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AUTO CLASSIFIEDS 986-6222

Jaguar unveils
new XJ sedans

Greg
Wilson

AUTOMOTION

JAGUAR HAS returned to
its styling roots with the new
XJ6 and XJ12 sedans and
unveiled a surprise new
entry: the sporty, super-
charged XJR, Jaguar’s
equivalent of the BMW M5

or Mercedes-Benz E500.

The restyled and re-engineered

’ Jaguar sedans show strong styling

similarities with the oviginal XJ6
sedan, introduced almost 27 years
ago. .
The current model’s blunt front-
end, squared-off taillights and sharp
creases have been replaced with the
pleasing curves and draped head-
lamps that were the styling high-
’ lights of the original XJ6.
The new XJ sedans have a

" prominent fluted grille flanked by

individual round-headlamps set into

‘ agracefully sculpted hood. The
* leaping Jaguar hood ornament is

back, too. It was ditched years ago
because it didn’t meet safety stan-
dards, but clever Jaguar engincers
have designed the new cat to break
~ off in a collision.

The tail of the new Jaguar
- sedans is more rounded with wrap-

- around triangular taillamps that
~ border a low liftover trunklid.
: Though more elegant than the pre-

-, vious taillamps, the styling theme is

*. similar to other upscale luxury
-. sedans, notably BMW and
"Mercedes-Benz.

The supercharged, dual over-

. head cam, 24 valve inline six-cylin-

der engine produces a whopping
_322 horsepower at 5,000 r.p.m. and
378 ft-lbs. of torque at just 3,000
r.p.m., enough to rocket this big
1,912 kg (4,214 Ib.) sedan from
zero to 100 km-h (62 m.p.h.) in just
7.2 seconds.

Unfortunately, the XJR is not
available with a manual transmis-
sion. But the ZF four-speed auto-
matic offers Jaguar’s traditional “J”
gate, a shift-pattern that allows the

- driver to choose between automatic

operation or clutchless manual
shifting without the possibility of
accidentally shifting into neutral or
reverse.

The XJR is equipped with a
sport-tuned version of the same
fully independent wishbone suspen-
sion available on other XJ sedans.
Other standard XJR features
include: ventilated disc brakes at all
four corners, ABS with Yaw con-
trol, all-speed traction-control, and
anti-dive suspension geometry.

The suggested retail price of the
XJR is $85,000, on par with
upscale European competitors.
However, both the BMW MS and
Mercedes-Benz E500 have been
discontinued for 1995 in Canada,
leaving the XJR almost by itself in
the super-sedan category.

Though the XJR takes the spot-
light, the new XJ6, the better- _
trimmed Vanden Plas (pronounced
“vanden-plah"), and XJ12, incorpo-
rate the same styling improvements
and numerous technical improve-
ments. Though the new Jaguars use
the same platform as before, Jaguar
claims there are over 2,000 new or
re-tooled components.

The XJ6 and Vanden Plas’
torquey, 4.0-litre inline six-cylinder
engine with dual overhead
camshatts and four valves per-
cylinder offers a 10% increase in
horsepower to 245, improved fuel
economy and reduced emissions.

And the 6.0-litre V 12 engine in
the XJ12 now offers 313 horsepow-
er, propelling the big cat from zero
to 100 km-h (62 m.p.h.) in 7.5 sec-
onds, just a little slower than the

R.

All the XJ sedans continue to

_ use generous amounts of Connolly-

hyde leather, burled walnut trim,
and chromed trim, except the XJR
which uses Birds Eye Maple trim.
XJ12s continue to offer rear walnut
picnic tables that fold down from
the back of the front seats, and all
models except the base XJ6 offer a
new steering wheel that is half
wood-rimmed, half leather-rimmed.

Inadequate headroom, a com-
mon complaint with previous XJ
sedans, has been improved slightly,
though it still couldn't be described
as generous.

The XJ sedans slot into the so-
called prestige class, generally
defined as cars that sell for over
$55,000.

The new XJ6 starts at $73,300;
the Vanden Plas $83,000; the XJ12
at $96,000: and the XJR $85,000.
These prices are only marginally
increased from 1994 prices.

According to Jaguar, the typical
Jaguar owner is 48-years-old, has a
household income of between
$150,000 and $200,000, and 80%
are university educated.

Now that Jaguar’s reputation for
quality has improved (10th place in
J.D. Power's Customer Satisfaction
Index for the past three years, up
from 25th place in 1991), this
British luxury carmaker appears
poised to improve its already
increasing sales, which were up
20% from January to August of this

1

ACHIEVA

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§21-7731

131-12th St., NEW WEST.

.

Sunday, October 2, 1984 ~ North Shore News — 33

eres

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