"First Look: 2010 Jaguar XJ" Edmunds Daily

First Look: 2010 Jaguar XJ

We recently got our first in-person look at the radically redesigned 2010 Jaguar XJ as it was showed off to current Jag owners and the media in Hollywood. If you haven't seen it in pictures already, we've provided plenty of them here, but the car in person is just as breathtakingly different than anything that's come before.

There may be a little XF here and a little Citroen C6 there, but this is a distinctly different luxury flagship that breathes a gust of fresh air into the stale Jaguar brand. It's like Prince Charles went into a closet and reemerged several minutes later as Keira Knightley.

Gee, can you tell which one is the new car? Also, would you believe that under the skin, both feature the same aluminum platform?

The 2011 Jaguar XJ's interior is truly impressive and it comes in numerous color schemes, this one is navy softgrain interior with ivory seats and navy piping accented with satin elm veneer. The 2009 Jaguar XJ at right is fashioned in a 1978 motif.

Under the new skin is the same thoroughly modern aluminum platform found in the outgoing Grandpa XJ. The thing is, the old car drove quite well and was indeed a thoroughly modern car hidden underneath the same old styling that had been kicking around since the '60s. The interior could best be described as ye olde. The new styling makes the XJ relevant again and if there's a nicer interior presently in a car, I haven't seen it. The XJ makes a BMW 7 Series seem cheap and dull by comparison.

There will be three trim levels available, each corresponding with a different engine and each available in regular and extended wheelbase (L) body styles. The latter adds a fair bit of cost, but it makes the back seat competitive with its premium big car rivals. There will be no XJR (that we know of yet). Instead, the range-topping XJ Supersports will serve as the flagship model.

XJ = $72,500
XJL = $79,500
5.0-liter V8, 385 horsepower

XJ Supercharged = $87,500
XJL Supercharged = $90,500
5.0-liter supercharged V8, 470 hp

XJ Supersport = $112,000
XJL Supersport = $115,000
5.0-liter supercharged V8, 510 hp

Notable standard features:
Navigation system, new touchscreen electronics interface, HD and satellite radio, panoramic glass sunroof, quad-zone climate control, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, leather on everything (in countless color schemes) and numerous veneer choices. The higher the trim you go, the more interior customization you get. Several of these items are included with the base XJ's Luxury Package.

Notable optional features:
Bowers & Wilkins stereo, adaptive cruise control, rear seat entertainment, seven different wheel designs.

The 2011 Jaguar XJ is scheduled to arrive in showrooms in late spring and it can't arrive soon enough. The XF has rightly been a success for the brand, but this new XJ is needed to further help salvage Jaguar's tattered reputation.

James Riswick, Automotive Editor