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05/08/2005: "2005 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas: Grace, Space, and Pace Defined"

The all-new-for-2005 Jaguar XJ features what might be the most thorough and least noticeable overhaul of a large, luxury sedan in recent memory.

The XJ, the pride of the Jaguar fleet, has a long and noble heritage as a premium luxury sedan. More than any other Jaguar model, the XJ sedan truly represents the Coventry, England-based automaker’s mantra of “grace, space and pace.”

The Big Cat is the very embodiment of traditional English values: It’s as conservative as a Savile Row suit and every bit as elegant. It exudes Old Money, but does so with a whisper of course, not a scream. The XJ is oh-so-veddy British in every facet of its being, and that’s a very good thing indeed.

The XJ always was fast, comfortable and supremely elegant, even if it wasn’t consistently on the cutting edge of automotive design and engineering.

So when the chaps at Jaguar sought to redo the XJ for 2005, they indeed faced a daunting challenge: How does one bring a legend up to date without compromising the car’s fundamental essence?

It’s a tougher question than you might think.

Consider a case history: BMW’s most recent iteration of the classic 7-Series sedan — a car that directly competes with the Jaguar XJ — has drawn plenty of fire from Bimmernistas who feel like the new model is ugly and eschews functionality for its iDrive controller, an electronic control system so devilishly complex and counterintuitive that only Wernher Von Braun could love it.

Conversely, the new XJ is so much like the car it replaced that untrained eyes will barely notice any difference. If the engineers and stylists are guilty of anything, it’s that they played their collective cards too close to the vest with the new XJ.

But although the skin of the XJ looks pretty much the same, underneath is a whole new ball game. This year, there are five models: the 294-horsepower V-8 XJ8; the XJ8L, which rides on a five-inch longer wheelbase than the standard model; the high-zoot Vanden Plas, the megaluxury version of the long-wheelbase model; the high-performance XJR; and last, but by no means least, the Super V8, which combines the long-wheelbase chassis with the 390-horse motor from the XJR.

Our test car this week was an utterly luxurious and totally understated Vanden Plas sedan, with champagne-colored metallic paint and a platinum-hued interior.

Naturally, the Vanden Plas comes standard with more features than one could possibly list here. On the mechanical side, there’s the smooth, 4.2-liter V-8, a six-speed ZF automatic transmission, anti-lock brakes, traction control and adaptive damping.

Among the myriad extras exclusive to the Vanden Plas are unique 18-inch diameter x 8-inch wide “Rapier” wheels; electric rear sunblind; 16-way power front seats; soft-grain leather interior, with contrasting seat piping, also in leather; lamb’s-wool footwell rugs; walnut burl veneers with hand-inlaid Peruvian boxwood; three-stage heated front and rear seats, and heated steering wheel; 320-watt Alpine premium sound system with 6-CD changer and rear fold-down business trays.

So sybaritic is the interior of the Vanden Plas that it’s like sitting at the bar of an exclusive yacht or golf club. It is simultaneously over the top and understated, exactly the kind of old-money elegance you’d expect from a $70,000 English luxury sedan.

Naturally, the back seat is huge and arguably an even better place to spend time than the front seat. The five-inch-longer wheelbase makes the rear seat cavernous instead of a snug fit.

The luxury bits are all tactile delights that feel, look and, yes, even smell good. What will go unnoticed to the naked eye is the high-tech aluminum-intensive monocoque body, which provides exceptional rigidity and, at the same time, extremely light weight.

The long-wheelbase XJ models are seven inches longer than the aforementioned 7-Series BMW, yet are also more than 500 pounds lighter. The benefits of the Big Cat’s light weight show up in several crucial areas: Even though it’s massive in length and is powered by an engine that makes less than 300 horsepower, the Vanden Plas still accelerates from a standing start to 60 miles per hour in just 6.3 seconds. At the same time, fuel economy is 18 in the city and 27 on the highway, which is flat amazing.

Also, with less weight to pull around, the Vanden Plas handles nimbly, or at least as nimbly as one can reasonably expect in a car that rides on a 124.4-inch wheelbase.

On the negative end of the ledger, there is little to complain about. The traditional J-shaped shift-gate on the six-speed automatic transmission is an idea whose time has passed — it seems clunky and inelegant to operate, unlike almost every other part of the car. And I found the interior colors a little too subdued and dark, but that’s more a matter of personal preference.

Just about everything else, Jaguar got right.

All told, Jaguar did a smashing job with XJ’s makeover, even if the new XJ doesn’t look much different than the old one.

Grace? Just like always.

Space? More than ever.

Pace? You betcha.

If you can afford the price of admission, the ride is well worth taking.

(this article was taken from speedtv.com)