Jaguar XJ 4.2 V8 LWB Sovereign

Having driven its competitors from Japan and Germany, I was anxious about my first encounter with a Jaguar XJ. I’ve long admired the sleek lines and endless charisma of the Jaguar brand and one has always been present on my ‘What I’ll Buy If I Win The Lottery’ list.

The XJ 4.2 V8 LWB Sovereign was arguably not the best choice for my first drive in a Jaguar, but if you’re going to get behind the wheel, it might as well be in the best that money can buy. On arrival, I made the error of hopping in the drivers’ seat first, without a proper look behind. Once I realised my mistake, I opened one of the vast rear doors to find what appeared to be acres of leg room – so much that I wouldn’t have known where to put my feet had I not been driving.

Then there was the equipment. Whilst nestling amongst swathes of cream leather, deep pile carpets and burr walnut, passengers in the electronically adjustable rear seats get individual climate control to keep them as warm or as cool as they like and enjoy television or film on the multimedia screens, buried within the front headrests.

Behind the wheel, the XJ doesn’t fail to impress. The V8 churns out 300bhp and provides 310lb/ft of torque at just over 4000rpm. It will get to 60mph from standstill in a little over six seconds and is flat out at 155mph. Despite notable performance statistics, the XJ will still return a combined 25mpg – although kicks out a predictable 269g/km CO2 and therefore qualifies for Ken Livingstone’s ‘gas guzzler’ £25 per day London congestion charge. If you’re looking for a ‘greener’ alternative, it’d be worth your while checking out the 2.7 TDVi also available in the XJ.

However, the main issue with the long wheelbase derivative is its size. At just under two metres wide, it’s not the easiest car to thread through tight gaps – although you are warned of almost every passing object by the over-sensitive parking sensors – and coming in at 5.2 metres in length means that it won’t fit in most regular parking bays. Nevertheless, that alone shouldn’t be enough to put off most potential buyers.

The person responsible for the interior design of the XJ did a fantastic job, with all the necessary kit within stretching distance and engineered to be wonderfully tactile – including the button that opens the passenger glovebox, which has almost been turned into a feature of the dashboard. The controls are mostly intuitive and mean that everything from changing the distance for the adaptive cruise control to answering the phone can be done without removing your hands from the wheel.

The XJ as tested came in at £59,892, but comes with a premium sound system, voice command, Bluetooth connectivity, 16-way electric front seats and a rear multimedia system. Under the body, Jaguar’s Computer Active Technology Suspension (CATS) helps maintain impeccable ride comfort, carefully balancing between responsive handling and steadfast traction.

I have had length discussions about competitors and why I think I would rather have an XJ over an S-Class or even a Lexus LS600h – which is outstanding – and I worry that my logic may be flawed. Nevertheless, when I saw the XJ being driven away to its next lucky tester, I felt a strange sense of attachment, and then I realised why. The XJ has something few of its competitors and indeed other cars could hope to replicate – personality.