By Gavin Williams
For a while there it looked like Jag were in a competition with Porsche for the design department least willing to change. It was like working at Home Affairs or an Embassy in the Caribbean, except cushier. Jaguar, like Porsche, were in a tight spot. It’s difficult to attract new customers by staying current without alienating your anorak-clad acolytes. But something had to be done. The last S-Type had a face like a dropped pie. It seemed Jag were trying to make cars for foreigners who still viewed England as a place where men wear trilbys to the pub, have wood paneled parlours and footballers were called Mick McCullum and Archie Fletcher. i.e: Not Modern Britain.
Pub hats off then to Jaguar, who even with limited financial resources, have made a truly astounding car; an unashamedly modern Jaguar that retains everything that a Jag should be. It’s smooth, quiet, fancies a bit of a trot and is so comfortable it could be made from afternoon snoozes while the cricket’s on. I drove the Audi A5 Sportback a while ago and that diesel was simply superb, it’s the only one in the range I’d have (and that includes the bare-knuckled hardman, the S5). Jaguar had a task on their hands taking on Audi and the stupendously good BMW 530d.
