All New Jaguar xj Hybrid

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The biggest kitty gets a new V6, four driven claws, and an Ultimate edition.

JUMAT, 1 fEB 2013 { BY KING LEORiC}

The latest iteration of Jaguar’s flagship XJ is only two years old, but the British automaker is giving the large four-door a series of comprehensive updates for 2013, including the addition of a new supercharged V-6 and available all-wheel drive. Nearly all of the 2013 XJ’s changes occur beneath its sultry sheetmetal, and that’s fine by us considering there’s very little about the car’s styling that we’d feel compelled to alter.

Blown Six and All-Wheel Drive

For 2013, Jaguar is matching the downsizing moves being made by competitors such as Audi and BMW and slotting in a new supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 as the XJ’s entry-level motivator. In the XJ, the blown six makes 340 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque; this same engine soon will make its way into Jag’s much-anticipated F-type sports car. To further keep up with the luxury-sedan Joneses, Jag also scrapped last year’s six-speed automatic for a new ZF eight-speed slushbox across the 2013 XJ lineup, and added an engine stop-start system to every model.

All-wheel drive hits the XJ for the first time ever, although it can be paired only with the new V-6 in the XJ and the XJL Portfolio. Jaguar estimates the six will return 18 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway when driving the rear wheels; those figures drop to 16/25 mpg when saddled with all-wheel drive. Regardless, the efficiency of both driveline configurations tops that of each and every eight-cylinder XJ, which range from 15–16 mpg in the city and 23–24 on the highway. The V-6 should prove relatively athletic, given that the engine is brawnier than the six-cylinders in the Audi A8 3.0T (333 hp) and the BMW 740i (315 hp).

The new engine necessitated a shuffling of the XJ’s trim levels, which last year consisted of base XJ, XJ Supercharged, and XJ Supersportvariants. For 2013, there’s an additional trim level between the base model (which is now short-wheelbase only) and the Supercharged. It’s called the XJL Portfolio and essentially adds some standard equipment to last year’s regular XJL.

Last year’s three 5.0-liter V-8 options carry over. The naturally aspirated, 385-hp 5.0-liter V-8 exclusively powers the rear-wheel-drive XJL Portfolio model. The 470-hp supercharged version propels the XJ and XJL Supercharged trim levels, while the 510-hp variant motivates the Supersport XJ and Supersport XJL. The high-po motor also serves in thenew-for-2013 XJL Ultimate, an extra-luxurious, limited-edition model that Jaguar revealed at the Beijing auto show.

Pricing Can Only Go Up, Right?

Jaguar also made a few meaningful improvements to the sedan’s equipment list. First and most important, the company made an effort to enhance the XJ’s currently terrible touch-screen navigation system. Jaguar says there are now fewer steps required to input a destination, and some on-screen buttons were moved to the edges of the display to improve legibility. Speed junkies still can indulge in the Sport & Speed performance packages for supercharged XJ models.

The reduced number of cylinders has reduced base pricing by $500, with the rear-drive, V-6 model ringing in at $74,075. The least-expensive XJL—the Portfolio—costs $82,075, a $500 increase over the base 2012 XJL, but includes most of the equipment from last year’s optional $4000 Portfolio package. All-wheel drive bumps the XJ and XJL Portfolio’s sticker price by $3500. Supercharged models see fairly typical year-over-year increases, requiring $1000 more than they did last year. The mid-level XJ and XJL now are $1000 dearer than before at $90,475 and $93,475, respectively. The Supersport XJ and XJL’s $113,475 and $119,975 stickers are $1400 more. Finally, the XJL Ultimate commands a hefty $155,875. This concludes our comprehensive rundown of a comprehensive update.