Jaguar XJ Supersport (2010) CAR review

The Supersport is the cream on top of Jaguar’s new XJ range for 2010. The supercharged V8-powered limousine is the flagship, a full-fat experience in which only 5% of XJ customers will indulge. How does the £87,455, ultimate version of Britain’s S-class drive?

That’s not a Jag XJ, that’s a Citroen concept car! Whatever happened to drawing rooms on wheels?

Unless you’ve been taking a shower of Bobby Ewing proportions, you’ll have spotted the design transformation of Jaguar’s saloons. The 2010 XJ takes the boldness of the 2008 XF and twists, gambling on a radical-looking limo in a conservative market segment. It’s an imposing mash-up of limousine stature and sporty details, such as the diving roofline, colossal grille, 911-style flared hips and 19-inch wheels as standard (the Supersport rolls on 20s). The brutish XJ looks like nothing else in its class, whereas its predecessor looked identical to its forebear. That’s progress, with bells on.

The cabin trumps its avantgarde exterior. Every dashboard is wrapped in luxurious leather, and glinting round vents and a big, concave steering wheel evoke ‘50s Americana. Genuine wood inserts flow from the doors around the dash-top to form a prow like a boat’s, meeting in an understated Jaguar plaque below the centre of the windscreen.

Jaguar chauffeured journalists in long wheelbase XJs (around £3000 for the extra legroom) through dark Parisienne streets. The Eiffel Tower glowed yellow overhead, visible through the standard double-section glass roof, complementing the gentle blue haze of the interior lighting. A wonderfully atmospheric experience, enhanced by a cabin that positively reeks of luxury and character: eliminate the badges and customers could mistake it for a Bentley’s. It makes the German interiors look cheap and dowdy.

Okay, okay, so it’s an intriguing thing to behold, and beguiling to sit in. How does it drive?

It’s telling that Jaguar compares itself with Porsche; the XJ is undoubtedly biased towards sportiness. Potholes traversed at 25mph send a thump through the cabin: the low speed ride is defiantly taut. Businessmen whose lair is the back seats will find the suspension too firm; Jaguar should seriously consider softening the long-wheelbase cars. Or businessmen should climb into the driver’s seat, because they’re missing out on a treat otherwise.

Officials say modifying the suspension would compromise the steering, which is the XJ’s trump card. Jaguar racks have a lightness, a deftness, typically missing from the Germans’ self-consciously meaty helms. Don’t mistake that lightness for insousiance: a flick of the wrists and the XJ responds pointedly. And you can firm it up by entering ‘dynamic’ mode.

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