2015 Jaguar XJL Road Test and Review

by Benjamin Hunting

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April 26, 2015

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7 min. Reading Time

2015 Jaguar XJL front 3/4 ・ Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Reviewing an extended-wheel base luxury sedan like the 2015 Jaguar XJL is somewhat difficult to do from the driver's seat. After all, many of those who shop at such a lofty level of the market, and who command the cavernous accommodations provided by the XJL's almost-five-inch stretch compared to the standard XJ, intend to be chauffeured so that they can maximize the enjoyment of their full-size investment.

Still, in the absence of a live-in servant tasked with ferrying me around town on my various errands, I took one for the team and agreed to drive myself in the Jaguar XJL for a full week's time. In the process I discovered that while the passengers in the back of this stately saloon might think they're in the catbird seat, the help up front will be more than a little surprised by how much hustle has been packed into the Jaguar's aluminum haunches.

Models and Prices

The 2015 Jaguar XJ standard-wheelbase sedan offers three trim levels, two of which are shared with the long-wheelbase XJL. The entry-level base XJ (MSRP $74,200) includes an adaptive suspension system, parking assistance, a rearview camera, HID headlights, panoramic sunroof, adjustable drive modes, 19-inch wheels, a supercharged V-6 engine, heated leather seats front and rear (with power adjustments up front), dual automatic climate control, a heated steering wheel, a power-assisted trunk, a CD player, HD radio, Bluetooth connectivity, and a touchscreen navigation system.

Next up is the XJ Supercharged (MSRP $90,600), which adds a supercharged V-8, 20-inch wheels, an upgraded stereo system, adaptive headlights with automatic high beams, bigger brakes, a performance-oriented rear differential, and a sport suspension system. The XJR (MSRP $116,000) squeezes more grunt out of the same supercharged V-8, and it also adds unique 20-inch rims, a sport exhaust, and an even more aggressive suspension setup.

The XJL shares both the Supercharged (MSRP $93,600) and XJR (called XJR LWB, MSRP $119,000) trims, but drops the 'base' appellation in favor of the XJL Portfolio name (MSRP $81,200). The Portfolio model includes niceties such as heated and ventilated, 14-way power adjustable front seats, a massage feature for both forward occupants (and driver memory), a dual automatic climate control system just for the rear seats (which are also ventilated) plus extended leather upholstery throughout the cabin.

My tester was a 2015 Jaguar XJL Portfolio AWD, which in addition to the option of all-wheel drive also featured a heated windshield, and a heated wood steering wheel. The total sticker price for the vehicle I drove came to $85,575.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Design

What’s New:

The Jaguar XJL does not introduce any new design elements for the current model year.

The 2015 Jaguar XJL proves that it's possible to make a statement in the full-size luxury segment without designing a mini-battleship in the process. The XJL, like the slightly-smaller XJ, presents an athletic profile stretched over a suitably distinguished frame, and although the car is undeniably 'big,' it's not monolithically-so. This is particularly true from the rear, where the sloping glass and extended trunk overhang offer the grace of a 'four-door coupe' while avoiding the embrace of that label. It's a handsome car, and one that I often found myself turning around to catch a glimpse of while walking away in a parking lot.

The XJL's cabin is suitably refined in its appearance, with passengers fenced in to an enormous dark leather corral by a ribbon of wood trim that runs wide on the doors and narrow up the dash and across the base of the windshield. Huge binnacles for the round climate control vents dominate the center stack and almost had me thinking they're meant to simulate a home for an old-school oil pressure or voltmeter gauges. Too bad they dwarfed the tiny analog clock that sat between them.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Comfort and Cargo

What’s New:

The 2015 Jaguar XJL does not introduce any new comfort or cargo features for the current model year.

The 2015 Jaguar XJL AWD Portfolio model that I drove might have represented the entry point into the British brand's long-wheelbase lifestyle, but it was still impressively kitted out from a comfort standpoint. The stretched sedan offers an additional four inches of rear legroom as compared to the base XJ, which translates into a rear seat so large you could conceivably get lost looking for any change that may have migrated from your pockets into its cushions.

Of course, if you can afford a near-$90,000 car, you're probably less interested in playing hide and seek with nickels and dimes and more interested in getting your business on in the back seat. To this end, the XJL is perfect, as you'll have enough space to spread out, use your laptop, have dinner, and execute whatever plans you might have for global economic domination within a surprisingly quiet and composed environment, even at highway speeds.

I spent most of my time in the Jaguar's comfy front left position, a sacrifice made easier by the presence of the vehicle's massage feature that did a decent job of releasing the tension that can often build up on longer road trips. I also enjoyed the heated steering wheel and seats, although not the steps I had to take to access them, which I'll delve into in the next section.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Features and Controls

What’s New:

The 2015 Jaguar XJL does not introduce any new features or controls for the current model year.

