Farewell to the Jaguar XJ LWB 5.0 V8 Supercharged

In 2010, I reported on the launch of the all-new Jaguar XJ from Paris and got the opportunity to drive the very first cars around the city.


Take a look inside a £100k Jaguar XJL here:    • The £100,000 Jaguar XJ LWB Autobiography V...  


 Now, eight years later, this is now coming to the end of it’s working life. So, what’s has this generation of XJ given to the chauffeur industry?

So, when it was launched in 2010 did chauffeurs like it? Well, no.

It had dramatic, sleek, modern looks which set it apart from any other luxury saloon, but chauffeurs felt the attributes a basic chauffeur car needed - were gone.

Jaguar gradually refined the XJ over its nine year life in an attempt to improve it for chauffeurs

Now, something Jaguar absolutely nailed with this model is this superb engine in this Autobiography spec’d vehicle - under the bonnet is a 5.0 V8 supercharged engine delivering 510 bhp. It’s absolutely superb to drive as you can imagine - it swifts along like any limousine should, but when you you’ve finally got rid of the client, you can easily have as much fun as you like.

Most chauffeurs obviously chose the V6 diesel derivative which was probably the highlight of the new XJ. However, the car as a whole did have it’s issues…

When you look at any discussion within chauffeurs about the XJL, they’ll always comment on the rear headroom. Well, I’m 5ft 10 and I have a reasonable amount. I did have a couple of very tall passengers the other day and although there were no complaints, it was a bit tight to be fair.

There was a model update mid-life when Jaguar dropped the rear seats a few inches to allow more room, but because of the design of the vehicle, I don’t think they could squeeze any more space out of this - some chauffeurs even reported you’’d get a bit more headroom in the short-wheelbase model.

But chauffeurs did buy it. I suppose they became fond of it over time - it wasn’t the perfect chauffeur car unless you started to spend big big money on plenty of rear seat upgrades.

Jaguar modified the interior over time to offer some excellent luxury packages, new rear entertainment with reclining seats. A brand new multimedia system was an essential upgrade as the previous version felt ancient, even when the vehicle was launched.

There’s something very poignant about this supercharged XJ - There’s rumours that late 2018 will see a completely new XJ - thats totally electric! Therefore, this could be the last ever V8 XJ ever made - I’d better make the most of it then!

So, in a world where all the high-powered petrol engines are disappearing and diesel seems to be the fuel of satan - it seems as if Jaguar will be using technology such as that used in it’s new I-pace in the future XJ model.

In reality, electric vehicles do tend to have more interior space which in turn could result in more luggage space - let’s hope the designers have listened this time.

So, what would the chauffeur industry want from the new XJ? Well, if they want the XJ to be seen as a chauffeur car, then more thought needs to be put into the practicalities of operating one rather than just how it looks. If they want it to be an S-Class competitor in the future, then I’m afraid they have some serious work to do - but I’m sure they’re capable of it.

#jaguar #xj #chauffeur