Hi, I'm really surprised how much Jaguar seems to be experimenting with the look of new Jaguars lately.

Take a look at the picture of the newest Jag coming soon...
Here's the direct link: Photos Jaguar XE

Are they screwing up the classic look, or are they making it better?

 

I like 4 headlights.

 

If I remember correctly, those aren't official, just made up by some artist?

Here's the XE subforum:
XE - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

 

Those are semi official. Jaguar released those pictures with a see thru body. They just colored them in.

And I don't care for the car. It's a Lexus IS 250 with a growler on the grill.

The classic look died several years ago when the last of the previous gen XJ's and X types rolled of the assembly line. It's all about sales and Jaguar feels that the "be like everybody else" design is what sells at this time.

 

I agree, Jaguar's classic look seems to have died years ago. It's sad but it's true.

They only seem to care about selling "marketable" trendy looking cars, and they're not even that unique or attractive either.

 

Well one can't really blame them for wanting to stay in business, even if that means becoming more mainstream. Retro-styled cars are always a bit of a niche.

 

*Nothing*to do with retro. More to do with mundane, cookie cutter cars. Most manufacturers with a special heritage like Bentley/Porsche/RR/ and even MB, BMW and Cadillac seem to understand the importance of keeping a sense of continuity in their designs aesthetic without stagnating. Some of the best designs today are being drawn in the US.

It's not about making 1969 XJ6's forever, it's about making new cars that you can still call a Jaguar from several miles away. Most car magazines and critics inexplicably kiss up to the current designer who is only capable of being inspired by insipid Japanese design.

Typically Jaguar designs peak and look more graceful as they age. This is true for all Jaguars, even the XJ40.....The 2008 XF looks even more like a Toyota/Lexus production today than it did at the time of its release.

.

 

I think the overall design is rather boring. Not a big fan of the black plastic-looking bits on the front, seems kinda cheap.

It looks better than the XF at least...

 

What a beautiful car! It's following in the footsteps of the sexy, seductive modern Jags.

 

If this is a very close rendering of the new XE then Jaguar has another winner IMHO. While we all love the classic Jaguar lines this isn't 1980,90 or the early 2000's. Its 2014.... the new Jaguars, like them or not don't look like any other cars. Take the rear of the XJ..... tell me what other current model car that looks like ?


Yesterday while in line at a pickup window I scanned the cars parked facing the lane I was in. Of the 9-10 various vehicles there were 6 late model cars...... Ford, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Mazda and a Jag XF...... of the 6 the ONLY one that looked noticeably different was the XF. In 07 when the car was released I didn't like it, it shook up the Jaguar heritage look too much in my opinion but honesty...... in todays automotive world if you are going to compete with everyone else you need a like style car.


Buyers are not like they were in 60's-70's when we have many different bodystyles, now its about comparing models then and only then does it come down to style. My comments are based on numerous articles in Automotive News the dealer/manufacturers weekly publication that I have read for years. Its was a gamble for Tata to take the design and move it so drastically but in the end they are comparable with other like cars but Jaguar still stands out.


While I sat there looking at those various cars I tried to view it as a consumer and not as a Jaguar lover and loyalist and honesty the only front end that stood out was the Jaguar. I think the new XE will be a massive hit for Jaguar. There are many many people who have tried "the ultimate driving experience" that I think will try the new Jag. I bet within a year there will be a XE"R" that will complete with the playtoys from BMW. I think the XE will open ownership in a REAL Jaguar (not the Jag sheetmetaled Fords) and something completely new to buyers.


I commend Tata for what its trying to do. I still am not on board with the Jag SUV since they have LR but hey..... if they find a nitch for it then why not. I am saddened they killed the XK.... but hey, everything changes and you don't win best manufacturer of the year 3 years in a row for not being aggressive.

 

It's a fantastic accomplishment for Jaguar. They're relevant again. I do not believe they've been in the same conversation with any of the leading manufacturers for decades. I cannot wait until it premiers here in the US. I hope to be in line to purchase one.

As a Jaguar fan, I'm very happy for the company and wish them lots of success. Success opens doors and who knows...maybe this success will breed opportunity for them to release "classically" styled Jaguar cars for traditionalists.

 

Sadly agree with majority opinion so far ... yet another Jaguar offering that I will neither buy new nor when the market resale price is but a quarter of new price ... I guess that in the Oz market that will be at a very young age! Only the rarer classic Jags carry 6 figure price tags... and this XE is not looking like a collectable.

