Why you should buy this car: All that watching "Top Gear" has you believing British cars truly are the best in the world. You want a classy, fast, comfortable full-size luxury car that doesn't have an aftertaste of bratwurst.

Why you shouldn't buy this car: It's four cylinders short of over-the-top luxury. Ford hasn't exactly fixed Jaguar's questionable quality issues. It's still a little too retro.

Suitability Parameters:
· Speed Merchants: Yes
· Fashion Victims: No
· Treehuggers: No
· Mack Daddies: Yes
· Tuner Crowd: No
· Hairdressers: No
· Penny Pinchers: Yes (rich ones)
· Euro Snobs: Yes
· Working Stiffs: No
· Technogeeks: No
· Poseurs: No
· Soccer Moms: No
· Nascar Dads: No
· Golfing Grandparents: Yes

Also Consider:
· Mercedes-Benz S600
· BMW 760Li
· Audi A8 W12

Vitals:
· Manufacturer: Jaguar
· Model tested: XJ Super V8
· Model year: 2006
· Base Price: $91,330
· Price as Tested: $91,995
· Engine type: Supercharged 4.2-liter DOHC 32-valve V-8
· Horsepower: 400 hp @ 6100 rpm
· Torque: 413 ft.-lbs. @ 3500 rpm
· Transmission: 6-speed manumatic
· Curb Weight: 4001 lbs
· LxWxH: 205.3 x 76.5 x 57.3 in
· Wheelbase: 124.4 in
· Tires: P255/40ZR19 Pirelli PZero System
· Drive type: rear-wheel-drive
· 0 - 60 mph: 5.0 sec.
· Fuel economy city/highway: 17 / 24
· NHTSA crash test rating: not tested

[by Mike Austin]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Jaguar XJ Super V8, Part 1, Part 2 [internal]

Exterior Design: ****
The Jaguar XJ is stylishly retro, much in the way of a Fila or Izod shirt. The proportions are well matched front and rear, and it is instantly recognizable as a Jaguar. It is also instantly recognizable as something that is related to an X-Type, which is bad. (Fine, the X-Type is an easy target.) At any rate, the XJ is like a good suit: stylish but not overstated.

Interior Design: ***
It's British, so there's lot of leather and wood. The overall feeling is very warm and soft in contrast to the firmer seats and colder design of the XJ's German competitors. But the touch-screen nav system, and even the entire center console, is looking a little bit old, and the radio is frustrating to use.

Acceleration: ****
If not for the cartoonishly quick acceleration of the Mercedes-Benz S600, the XJ Super V8 would be a rocket ship. The engine note is smooth and subdued until you hit the gas, when the noise from the exhaust reaches a pleasing level without any whine from the supercharger.

Braking ****
There's something to be said for brakes that can alternately make your passengers scream, and then get mad at you for a second panic brake when they bruise their legs on whatever part of the interior they just hit.

Ride *****
I'm told the rear seat is similar to airplane travel, because the ride is so smooth and the cabin is so quiet. But the suspension doesn't float like a Buick, it's right about perfect. Give some credit to the weight-saving all-aluminum construction here.

Handling ****
Again, the aluminum helps. The XJ drives like a much smaller car, even though it's longer and wider than ze German luxo-sedans. The steering is precise and well-weighted.

Gearbox ****
Could the six-speed automatic be smoother? Yes, but that's less a complaint than a recognition of better gearboxes out there. There's a sport mode, and individual gears can be selected by moving through the steps of the J-shaped shift gate.

Audio/Video ****
The rear seat has two DVD screens in the front seat headrests, and rear seat passengers can choose from the trunk-mounted DVD player, one of two auxiliary A/V inputs, or any of the main stereo's sources (CD, CD Changer, AM/FM). The stereo also has digital signal processing to fit the sound to specific seat positions.

Toys ****
The XJ has one of the best and most useful gadgets in the whole world — an adjustable speed limiter. Say you're in a construction zone, speed trap, or just being followed by Smokey. Set the limiter to the desired speed and the XJ works as normal up to that point and then limits the revs. As for the rest of the car, this is a Jaguar and it's not without its electronic quirks. Turning on the driver's seat heater, for instance, also turns on the steering wheel heater. And where are the cooled seats, power trunk, or any other number of gizmos that are available on the German sedans?

Trunk **
The spec sheet says the trunk is competitive at 15 cubic feet, but the eyes say this is a small trunk. That's because the low trunklid results in a very shallow cargo area of limited usefulness.

Value ****
As we mentioned in part one, the XJ Super V8 is at least $25,000 less than a 12-cylinder German sedan, and it's just as quick. Of course, those missing four cylinders result in a loss of cachet. You're still getting a lot of luxury car for, well, a lot of money, but much less money than for a similar Audi.

Overall ****
It's not as new, stylish, or well-featured as the Germans', but the XJ Super V8 is a lot of fun to live with, and even more fun to ride in the back seat. No, it's probably not the best, but this car shouldn't be written off like Ford might do with the whole brand.

[by Mike Austin]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Jaguar XJ Super V8, Part 1 [internal]

First, the good news. The Jaguar XJ Super V8 is as fast as its V12-engined competitors for more than $25,000 less. (You could pick up a used X-Type with the spare change, but why would anyone do that?) At any rate, the long-wheelbase XJ comes with the supercharged, 4.2-liter V8 found in the sportier XJR (and the Range Rover Sport), and it puts out 400 horsepower. That's 38 horses down from its nearest competitor, the BMW 760Li. But the Jaguar is all aluminum and, unlike the similarly constructed Audi A8, the result is significant weight savings. The XJ tips the scales at a feathery — as feathery as a large sedan can get — 4,001 pounds. In terms of power-to-weight-ratio, the only German luxury sedan that tops the XJ is the Mercedes-Benz S600.

The weight savings pays off in more than just speed. Fuel economy is better than all the V12s too. But the best part is that the XJ drives like a much smaller car; one could almost consider it nimble. In fact, the XJ is longer and wider than its competitors.

Unfortunately, the added length does not pay its dividend in rear-seat legroom. And the rear seat is the place to be in the XJ Super V8. We'll get to that, but not before we cover some additional bad news.

For starters, this platform is going on four years old; it's a veritable antique in product-cycle terms. However well the XJ drives, its chassis rigidity is not on par with newer offerings. Features and interior lag behind the competition as well. Where are the massaging seats and bi-xenon headlamps? Why hasn't the navigation system been updated since 1999?

Perhaps we're being too picky, but the XJ feels a touch dated. That said, it does have plenty of features like Bluetooth phone, active cruise control, and rear-seat DVD monitors. Which returns us to the rear seats, which, as good as the XJ drives, offer the best chairs in the house. All four seating areas in the Super V8 have lambswool floormats — a ridiculous but very cozy indulgence. The back seats, with adjustable lumbar and recline, also have fold-down trays. And the rear-seat occupants can control the main radio or listen to their own entertainment through (corded, not included) headphones.

All of the windows have double-laminated glass, and the XJ is so quiet and smooth that the comparison to first-class airline travel would only be unfair if you consider that the XJ is probably more comfortable than that of an airliner's luxo-section. One reviewer's sister enjoyed the back seat so much she called it the best car ever. Her brother doesn't quite agree. It's a good car, and a great value, but it lacks the gee-whiz gadgetry and over-the-top luxury of the German competitors. That said, anyone who is looking to both drive and be driven should give the XJ Super V8 more than a passing glance. [by Mike Austin]