If David Niven had been a car it would have been this Jaguar. Niven was handsome, suave, intelligent and charming and always maintained a sense of humor. He wasn’t brutish or macho, just competent and elegant. So it is with the Super V8.
This big cat is a long wheelbase XJ that packs a 400 horsepower, 4.2 liter, supercharged V8 under the hood, but only for the purpose of “coming up to speed.”
There’s no exhaust rumble or engine noise, only quiet and smooth reaction to the conditions. It comes up to speed incredibly well, by the way, and will throw you back into the seat if you stand on the accelerator, easily staying up with the rest of the pack. It’s a really fast car in spite of its weight and size. How’s 0-60 in 5.5 seconds for fast?
Jaguar is all about elegance and the Super V8 has it in spades. Outside the body styling is attractive — not radical or swoopy, but attractive. The ebony exterior paint is one of the best finishes I’ve seen in a long time and the only thing I find incongruous is the chrome plate behind the front wheel well. It’s not ugly, just not necessary. When you look at the car from any angle you know it’s a Jaguar.
Inside is where Jaguar has always done its best, and it far outshines any other manufacturer. The Ivory Mocha leather is not only beautiful, it’s oh-so-right in execution, fit and comfort. It smells great! The inlaid walnut burl wood trim is exactly where it should be and not plastered in areas where it shouldn’t be. It also looks like wood and not wood that was dipped in thick plastic.
Every detail in the car demonstrates the craftsmanship and fine materials that are a hallmark of high-end British products.
The seats are incredibly comfortable, heated and cooled, and there are adjustments aplenty. Rear seat passengers have stretch-out legroom and equally comfortable seating, also heated for cold weather driving. Outer rear seats are powered, too. Those in the rear lack for nothing, other than a steering wheel. They have HVAC control, sun blinds for the side windows and their own sound system. DVD screens are imbedded in both of the front headrests, making it the automotive equivalent of a home theater back there.
Speaking of sound, the 320 Watt Alpine audio system puts out virtually flawless frequencies without blasting you with one of those over-tweaked subwoofer boxes. There’s actually a difference between music and pointless vibration and Alpine knows it. My thanks go to their engineers, as does my appreciation for the key-in-the-ignition system. Jaguar hasn’t yet given in to the silly electronic keys that you keep in your pocket while touching a start button. I know there are some nice features to such systems but I think the disadvantages (loss, cost or replacement, eventual failure) far outweigh having to reach into your pocket for the key.
Handling for such a long, heavy car is quite good, thanks in large part to the 20-inch wheels with 255/35 performance tires. Yes, I said “35” series tires, which look a bit like thick rubber bands wrapped around the alloy wheels. Their inherently horrible ride qualities are mitigated by a bit of clever air suspension engineering and shock damping, so the overall feeling inside is one of “firm smoothness,” whatever that might mean. The 6-speed automatic transmission always seems to be in the correct gear for proper acceleration and the huge, 4-wheel disc brakes can bring the car down from any speed without wander or vibration.
Driving the Super V8 is a pleasure, if not an expensive one. All this power and bulk suck up a lot of fuel, so don’t expect more than 15-18 mpg in the city or 22-25 on the road, especially if you carry passengers. It’s also very, very expensive to own, with an MSRP of $94,085.
The test car was fitted with the optional SIRIUS satellite radio system ($450), and transportation charges add $665, for a grand total of $95,200.
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