor visibility), heated auto-dimming side mirrors, power-adjustable steering column and much more.
Considering the XJ’s length — it’s a full-sized 5,172 mm — I was disappointed that the rear-seat accommodations weren’t more sympathetic to my 6-foot-2 frame. Headroom was OK, knee room merely adequate and foot room tight. I suppose if this were more of a deal breaker, moving up to the long-wheelbase XJL version (with 130 mm more rear-seat legroom than the standard-wheelbase model) would alleviate my concerns.
When I last drove an XJ — about two years ago — I acknowledged the smart addition of all-wheel-drive while scolding Jaguar for its tardiness in providing the system. Not much has changed since then. The XJ is a poised and luxurious yet sporting sedan that can be driven comfortably all year round. Its presence commands respect on the road like few other cars and its price (sub-$90,000 to start) makes it a powerful alternative to its German rivals.
2015 Jaguar XJ 3.0 AWD
Brian Harper, Driving
The Specs
Type of vehicle All-wheel-drive full-sized sport/luxury sedan
Engine Supercharged 3.0L DOHC V6
Power 340 hp @ 6,500 rpm; 332 lb.-ft. of torque @ 3,500 rpm
Transmission Eight-speed manumatic
Brakes Four-wheel disc with ABS
Tires P245/40R20 front, P275/35R20 rear
Price (base/as tested) $89,490/$99,665
Destination charge $1,375
Natural Resources Canada fuel economy (L/100 km) 14.6 city, 9.6 highway
Standard features Soft-grain heated leather front and rear seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, power windows, panoramic glass sunroof, adjustable steering column, heated steering wheel, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated dimming side mirrors with power-folding and approach illumination, garage door opener, front and rear footwell lights, front and rear puddle lamps, 380-watt Meridian audio system with single-slot CD/DVD player and Sirius satellite radio, eight-inch touchscreen, navigation system, LED rear lights, xenon headlights, power trunk lid with adjustable opening height, smart key system with keyless entry and start, rain-sensing windshield wipers, blind spot monitor, front and rear parking aids, rear-view camera, soft-close doors, dynamic stability control, cornering brake control, understeer control, electronic traction control and engine drag torque control
Options 20-inch Orona polished wheels ($4,500), heated windshield ($300), carbon fibre veneer ($1,600), adaptive cruise control ($2,300)
