2011 Jaguar XJL Review

The 2011 Jaguar XJL is the long wheelbase form of Jaguar's XJ 4-door luxury sedan. The XJL continues Jaguar's tradition of British luxury, as the long, sexy car comes chock full of amenities and technology. This is by no means a car for everyone. But if you can afford the XJL's $80,000 base sticker price, you can have a car that possesses the driving experience and cache found only in a handful of cars, like the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

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$80,700. With options it can get up near $85,000.

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-Naturally aspirated V8 engine
-385-hp, 380 lb-ft of torque
-Six-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters
-15 mpg City/22 mpg Hwy
-Built in Castle Bromwich, England

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The BMW 750, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Lexus LS.

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Michael: The interior of this car is just dripping in luxury. Almost everything you can touch is made of leather, wood or suede. Jaguar has pulled out all the stops on the inside of this car and you would be hard pressed to find a classier place to drive. It's deathly silent, incredibly comfortable and feels as roomy as a large SUV. I had a hard time resisting the urge to put on a nice suit every time I drove it.

Autoblog: Aluminum. That's that oft-repeated word when detailing the 2011 XJ's chassis and body panels. Jaguar used the lightweight alloy, plus magnesium and composites, to fabricate just about the entire structure. Most everything is assembled with aerospace-proven riveting and bonding technology – much like a modern aircraft. The resulting platform is not only reportedly the lightest in its class (saving 300 pounds over a steel equivalent), but the metallurgical properties of aluminum allow it to absorb the energy of impacts better than steel in a crash.

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Michael: When it comes to the technology in a car, it's function over form. And in the case of the XJL's infotainment, it simply doesn't function well enough to be considered a good system. The infotainment interface is clean and classy, but it's painfully slow. I had a lot of problems with the Bluetooth connectivity, as well. When I connected my phone, the car would make a call (to no one) and would not allow me to hang up. The only way to stop it and get the radio back on was to disconnect the phone, rendering the system completely useless. Also, where are the TVs in the back? This car costs over $80,000 and having a staple of today's uber-luxury rides totally missing seems wrong.

Autoblog: Styling controversy swirls around that awkward painted gloss black C-Pillar (we remember it on the 1995 Dodge Intrepid). While it is nearly invisible on the darker paint shades, the inelegant accent cleaves through the graceful roof arch on the lighter cars. Jaguar says the blackened panel "reduces the visual weight of the pillars and gives the impression of an exotic floating roof." We get it, but we don't like it.

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This is luxury in its purest form. Save some problems with the infotainment, it's hard to find a flaw in this car. It may not be the most fun thing on the road to drive, but it is unquestionably an absolute pleasure to be behind the wheel. Of course, if you have the money to buy this car, you may not ever drive it at all, opting instead for the chauffer as you stretch your legs in the extra-roomy back seat. Most shoppers in this segment may look to BMW and Mercedes first, but they would be well served to test-drive the XJL before automatically defaulting to buying German.

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