The new Jaguar XJ (click to enlarge)
The leaked pictures of the Jaguar XJ give us our first impression of the car ahead of its big launch this evening.
What do you think of Jaguar’s new saloon? Have your say below.
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I have decided to register and respond almost solely to answer to AT constant jumping on every negative response of the car.
To put it simply there is TOO much XF in the new XJ it looks like a larger version of it’s baby brother this is not good in my humble. Where has the classic signature double headlamps gone too?? This surely could have been integrated into this design somewhere and have been at a minimum a nod to ‘classic’ XJ’s past. The badge on the grill for me is another gripe, don’t like it, it spoils the look of the aggressiveness of the front end and in my opinion it would look better had it beeen placed where Jag badge ‘should’ be and that’s on the end of the bonnet. From the side, it looks great no complaints from me. The rear? Ahh here’s were it really goes wrong, it is quite simply a mistake of massive proportions and one i’m willing to bet that will be the first to go when it gets a midlife tweak in much the same way that Maserati changed the boomerang shape of the rear lights on the 3200GT(although i like most folk thought it LOST character with this change) as has been said it looks terrible on this car and appearing to have been insipred by a Citroen or not is something that really should have been thought of before the sign off stage. Interior is fantastic and really has upped not only Jaguar but the competition as well. The Germans may produce well laid out fantastically well made interiors but just feel that bit to clinical only Jags can produce something that feels that bit special
All in all it goes down as a bit of a miss imo it’s only real saving grace will be if it handles as well as Jag’s should do. Well done Jaguar you’ve conquered America but in the looks department you really have given Europe to the Germans
Since you imparted all this wisdom Mr Dee, the XJ has excelled itself in all departments. Fancy my little comments defending Ian Callum’s masterpiece getting on your nerves! You could power a fleet of hot air balloons, David.
I would like to iron out one or two misconceptions as I see it in some of the previous blogs in this AutoTrader forum. Everyone is entitled to their view, but opinions are personal, not fact. In my opinion a number of bloggers have spent a few minutes, perhaps even an hour or so, looking at the photographs of the next XJ and rushed to judgement. I doubt that many, if any, have seen the car in the flesh. Well I have and whilst I will happily admit to being rather shocked at the radically modernised exterior design on first viewing I found that within a few days it had already started to become familiar and was growing on me. By the time I went to see it on 15th July I had grown to like it but seeing it in the flesh is everything. The exterior does work and looks very striking indeed. As for the interior, frankly it is as good as anything I have seen and I love it.
A great many fans of Jaguar seem to believe that the very essence and spirit of the company is tradition and old world values and design. This is actually partly true, but it is certainly not the whole story. Sir William Lyons was one of the truly great car designers. I doubt that many people would disagree with that, regardless of where their loyalties lie, past or present. Yet he was unequivocally an innovative, modern designer and on a number of important occasions in automotive design moved the goalposts forward with something universally regarded as pretty special…and modern for the time! Think of the XK120, the Mark 2, the E-type and the original XJ6.
Yet whilst the current 2003 X350 Jaguar XJ resembles the original from 1968 it has very clear differences. The initially much-derided XJS looked very different to the E-type but came to be accepted and loved by many. I wonder how many respondents are aware of the old Mark 4 and 5 for example from many years ago. One or two have heavily criticised the strong nose of the new X351 model yet look at pictures of these models and you will see a far more overtly dominant nose.
One person argued that the sales of the new XF do not match up to those of the old S-type it replaced. Frankly this is ludicrous as no comparison can reasonably be made yet due to the effect on sales, especially of more expensive cars, caused by the world recession. Yet even sillier, it seems to me, is to argue that the tradional look should have been carried over into the new XJ when all the sales statistics demand that change must occur, and all this the small matter of just 40 years on from the original design!
Do these people seriously believe that Lyons himself would have abandoned his life-long philosophy and just continued designing pastiches of the XJ for 40 years? Reverence amongst fans for that design and especially for his memory have simply led to a stagnation that would, I believe, never have occurred had he still been at the helm. And the designers at Jaguar themselves have known this for years but were not allowed to develop the design of the current model as they would have liked and as they believed was demanded by the market. They were right. Look at the sales figures against Jaguar’s rivals, who have scooped up many converts. They do not lie.
Sales of the Ford Mondeo-based X-Type and of the S-Type fell well short of both Jaguar’s and Ford’s aspirations and expectations. Jaguar is not a wealthy company. Ford did invest, it should be acknowledged, yet when Jaguar brought out the current X350 aluminium-bodied XJ in 2003 it was Ford who insisted that the traditional looks remain in order to satisfy the desires of buyers in the UK but especially the USA, Jaguar’s most important market. This was and remains a brilliant car, traditional in style both inside and out and light years away in styling from its major competitors but lighter. I certainly like it. It is relatively frugal for the sector, fast and comfortable. What happened? Well, sales simply continued to slide as before and Jaguar’s share in the luxury car market along with it. The market expected something different, more modern and forward-looking, and took itself of somewhere else.
