XJ8: Unmistakably Jaguar
One of my friends is a veteran Jaguar salesman who bites his words when he talks about Ford Motor Co., owner of the British luxury car line since 1989. Under Ford’s watch, Jaguar has improved its frequency-of-repair record, but Jaguar’s styling -- often so innovative and classic -- has become homogenized by sharing too many Ford components, my friend gripes.
For years I’ve thought the same thing: Many Jaguars remind me more of a Ford Taurus than a British luxury car.
So while I was testing the redesigned 2004 Jaguar XJ8 sedan, I was surprised to hear my friend say, “This is the first car in years that I’m really proud of selling.” The XJ8 shares few Ford parts, he said; it’s great on the freeway; and his customers come back from test drives with a big smile on their faces.
After driving the XJ8 for a week, I agree with him.
The XJ8 isn’t flashy, but its smooth ride (thanks to a new air suspension and aluminum body frame), nimble handling, ample speed and some classic design touches steadily won me over. By week’s end, my so-so first impression evolved into a big thumbs up, and I was sorry to give up the car.
There are three XJ models. I drove the entry-level XJ8, which carries a base sticker price of $59,995 (with options, the test car topped out at $64,820). There’s also the more lavish XJ Vanden Plas (sticker price $68,995) and the supercharged XJR ($74,995).
The redesigned aluminum body trims about 200 pounds from last year’s XJ8 and helps give the engine some extra kick. The XJ8’s 294-horsepower V-8 (up from 280) covers zero to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, or 0.6 seconds faster than the 2003 model. The XJ8’s acceleration isn’t head snapping; it’s more like rolling thunder. Maximum torque shows up at 4,100 rpm, so if you floor the XJ8 from a dead stop, the acceleration is a slow windup till about 45 mph, then the car really picks up the pace. (By comparison, Jaguar says, the supercharged, 390-horsepower XJR zips through zero to 60 in five seconds flat.)
Packed into the four-door XJ8 was a full menu of electronic gadgetry: parking aid sensors, self-dimming and heated outside mirrors, adjustable foot pedals, heated steering wheel, rain-sensing wipers, electronic parking brake, plus xenon lights and washers on the headlamps. There’s also a sunroof, leather seats and interior decor trimmed with walnut burl.
The dashboard’s retro styling is an eye pleaser: Tachometer, speedometer, clock and engine temperature and fuel gauge dials all have needles, not digital readouts. In a bow to the company’s illustrious past, the white markings are set against an attractive background of Jaguar green. And the retro clock is almost an exact match of what’s in the new Aston Martin (also owned by Ford).
This is the seventh generation of the XJ -- Jaguar’s largest sedan -- and to make the cars stronger but lighter, engineers eliminated an all-steel frame and shifted to aluminum. They also shaved weight by using aluminum parts in the doors and cylinder block. The result: The XJ8 is wider, taller and longer than its predecessor, yet the lighter frame squeezes out an extra mile per gallon in combined fuel economy than most of its rivals.
Another innovation is the self- adjusting air suspension. Rather than rely on traditional coil springs, Jaguar placed an air compressor behind the front bumper that sends compressed air to a reservoir in the trunk. Sensors at the four corners of the car measure its height; to level out the ride, the system pumps pressurized air as needed into rubber cylinders. The air suspension also automatically lowers the car for better aerodynamics -- at 100 mph, Jaguar says, the XJ8 drops about half an inch closer to the road.
All this might sound like advertising gobbledygook, but I noticed a difference the first time I was on the freeway. As I caught up to traffic in the passing lane, I felt a gentle, trampoline-like effect, particularly after bumps, as the XJ8 settled itself into position.
Handling was impressive. On straightaways, the car offered a firm, comfortable ride. On S-curves, it proved surprisingly tight in corners -- the XJ8 was equipped with 18-inch Continental tires -- without understeer or fishtailing. At all speeds, there’s an undercurrent of smoothness in the ride, and it’s quiet inside the cabin as the dual exhausts strike a muffled tone.
The new six-speed automatic transmission (which replaces last year’s five-speed) was crisp, and a U-shaped channel in the console allowed me to move the gearshift knob into a clutch-free manual transmission (which starts in second and runs into fifth gear).
