Review: 2010 2011 New Jaguar XJ

his car is beautiful and looks much more impressive in person. It has a presence that the LS, CLS, S, and 7 series just don't have. It is such a large car but flows so gracefully from front to back. The mere fact that this is their flagship and it isn't overly conservative and bland like all other flagships make the XJ truly something special.

All new XJ models are fitted with Jaguar's familiar 5.0-liter direct-injected V8 (AJ133) under their aluminum bonnet. It's the same jewel shared with the Jaguar XK, Jaguar XF, and a few Land Rover models. It breathes normal atmospheric pressure in the standard XJ model making 385 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque. The XJ Supercharged adds a twin-scroll supercharger to develop 470 horsepower and 424 lb-ft of torque. Sporting the same supercharger, but with a few engine management tweaks, the XJ Supersport cranks out 510 horsepower and 461 lb-ft of torque. All engines are mated to a ZF six-speed automatic transmission and gearing is identical on all three models. Combined fuel economy, on the U.S. EPA cycle, ranges from 17 MPG for the Supersport long wheelbase to 19 MPG for the standard XJ short wheelbase.

Jaguar says the standard 385 horsepower model will hit 60 mph in 5.4 seconds – and it feels it. The Supercharged variant does it in 4.9 seconds, while the Supersport needs just 4.7 seconds (those times nearly mirror the XF lineup model-for-model). The Supersport is only a tenth slower than the XKR Coupe. Top speed on all XJ models is electronically limited to 155 mph.

Thanks to unfortunate timing and Xynthia, that devilish winter storm, all roads around Paris were a mess during our time with the new Jaguar. Nevertheless, we strapped ourselves into the quiet cabin – isolated from the rain, wind and cold – and pushed the XJ through the paces.

I was concerned about the blacked out pillar at first but after seeing it in person (on a silver XJ) you hardly notice it and when you stare at it you understand the reasoning for Jag doing it that way. Had they not blacked it out, the rear windshield would look tiny and would throw off the visual of the car.

When looking at the XJ next to the XF you can definitely see the XJ isn't just a larger XF, the XF looks cheap and assembly lined compared to the XJ. The XF seems to play it too safe and can blend in (i.e. the rear) while the XJ stands out and is easily recognized. The XJ might be my next car