So people are entitled to their own personal views, but they are not entitled to argue that yet more of the same would have done the trick. The X, S, and XJ were all very old fashioned and traditional and certainly do appeal to people. Just not by any means enough people for Jaguar to survive much longer. This is an opinion perhaps but one backed up by the cold, hard reality of facts, viz-a-viz sales over many years. If enough potential buyers disagreed with me then the sales figures would show this.
I had a look recently at a few of the German car magazines online and the new XJ received little mention on the front page and even then near the bottom. Well, no surprises there then. It is inconceivable that the German public would seek to promote a British competitor at the expense of their home-grown manufacturers and fair enough perhaps. The German banks who finance them would certainly not allow it in any case. Neither would they be so stupid as to undermine them through strident criticism in the way some people are prone to here in the UK. One could be forgiven for thinking that some of those who have actually criticised the new XJ would not be too unhappy for Jaguar to fade into oblivion, just so long as it drove itself off to the cemetery in a traditional, old-fashioned saloon that harked back to the fifties. They should be careful I think that they do not do Jaguar’s opponents’ and critics’ work for them!
I think Ian Callum had a horrendously difficult job in having to move the design on not one but two or even three generations in one go and he was clearly not going to be able to please everyone, but I think he has done a very good job, as with the XF.
I read earlier this year that Jaguar has, along with Buick, taken the No.1 spot in the 2009 J.D. Power Dependability Survey in the USA, pushing Lexus into 3rd place for the first time in 14 years!
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/19/jaguar-and-buick-upset-lexus-in-j-d-power-2009-vehicle-dependab/
•Jaguar=equal 1st (with Buick), •Porsche=11th, •Audi=12th, •BMW=17th, •Mercedes-Benz=20th
Jaguar must fight its corner and if it has to suck up some of the criticism from past weaknesses in terms of dependability -as it has had to in the past- then it is surely entitled to a fair crack of the whip when it excels -as apparently it is now doing. It is not too much to ask that the new design is also given a fair crack of the whip and allowed time to grow on people. If you are still not sure in a few months time, may I cordially suggest that you go and see one, and ask for a ride in it!
I loved reading this. You sound like a genuine Englishman with impeccable taste and sound judgement. This country will go under when your generation dies out.
I think I may be sorry I put my head above the parapet on this one ! I think the outgoing XJ was a great blend of ‘old-world’ tradition with bang up-to-date technology, so I do not think it is fair to say that Jaguars had just come to represent the Ye Olde England of Miss Marple and Midsommer Murders. As you indicate, it is probably the packaging and image that were/are the problem. In today’s world, everything is image/brand driven, and underlying more subtle virtues may be ignored. So, I agree that Jagaur has to move with the times to survive – I would be very sad if they went to the wall. I just think that the latest designs (XF, new XJ), superb though they are, have made them less distinctive, and have taken us nearer to the situation where all cars look the same.
These are just my opinions, of course, which are probably a bit biased, just having splashed out a lot of dosh on a new X350 !.
Dear Pete,
I did not realise my first attempt at contributing at 10:04 to this blog had worked (believe it or not I typed it on my phone) and had not read your first or second entry by the time I had another go with my second entry on my PC at 13:04, which is slightly different and includes some extra information near the end.
Anyway, just for the record, I think your views are perfectly reasonable and well argued. I also agree that the current X350 is a very fine car which I am sure you love owning but also agree, sadly, that today’s cars are less distinctive, just necessarily so perhaps. I also agree with you when you say: ‘In today’s world, everything is image/brand driven, and underlying more subtle virtues may be ignored’.
It is indeed a great shame and if your X350 was still selling strongly and Jaguar’s long-term future assured I would have been happy for it to have continued in much the same vein, though personally I was disappointed that it did not move on more.
The world has in quick order become an increasingly homogeonised, pastuerised place and not always for the better. Manners are out the window as all-too frequently are well-constructed sentences and arguments. Yes, it’s a small world now, but it wasn’t when I took myself off travelling nearly 20 years ago. The pace of change was slower. No world wide web or internet. Just snail mail. I could go on, but it is gone for good sadly and Jag has to sell cars. Anyway, I hope you have many years thoroughly enjoyable motoring. Bet you will.
Kind regards,
Sid
Sid
Thanks for your well-considered and polite reply – a bit of a rarity on blogs these days.
