Lighter the new car may be; noisier it is not. Quieter camshaft drive chains and tuned induction paths have helped reduce engine noise, and numerous procedures and material applications throughout the car have made the new XJR especially calm inside. Even the Eaton blower’s noise is subdued until operating at high speed and full throttle. Like a singer in a chorus awaiting a cue, the blower saves its song for high-performance driving. Then, to confirm the contribution it’s making to the car’s greatly hastened progress, the whine suddenly rises above the mellow growl of the V-8.
Even wind noise is low in the new XJR, thanks to careful body sculpting and triple door seals. Enthusiasts might consider the new XJs too quiet, but Jaguar devotees will undoubtedly appreciate the levels of refinement. The suspension is a case in point. By using air springs, Jaguar engineers have provided automatic ride leveling and quite remarkable body-motion control without having to use particularly firm spring rates.
By eliminating the steel coils in conventional springs, the Jag people have also removed one of the paths that conduct vibration into the body. In this category of car, it seems air springs are becoming par for the course. Considering how well the XJR handles and corners, the ride is remarkably civil. Even here the sense of lightness prevails. The XJR glides over imperfections and only jogs a bit when confronting bad pavement breaks. Special plastic wheel-housing liners help reduce the sounds the tires make in their war with bumps, but the 19-inch 40-series Pirelli P Zeros on our car did relay the roar of rough road texture into the cabin when the surfaces got grainy. Just not loudly.
Some feedback is good, particularly since the isolation from noise and vibration is already enough to have you chafing behind traffic that’s moving at 90 mph. The XJR’s combination of poise and tranquillity means that cars ahead are never going fast enough. Just as well, then, that the steering has good on-center feel along with equally good off-center response. There is so little lost motion between the wheel rim and front tires that abrupt inputs produce startlingly digital responses from the car’s nose.Learn to finesse the steering in this car—not a difficult task—and you will find a rhythm on a winding stretch of road that engages your attention very agreeably. Since the car enjoys good handling and grip along with a deceptive ability to carry great speed, you risk the less-delighted attention of local law-enforcement personnel, too, but that’s the downside of contemporary high-performance technology.
The upside is that this XJR has Jaguar’s CATS adaptive damping, with the shocks mounted so their tops are isolated from the car’s body structure. These are constantly readjusted according to driving conditions to help balance the wide comfort and control spectrum of the XJR. Dynamic stability control (DSC) is probably a necessary watchdog in a car that builds speed so effortlessly, but it can be switched off if so desired.
After watching Mike Cross, Jaguar’s chief engineer for vehicle integrity, perform spectacular high-speed power slides on video, we feel doubly convinced that the DSC isn’t there just to compensate for an incomplete chassis-tuning exercise. And after stopping from 70 mph in 164 feet (averaging 1.00 g of deceleration in the process), we know the giant Brembo rotors and their four-piston calipers are well up to the job of stopping this two-ton projectile.
Like many of the cars offered in this price stratum, the XJR has all the bells and whistles. It has elaborate safety systems with automatic deployment of airbags and belt tensioners based on the readings of various sensors. It has a killer Alpine stereo with 12 speakers. It has xenon headlights and LED taillights. It has 16-way power-adjustable front seats. It has leather and wood and good British interior charm.
But most important, it now has room for tall drivers and tall passengers and their luggage. In this league, that might be a lot more important than an aluminum body. But isn’t it nice now to have it all?
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