The 2015 Jaguar XJL offers a mix of the old and the new when it comes time to interact with its climate, infotainment, and vehicle data systems. The dashboard's fully-digital LCD display, which offers analog-look readouts for the tachometer, fuel level, and speed, is attractively designed and reasonable simple to interact with using the vehicle's steering wheel buttons and stalk controls.

Less laudable is the eight-inch touchscreen on the center stack that acts as the gateway to a significant number of XJL functionality. While there are knobs and buttons associated with important climate controls (and stereo volume), to access the heated and ventilated seats or the heated steering wheel you have to wait for the entire system to load, a process that can take 30 seconds of cheek-warming away from your frigid butt on a winter morning.

The system is a staple of Jaguar products, and it's showing its age: on-screen controls can be unresponsive, and menu systems are at times more complicated than they need to be. It's perhaps the only negative aspect of the Jaguar XJL's overall experience, and it's one area where the company ought to invest more than a little time and money in the very near future.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Safety and Ratings

What’s New:

The 2015 Jaguar XJL does not introduce any new safety features for the current model year.

The 2015 Jaguar XJ and XJL offer side impact airbags up front, dual forward airbags, side curtain airbags that deploy along the entire length of the cabin, electronic stability control and traction control, and a blind spot monitoring system as standard equipment. Optional with the XJL is a forward collision warning system (this feature comes with the adaptive cruise control system that can be paired with the car). There's no auto-braking, no lane departure warning, and no top-down camera system to be had with the sedan, features which are notable by their absence and underscored by their presence in much more affordable fare.

The Jaguar XJL has yet to be crash tested by either the NHTSA or the IIHS.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Engines and Fuel Economy

What’s New:

The 2015 Jaguar XJL is mechanically unchanged for the current model year.

The base engine for the 2015 Jaguar XJ and XJL is a 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 that is good for 340 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. As with all versions of the XJ and XJL an eight-speed automatic transmission is standard, but the V-6 adds the exclusive option of an all-wheel drive system. More power can be had from two versions of Jaguar's ubiquitous supercharged 5.0-liter V-8: 470 horsepower and 424 lb-ft of torque in Supercharged models, and 550 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque for XJR and XJR LWB editions of the car.

Fuel efficiency is a close spread, with the V-6 posting 18-mpg city and 27-mpg highway in rear-wheel drive trim and 16-mpg around town and 24-mpg highway with all-wheel drive installed. The supercharged V-8 turns in 15-mpg in stop and go driving and 23-mpg on the highway regardless of its output. I saw 20-mpg in combined driving with my AWD V-6 tester.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Driving Impressions

The 2015 Jaguar XJL's chassis offers two distinct driving personalities to those fortunate enough to make its not-inconsiderable payment each month. The first is of course that of the comfortable cruiser, a car with pillow-soft suspension tuning that does its best to level the road regardless of how pockmarked and frost-heaved it might be. If you're riding out back and have instructed your driver to his or her utmost to avoid the kind of chattering pavement and sharp maneuvers that could smear the ink on the checks you are undoubtedly signing, you'll be more than pleased with the Jaguar's smooth demeanor.

For chauffeurs, once your quarry has been dropped of at whatever private heliport signals the next stage of their luxury travel itinerary, it's time to sample the XJL's surprisingly boisterous second face. It wasn’t until I had the chance to turn the Jaguar loose on the two-lane roads of Quebec's mountainous Eastern Townships region that I realized just how competent the car was at hiding its enormous dimensions. Even the presence of all-wheel drive couldn't disguise the XJL's willingness to tackle corner after corner with a gusto more typically associated with mid-size models. The aluminum-intensive chassis is to be credited here, as the car's 4,151 lbs of curb weight are below par for its class, but what astonished me the most is how much more fun the XJL felt as compared to the smaller and ostensibly sportier XF sedan I drove on the same roads the week before.

I can only assume that injecting Jaguar's supercharged V-8 into the equation would enhance the XJL's enthusiast-friendly character. While the six-cylinder model's output was adequate, and offered precisely the right amount of thrust for most of the scenarios I encountered during our week together, it never came close to putting a blush in my cheeks or snapping my head back. These visceral reactions aren't important if one expects to be driven more than doing the driving themselves - and you'll forsake the availability of all-wheel drive should you choose to embrace eight-cylinder power - but it's really worth exploring the pricier drivetrain options before settling for the six.

Photo by Benjamin Hunting

Final Thoughts

The 2015 Jaguar XJL is fun when it need not be, comfortable when it should be, and at all times a strikingly-styled alternative to the glowering German luxo-machines that prowl the autobahn with relentlessly clinical precision. While its technology might come across as dated - particularly on the dash and in the safety department - the liveliness of its chassis and the supreme comfort of its cabin are a winning combination.

Personality goes a long way, and the XJL gives executives the chance to stand out in a segment where homogeneity of design and purpose has been embraced as a core value. There are of course scores of wealthy business people who enjoy the anonymity of their long-wheelbase Teutonic chariots, but for those who don't mind being mistaken for royalty from time to time, there's the Jaguar XJL.