With rumblings in the pipework of Ford parting with the British based firm Jaguar, the designers appear to have finally upped their game and are showing their newest and far more aggressive looking car, the XF, at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
My view on Jaguar over the past few years has been mixed. I initially loved the shape of the XK8/R/RR, but after a few years came to realise that it seems to be firmly stuck in the 1990’s – along with their other offerings of the S- and X-types which both seemed to become more and more ‘weak-nosed’ (a thing that I really dislike – the effect that the car is dipping into the road – a common feature in Mercedes styling also).
But finally I think we’re seeing a change, and it is a most definite departure from the traditional Jaguar line.
The reason that Jaguar appears to have stayed with smoother curves on it’s previous models is down to pedigree. The Mk2, the E-Type, the Sovereign – each was made from a number of sweeping surfaces. But by the time we got to the early 00s, demand for this styling had dwindled.
Jaguar’s tightened curved styling is often tagged as effeminate and lacklustre – with such plain uninteresting panels (present on such cars at the MGF, Jag XK8, Mazda MX5) all looking tired and uninspiring.
I’ve believed that we needed something more aggressive injected back into car design for a number of years now. Until the launch of the BMW Z4, I hadn’t seen any ‘new’ car that really impressed me.
What arrived with the Z4 was ‘slash styling’ – broken surfaces which have been carried through the BMW range and I think really add interest to the new models. Ford, Renault and Vauxhall have all adopted sharper and edgier details over the past ten years, as have the premium manufacturers (Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Bentley), but I still think BMW is leading the way.
Finally, a decade after everyone else started doing it, Jaguar have stepped into line. The new XF looks like it carries something from the Aston Martin gene-pool (especially from the rear) – I wouldn’t be surprised if the design team shared designers. It looks slightly like it’s slightly stockier though – borrowing the Bentley’s chunky and solid midriff. Is it simply a hybrid of existing ideas?
Well yes, at least partly. There are some more original elements (the chrome flashing on the windows and the sculpted hub caps), though I’m not entirely convinced by the pursed grill on the front, but it is an improvement on the previously tame front end of it’s predecessors.
It’s not just the outside that is impressive. The console looks beautifully executed, using interesting veneers and subtly textured metals to create a very clean space, though I’m not sure about the way a number of the controls have been resolved. That said, the air vents, the radio, fan and rotary gear change dials are sublime.
The aggression of modern car styling is present throughout, and I think they will have widened their appeal with this model. From the photos, the Jaguar XF really looks like it carries some of the pedigree of £110,000 car. I think it will be a success, but I do think there has been some significant compromise here – it leans heavily on styling of existing luxury models and I don’t think it sets itself as a brand apart.
It certainly will appeal to anyone who would love to own a more expensive car, but hasn’t quite got the means to buy one. Cynical pandering to the markets to make sales and salvage the company, or a genuine to attempt to reinstate Jaguar as a world leader in cutting edge design? I think I know where I’d put my money.