It was interesting to drive the new Porsche Panamera GTS in the same week that Jaguar confirmed XJ production is about to end

They have had two very different fortunes for two cars with not entirely dissimilar outlooks on life – luxury four-doors that are also entertaining to drive

Jaguar The XJ, production not far into five figures a year, is winding down to the extent that Jaguar even discussed whether to replace it at all. There is, we understand, a replacement XJ, an electric one, in the plan and, presumably, already a long way down the development cycle. 

At Porsche, meanwhile, the Porsche Panamera’s trajectory is more solid. Porsche sold more than three times as many Panameras as Jaguar sold XJs last year, and that you’ll find the Panamera’s architecture elsewhere within the Volkswagen Group must give it economies of scale that make it way more profitable. 

And yet, for what it’s worth, on British roads I suspect the Jaguar is the more engaging car of the two to drive. Model for model, I don’t doubt it is slower, with less tech inside, a different image and so on: all valid reasons to pick one car over another. 

But when it comes to that fairly important job of making its driver happy, the XJ, for me, is that bit smoother, that bit more rewarding. 

I think this is because they’re both very much products of where they’ve been developed. And this geographical difference matters. 

Corsa e coty 03 0

I’ve spent a bit of time around the new Vauxhall Corsa and its engineers and designers recently, and one of the factors of its make-up, despite having a platform conceived in France, is how ‘German’ its engineers say the car has to feel on the road.