Of the handful of options on the test car, I liked the heated front and rear seats ($950), the powerful xenon headlamps ($675), the electric washers on the headlamps ($200) and the sharp-looking 18-inch alloy wheels ($800). But the heated steering wheel ($350) was bulky, with an odd feel from the combination wood-and-leather rim.
The car’s most expensive option was a 12-speaker, 320-watt Alpine sound system ($1,600). But I lost an impromptu battle of the bands at a stoplight to a young hip-hop fan next to me in a Nissan SUV who blasted a DMX tune that obliterated my Who CD.
One option that turned into a constant headache was the front parking aid ($250). Jaguar puts sensors in the front and rear bumpers (the rear warning system is standard). When you get within 31 inches of an object, the beeping starts; within 12 inches, it becomes continuous.
On my first trip, I pulled the XJ8 into a Home Depot looking for a parking spot. Shopping carts were left in the middle of a row, and the alarm went off as I passed them; the closer I got to the carts, the more urgent the beeps. Later, after I stopped behind another car at a red light and the beeping alarm went off again, my wife, Vani, complained: “This is a nagging car.” So I shut it off.
Jaguar also touts the XJ8’s more spacious cabin and trunk, but I’d give them a mixed grade. I stored an impressive 10 bags of groceries and a case of Dr Pepper in the trunk with room left over. But at 6-foot-1, I found the front legroom adequate, no more, and the back seat was cramped. One problem is that a mechanism drops all the way to the floor under the front seats, so there’s no room left to slide your feet underneath from the back.
Other quirks: The XJ8’s key looks like a switchblade. Push a key fob button and a quarter-inch-wide metal rod pops out. And the ignition slot is low on the dash, so the key kept striking my right leg while I drove (a heavy key chain would be very annoying). The green direction indicator -- “SW” for southwest, etc. -- is oddly placed on the top right of the rearview mirror. Dashboard warning signals state the obvious: “Lights are off.”
The escape mechanism inside the trunk is a cheap-looking glow-in-the-dark plastic handle attached to a Velcro strip. And there’s an odd electrical gadget that finishes closing the trunk, but only after you have manually pushed it within a few inches of the latch. Why bother?
Another design flaw is that the dashboard creates too much heat: After 10 minutes of driving, I felt heat creep starting -- regardless of outside temperature -- and seeping into the cabin.
Still, I found the exterior to be a clean, almost classical design. Double kidney-shaped grilles dominate the front, with a pair of large and slightly smaller headlamps, plus two smaller fog lights underneath the bumper. The sight lines out front are helped by the classic Jaguar emblem, which leans forward and offers a clear sign of where the hood ends.
One Sunday morning I took the Jaguar up into the Santa Monica Mountains, sprinting past a pokey Miata to reach a spot where motorcyclists gather on weekends. From this vista, you can see Malibu, the San Fernando Valley and the Los Padres National Forest.
As I drove past this beautiful spot, two dozen motorcyclists were staring at me -- and it wasn’t my driving skills they were admiring.
Barry Stavro is an editor in The Times’ Business section. He can be reached at barry.stavro @latimes.com.
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(Begin Text of Infobox)
2004 Jaguar XJ8 sedan
Engine: 4.2-liter, 294-horsepower V-8
Overall length: 200.4 inches
Wheelbase: 119.4
Curb weight: 3,803 pounds
Transmission: Combination six-speed automatic, five-speed manual
Acceleration: Zero to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds
EPA rating: 28 miles per gallon highway, 18 mpg city
Price, base: $59,995; includes air suspension, anti-lock brakes, electronic parking brake, front and side door air bags, full-size spare tire, heated and self-dimming outside mirrors, sunroof, fog lights, leather seats and walnut burl trim, AM-FM-CD system, power windows and 12-way electrically adjustable seats.
Price, as tested: $64,820; adds heated front and rear seats ($950), heated wood-leather steering wheel ($350), 18-inch alloy wheels ($800), xenon headlamps ($675), headlamp washers ($200), front parking aid ($250) and 12-speaker, 320-watt Alpine sound system ($1,600)
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Source: Jaguar Cars North America
