Autoblog's Seyth Miersma takes the all-wheel-drive version of the Jaguar XJL out for a spin on a rainy day, to see how it compares with the rear-drive version.
TranscriptSEYTH MIERSMA: Hey, everybody. It's your old pal, Seyth, here with Autoblog, and I am in the 2015 Jaguar XJL. That L is for a long wheelbase. Engine powering this car is the 3-liter supercharged V6.
[CAR REVS]
[WHISTLES]
So my cameras inside probably didn't pick up a lot of that, but the supercharged 3-liter does have a nice little growl to it, especially in sport mode, where I'm staying higher in the rev range. But it doesn't have that same kind of big, luxurious, meaty, wolfly V8 sound as the naturally-aspirated 5-liter used to. Now, at 340 horsepower, 332 pound feet of torque, I mean, this engine has everything that you need. I think that they see the 0 to 60 time is around six seconds. Frankly, the car feels a little bit faster even than that. And again, we're talking about a large, long wheelbase car here.
What's particularly interesting is, and relevant to the weather that you probably see behind me right now, that this car is not rear-wheel drive but it is, in fact, all-wheel drive. So even going into this knowing, obviously, that I was in an all-wheel drive car, the first drive really reveals it to handle a lot like a rear-wheel drive vehicle. And that's appropriate. That's what you want in a car of this class. You know, something very luxurious and that has a reputation built on the sporting dynamics, as opposed to just sort of comfort and refinement.
So Jaguar's goal with an all-wheel drive system like this is to make the car still feel very much like a rear-wheel drive vehicle, but give you just enough ability to be able to pull up out of a corner smartly when the grip is a little bit lower than you expect it to be. So obviously, if there's some snow on the ground, that's a helpful thing, or on a day like today, when I'm coming out of a corner on a slightly slippery road, being able to put the power down is advantageous.
And to be honest, so far, the application has been really seamless. The power seems to be flowing from the engine just to the rear wheels. I feel like I'm getting a little bit of assist right now. I'm, you know, entering a corner at kind of a moderate speed and not really slipping at all. But no, it feels like a rear-wheel drive car.
I've always loved this XJ. The aluminum construction means that it's lightweight. It's always felt very nimble, despite the fact that it's a big car, especially in this long wheelbase version. But you know, so far, turning four wheels instead of two hasn't altered that character at all. When it comes right down to it, this is a luxury car, but it's also a driver's car. It's one of the reasons why myself and I know a lot of other auto writers have always really enjoyed it.
It might not be the full-size luxury car that I would buy, but it probably is the one that I enjoy driving the most. Thanks for sticking out the rainstorm with me, guys. I'm Seth Miersma for Autoblog, and I will see you on the next one.
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