Feature for feature, the Jaguar XJ sedans represent one of the best values among full-size luxury cars. It offers features and comfort comparable to the top-line luxury sedans from Audi, BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz for thousands less. Yet it makes a strong statement of luxury when it rolls up to a five-star hotel, stronger than some of those other marques muster.
For 2007, the XJ value equation improves further, with front and rear heated seats and Bluetooth wireless cell phone capability standard on all models.
As automobiles tend more toward generic and distinctions get harder to draw, even at the top of the market, the XJ sedan seems unique. It remains a true statement of luxury. Roll up in one of these and you'll be treated like royalty. The XJ's lithe, elegant lines ooze class, but not excess. Its cabin retains the charm of an upper-crust clubroom: nicely stuffed seats with piping, lots of polished wood and wool rugs underfoot.
Underway in town or on the highway, the XJ is smooth, quiet, stately and powerful, and it handles quite well for its size. It's easier to operate, certainly less complicated, than the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, and Mercedes S-Class. It's less burdened with systems and processes that can frustrate with their complexity. The five XJ models are loaded with sophisticated safety and performance technology, mind you, but all that technology is tucked away in a less obtrusive fashion, and it generally works without much annoyance or distraction. The XJs deliver the best EPA fuel mileage ratings in this class, and none carries a gas-guzzler tax.
The XJ sedan comes in regular and long-wheelbase versions. Stretched five inches, the long-wheelbase models offer enough rear-seat room to recline and watch a movie after lunch on a flip-down wooden tray. Yet these longer, roomier Jaguars are for practical purposes as quick, nimble and fuel-efficient as the shorter wheelbase versions. The supercharged XJR is the quickest and nimblest of all, but it doesn't add nearly the price premium that competitors' high-performance models require.
We could point out half-a-dozen specific things that other cars in this class do better than the XJ. The Jaguars are neither the quickest nor the quietest, for example, and they lack some safety features offered in others. If all wheel drive is important, you won't find it in the Jaguar XJ. But none of that may amount to much for many buyers. Indeed, the Jaguar XJ might be the friendliest and most charming of the luxury sedans.