British automotive has been pretty exciting lately, don’t you think? The new F-type has been delivering on its hype since its launch, and Land Rover has been revising their entire line-up. All this excitement stems from Jaguar Land Rover’s heavy R&D investments and focus on design – producing beautiful, driveable works of art from design heads such as Ian Callum and Gerry McGovern.

Redesigned in 2009, the Jaguar XJ was a significant improvement over the outgoing and outdated model. No longer resembling any of its ancestry, the new XJ was a bold curvaceous large sedan for those who wanted an alternative to the German and Japanese offerings. Taking a lot of its frontal styling cues from the XF, the XJ would go on to be a founding symbol of Jaguar’s modern design language. Like its competitors, it is also offered in an “L” variant – which offers a longer wheelbase.

In 2013, Jaguar introduced the XJ-R – a 550 horsepower executive road rocket. We had a chance to test it out and tell you what we like and dislike about it. First, let’s go over the specs:

Specifications:

-5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine

-502 lb.-ft. torque

-eight-speed automatic

-0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds

-Rear-wheel drive

-4,200 lbs.

-14.2L/100 km city / 8.6L/100 km highway

-Base price: $122,133

LIKES

Heart-Throbbing Performance

The XJ is extremely deceiving. Take a stroll around its long wheel base and there’s no way you would ever think that something this big can go from a standstill to 100 km/h in less than 5 seconds. It seems physically impossible! 

The 550 HP supercharged V8 engine generates more horsepower than BMW’s Alpina B7 – which is clocked at 500 horsepower. If you are considering getting one of these and you have a chauffeur, we won’t blame you if you decide to fire him (or her). This is one of those things better experienced first-hand.

This is a rear-wheel drive car, but the exceptional traction control system makes any speedy manoeuvre seem possible. From a standstill, I pushed hard on the gas pedal and performed a left turn at a speed of 60 km/h. The car drifted across the intersection, but the torque from the rear wheels caused a bit too much over-steer. Thankfully, the traction system knew what was going on and corrected the car’s positioning leading to a perfect high-speed turn. 

Rear Styling

What do the XJ and the Bentley’s styling have in common? Both feature rear styling that is simplistic, yet unique. The XJ and the Bentley Continental both feature vertical taillights that have a minimalist design. The Jaguar takes it one step further by adding a huge logo that you can’t miss – even from several metres away. This rear design is the brainchild of Ian Callum, Jaguar’s Director of Design, who claims the taillights are supposed to resemble a big cat’s claw scratching a tree.

Opulent Interiors

The rich interiors serve as a reminder of the car’s price tag. The seats are perfectly plush and offer heat and cool functions. Almost every surface on the dashboard is covered in soft-touch leather. The touch screen is large and within reach, providing the same user-friendly interface found in other Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. The vehicle we tested had two sunroofs for both the front and rear passengers. The panoramic sunroof option replaces the roof with a black glass panel. If you opt for the panoramic sunroof, we would highly recommend picking a contrasting colour (maybe white?) to give the car a beautiful two-tone look.

DISLIKES

Front Parking Aids

The XJ is a large car; and these dimensions come with a large front bonnet to hold the beast that lives underneath it. While there are parking sensors up front to warn you when you get too close to objects, it takes some time for the system to realize you are about to park. Also, it would be nice to know if you are within the parking spot in the event there are no objects in front of you – say for instance you park your car facing a curb. If there was a front-facing camera, I would be able to visually tell how close I am to the curb so I don’t grind my bumper against it.

Headlights

When the XJ was redesigned for 2009, its headlights were slim and unique. In comparison, the smaller XF had a bulgy-eyed headlights that was unique in its own way. In 2012, the XF went through a mid-cycle refresh, causing its headlights to now look more like the more expensive XJ. Now if you compare both from the front, they look almost identical – even though there is a huge price difference between the two. Let’s hope we can see this change when the XJ gets redesigned hopefully next year.