2011 Jaguar XJ
The styling of the 2011 Jaguar XJ
still softly whispers money, old and
new. Get behind the wheel, and
the XJ elicits strong emotions. The
470-hp supercharged V-8 is
smooth and authoritative. As usual,
though, Jaguar's expertise in
chassis tuning is what really
shines.
Steering and handling are confident
while the ride is comfortable.
Surrounded by a band of lovely dark
wood, the cabin combines old-school
luxury with modern style. Even with
the dark cloud of Jaguar reliability
hanging around, it's easy to
understand why someone would own
this dynamic hero.
Where
the X
really
separates
itself
from the
ACR is
in the
handling
department.
The
springs
are 50
percent
stiffer
and work
well
with the
custom
two-way
adjustable
dampers.
The rear
sway bar
is the
same
size but
is
adjustable.
As with
most
race
cars,
downforce
plays a
major
roll in
high-speed
stability.
In the
ACR-X's
case,
the
deck-lid
spoiler
has an
adjustable
pitch
angle at
the rear
of the
car, and
two
additional
dive
planes
were
added to
the
front
bumper.
The
result
is up to
100
pounds
of added
downforce
at 150
mph.
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The digital instrument cluster is
beautiful in the XJ. The Jag's
tasteful stylization is a
significant improvement compared
with the dead simple, Windows 3.1
look of the Land Rover digital
gauges. Activate dynamic mode and
the hue fades from blue to red, a
neat trick. While the navigation
interface is nicely updated, it
still responds slowly to inputs.
Fortunately, the touch-sensitive
glovebox release now appears to work
consistently, unlike in the Jaguar
XF. The massaging front seats are
wonderful, with far more presence
than those used by the BMW 7-series
and the Mercedes-Benz S-class.
Legroom in the rear seat feels more
confined than in cars like the BMW
and the Benz, but Jaguar does offer
a long-wheelbase model if you're
buying an XJ for its back seats.
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