I’m hoping that the XF will change my view on this, but every time I drive a good Jaguar at the moment, I feel sad. And since Jaguar makes very few duffers these days, that’s more or less every time I drive one of Coventry’s finest.
The reason for this odd sentiment is that I know that no matter how great the cars are dynamically, the staid styling and image of the XJ and S-type will mean that fewer and fewer people are going to buy them.
I hope that the XF will turn this around, but it’s going to be tough to turn around what has become an ingrained brand perception. The sad proof of this for me came when I took a friend for a spin in our long-term XKR. This, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, is an incredibly sexy 420bhp coupé in shocking red and with 20in alloys. Her verdict? "It’s quite nice, but aren’t Jaguars old man’s cars?"
I hope Jag can shake off this image, but I worry that it won’t. What do you think?
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