John Wycherley
Oh, to be one of the 2,000 or so très riche luxury touring car connoisseurs who annually take the plunge in Canada. The cars are all excellent and the bounties for this tiny pool of buyers are exorbitant.
The factory offers on your typical $100,000-ish Jaguar XJ, or BMW 7-Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Audi A8 are about the equal of what you'd pay for a little compact – $13,000, $15,000, perhaps $20,000 or more.
Take the Jaguar XJL, the one with the massive legroom in back (the "L" stands for long wheelbase) and the shockingly smooth and powerful supercharged V-8 under the hood (470 hp/424 lb-ft torque).
A search of pricing service carcostcanada.com shows perhaps $13,500 in factory money in play for the loyal Jaguar owner who drives the hardest of bargains – more if any dealer incentive money comes into play. A BMW 7? You're looking at $15,000 in factory money. Audi's A8 is also in play with $13,000-plus in bonus money.
Mercedes with the S-Class and Lexus with the LS 460 are stingier, but the big picture shows there's a lot of action out there for anyone in the chase for a large, luxury sedan.
The Jag is certainly worth a test, though the fundamental design is now several years old. Yet it's such a wonderful look, so utterly un-German, so slippery, daring and different than anything else in its class.
The drive itself is also a Teutonic antidote and welcome in market where the big German cars dominate. An S-Class or a 7-Series feels big, solid and heavy; the supercharged XJ feels light and quick, smallish for a car that weighs 1,880 kiloggrams and stretches to 5,282 millimetres in length. The steering, in fact, feels almost feathery and shifts of the eight-speed autobox are imperceptible.
The cabin is also a departure from the norm in this set – more British art than German science. Not everyone will like the round shapes, but the electroluminescent gauges are beautiful, the seats feel like you're sitting in a lounger and touch-screen controls are more user-friendly than anything the Germans have to offer.
A lovely car for the extremely wealthy and a bargain to boot.
You'll like this car if ... You want a roomy, technologically advanced, light and nimble long-wheelbase luxury sedan/limousine.
TECH SPECS
- Base price: $105,990
- Engine: 5.0-litre V-8, supercharged
- Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
- Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 15.8 city/10.2 highway, premium fuel
- Alternatives: Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Lexus LS 460
RATINGS
- Looks: Jaguar brought this distinct design language to the market several years ago and it’s aged like a good marriage.
- Interior: The centre-mounted analog clog and a sweep of wood are the only traditional nods to what is an otherwise modern cabin replete with electronics.
- Performance: The key to a quick and light driving feel is the lightweight aluminum architecture – with a bit of magnesium and composite alloys thrown in for good measure.
- Technology:High-definition “virtual gauges” present information like traditional instrument dials, only more so. The tachometer fades in and out depending on the need to share messages with the driver.
- Cargo: The trunk is massive and useful, while inside you’ll find a decent array of places to store your stuff.
The Verdict
9.0
A luscious luxury ride and it's being sold with shocking discounts.
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