As is typical in Leicestershire, England, it rained all day. Yet we had a fantastic time attacking the rotten, wet, roads with Jaguar's gorgeous and dazzlingly powerful '98 XJR sedan.
Some carmakers believe auto writers don't catch on when the car company purposely chooses easy roads to show off their newest vehicles. Smooth streets falsely flatter body rigidity and ride. And long, gentle curves don't begin to plumb a suspension's true body and wheel control.
So we were surprised and impressed when Jaguar chose to introduce its new supercharged V-8-powered XJR sedan on the narrow, snaking, and poorly maintained two-lanes north of London. But after carving these rain-slick roadways in the XJR, we came to the conclusion that Jaguar's execs were actually clever to choose that challenging venue.
Customers in the U.S. will get four flavors of the face-lifted '98 XJ sedan: the 290-horsepower XJ8, the longer-wheelbase XJ8L, the luxurious long-wheelbase Vanden Plas, and the fire-breathing XJR with its 370 horses. (At just 1600 rpm, the XJR's supercharged engine is already generating more torque than the sporty XJ8's naturally aspirated motor at its peak, just to give you proper perspective.)
But first, what's new overall with the XJ sedan lineup for '98? Although it's not obvious, Jag claims that 30 percent of the body structure is new or modified for additional strength.
The other big changes are banishment of the venerable inline six and V-12 powertrains in favor of the luscious 4.0-liter V-8, the addition of a five-speed automatic, as well as a restyled interior with a new multiplexed wiring harness, front side-impact airbags, a more accurate ZF steering rack, new forged-steel double-wishbone suspension components in front, a quieter rear-differential assembly, plus retuned suspension bushings front and rear.
Does a multiplexed wiring harness seem like an odd thing to mention so prominently? Perhaps not, if you've experienced or heard about the electrical gremlins hiding in the XJ's former tangle of copper and plastic. This change, along with many smaller ones, is part of the steady progress in addressing Jaguar's historical quality issues.
Internal company reports find that warranty costs have been slashed 50 percent since 1990, and the J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey shows a drop from 300 problems per 100 cars in 1988 to fewer than 100 problems in 1996. Credit for much of this goes to the influence of corporate parent, Ford Motor Company.
That American influence hasn't diminished the British tradition of richly-lined luxury motoring, but rather has injected into it a full measure of musclecar performance. Jag engineering claims the new XJR will blaze its way to 60 mph in just 5.4 seconds. And though instrumented testing was not allowed during this First Drive, we have every reason to believe that figure after our romp. (Jag officially stated that the "old" XJR with the supercharged six would pull 60 in 6.7 seconds. We recorded a 6.6-second run in our May '95 issue.) There's no doubt it's a real scorcher.
Obviously this cat will run with the big dogs. But that tail-hauling impression is not the result of howling tires, bitten-off shifts, or a barking exhaust note. Indeed, the car's sweet powertrain calibration, richly tuned intake purr, hydraulic engine mounts, and attention to noise attenuation vastly belie the vehicle's true speed.