I do look forward to seeing the new XJ in the flesh – I assume the local dealer will invite me to his launch of the new car. I really do hope it does well. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy X350 motoring.
Thanks
Pete
RE: all-new JAGUAR XJ for 2010.
Let’s get a few facts straight. All sales are down due to the recession so comparisons between the S-type and XF don’t work…for now. S, X and XJ sales never did meet expectations which is why serious change is unavoidable.
Jag needs to sell more cars! The 2003 X350 was brilliant but Ford insisted on old clothes for all that modern tech to please the US market, which promptly turned away in damaging numbers. It’s a no-brainer. NB: Callum had to move it and the S-type on two or three generations in one leap, a horrendously difficult task.
Fact: all opinions are just that. They are not fact. I have driven the XF and love it. I HAVE seen the XJ in the flesh. I admit it took a day or so to become more accustomed to what is, let up be fair, a radical new look, but up close I love it and the interior is as good as anything I have seen. Simply beautiful … in my opinion of course.
I would like to ask respondents if they have had a chance yet to see it in the flesh? Also, why are you so ready to come out against the all-new 2010 X351 XJ and so stridently too when it so new. Don’t you think it deserves a fair chance, given the huge leap it is, through necessity due to poor sales of the old trad-styled models, trying to make. You profess to love Jaguar. I have to question whether you really do frankly. I cannot imagine German car lovers ever taking such a stance against their own. It is almost as if you would be content to see Jaguar wound up if it means going in a new direction IN ORDER TO SURVIVE. I have looked at the German auto magazines and of course the new XJ gets a small mention near the bottom at best. They know what they are doing and good luck to them. I do not blame them. But why do so many Brits insist on putting the boot into their own? And I bet a lot of them regard themselves as patriotic. Sorry but that is a joke. Just not a funny one.
Lastly let us put straight a common misconception. It is that Jaguar as a brand stands for tradition, old-world values and old-world styling and nothing else. It is true that it latterly came to represent these. But true connoisseurs of Jaguar will know that its founder, Sir William Lyons was always a modern and innovative designer whose designs frequently broke the mould. Think of the XK120, Mark 2, E-type and original XJ6. These had Jaguar DNA but so do the new XF and XJ if you look. Like I say, give the new XJ some time please!
Did the XJS look like the E-type?
Do late XJs look that much like the original, let alone earlier saloons.
Don’t like the new nose? Have you ever seen a Mark 4 or 5 for instance?
How much do you really know about Jaguar in reality? So please stop all this negativity and show both some patience and a bit of care for this beloved company. You are entitled to your opinions of course but a little restraint would be both welcome and wise. Unless that is you are happy to do Jaguar’s competitors work for them!
Thank you.
Sir Sidney.
I really like the sound of your positive, down to earth outlook Sir Sidney. I wish there were more people like you out there.
As a recent purchaser of one of the last X350 XJ’s (2 months ago), I have read the various comments on the new XJ here with great interest. It certainly looks a stunning car – the styling from the side looks good, but I am not sure about the very aggressive front end, with the huge square, Bentley/Chrysler style grille. It does seem as though Jaguar, to win sales, has had to follow the pack and go for aggressive, almost US ‘muscle-car’ styling. It is sad that the distinctive Jaguar shape (now only surviving in the X-type, but I see that is for the chop at the end of the year) is no more, and that the newer Jags, including the XF, are going to be harder to distinguish from the other Euro ‘Jelly moulds’ that are everywhere on our roads. Dynamically and technically, I am sure the Jags will have the edge on the competition, but there surely must still be a place for an executive sporting saloon with the traditional virtues of elegant, understated styling, always the hallmark of Jaguars in days gone by. It seems we have to have aggressive ‘in yer face’ styling for all new cars these days. Jaguar say they are trying to appeal to a younger market, but I am not sure how many young people will have 52,000 pounds to splash out on the new XJ. I am probably typical of the older traditional Jaguar customer – a 51 year old male who has always aspired to own a Jaguar, and who has saved his pennies for many years to buy an XJ. We are probably a dying breed, and most of my contemporaries seem to have the German car bug, buying BMW/Audi/Mercs when they go for a larger luxury car, but whilst they all drool over my XJ and say how wonderful it is, I get the impression they do not think it would be ‘cool’ to actually own one -funny old world !
I am a young 23 year old male and I think it would be cool to own a new XJ. Also, the XF is NOT hard to distinguish from other cars on the road. The latest Jaguar range is very distinctive and the X-Type wasn’t really that exciting was it?
People are moaning about the new XJ because they expected it to be yet another version of the X350. I do like the X350 but that style is old. Jaguar needs updating and this is exactly that. I can see references to the mark 10 at the front. Utterly fantastic.