Like some other ole buggas, I have lived with most of the 50s onwards Jags (I missed the XK120 but my brother had one). Most of these Jags were good; some were great; and a few created a real watershed in how we have defined driving ever since. Take a minute (indeed several minutes) to watch this Top Gear UK vid of Clarkson on the original 3.8 S1 E Type and the new Eagle Speedster. Even if, like me, this chap is not your favorite motor commentator, there is no doubt he captures very accurately here, the views of millions as to "Why couldn't Jaguar build on the best that ever was?"

E-type and Eagle Speedster - Top Gear - BBC - YouTube

By comparison and like the XF, this XE could yet again be mistaken as a miscarried scion of a Lexus/VW/Toyota union ... indeed any Euro parentage ... though Volvo, Audi, MB, Bimmer also carry a "sameness" but somehow preserve markers of the brand heritage of their marques ... and all making Jaguar's production numbers look lazy. Like others here, I don't hate the car ... I just find it boring; Euro templated in a style many refer to as "cookie cutter"; tragically confused to the point where it is nodding off under those hideous droopy eyelids; with the deliciously oval shark mouth that evolved through a rich line of great sports cars ... now perpetuating the maw of a beached whale, as first unveiled in the XF. Even the practical but ugly feature of symmetrical spare wheel bays under front lights, offers no styling redemption! I guess if looking for redemption, it may be found in how well the stylists have hidden the allegation that this is indeed a Jaguar.

Why ... with such a rich and successful styling heritage inspired and nurtured by Sir William Lyons, and with some dedicated push from Ford US to get back to building on their strengths of styling heritage ... do the current Jaguar stylists continually squander it instead. How interesting that in the OP's link screen, there are reviews of another 3 Jaguars ... the XK8; the S-Type; and the X-Type. Take a few more minutes to read each of them ... and wow, what a difference. All are reasonably recent styles that do build on that heritage ... you may not love nor even like all three, but each is immediately; unquestionably; identifiable as a Jaguar! Only the E-Type is missing but I suspect nothing will top that Top Gear vid by Clarkson.

The XK8 refined the evolution of that oval shark mouth and bonnet styling that started with the C-Types at Le Mans; was developed through the D-Type and XK-SS; unleashed onto an instantly frenzied public via the E-Type and perhaps reached its ultimate rendition in the glorious XJ-13. Next, the S-Type builds upon Jaguar's styling heritage so successfully that, for some (not me) it is seen as "retro" which I gather is modern speak for "old fashioned" .... until they see the wicked hiding that an STR can hand out to an $800 set of 19x10 rear tyres!

In both these cars, the current crop of supercharged or turbocharged engines are ideal evolutions of another Lyons heritage ... delivering genuine performance ... ideal for all those who need to get to their destination before deciding where to go ...

The final review is of the X-Type ... again distinctly Jaguar, even to Joe Public. Why? Is it the distinctive chromed radiator grille flanked by the four headlights? Surely the interior screams classic Jaguar rather than continental chrome and plastic? But now, come around toward the rear wheel arch and run you eye down that hip line ... do you notice the rear quarter window treatment? That has been a Lyons inspired styling cue from the Mk4 and Mk5, through all successive saloons 7 to 10; all the compacts; and into all the XJs including the XJC; and thence the X-Type. Perhaps the success of the X-Type (Thanks, Ford) lies not in one thing, but in the entire styling package. I look at a Gold X-Type and I see our glorious 5.3 V12 S2 efi Daimler VanDenPlas ... and I can SMELL luxury ....

Which brings me to my final point about squandered heritage ... and Lyons' master stroke ... that "Grace, Space and Pace" could be delivered at world beating value. Remember Clarkson's homage that at it's launch, the E-Type not only beat competitors like Ferrari in every category of performance, but did so at less than a third the cost. Compare that with today, where even among died in the wool Jag enthusiasts here, Jag Dealers are referred to as "steelers" ... often over-charging and sometimes inept. Coupled with a broad public perception (facts have no bearing on perceptions) that Jags are unreliable, expensive to maintain and/or repair and therefore troublesome at best, and imho, the marketplace for yet another quasi-Jaguar is bound to be just as hazardous.

So my plan is to ignore the XF, XE and any future Jag that continues the current rot! I'm happy to use the modest bankroll from seeing our beloved E-Type head off to new owners for its $100,000 rebuild by quietly assembling our little collection of the best examples I can find and afford of those other 3 real Jaguars ... the XK8; the S-Type and the X-type.

Sorry for being long-winded, but this has been nagging at me for some years.
Best wishes to all,

Ken

 

As a fan of the brand I am disappointed. I liked Jaguar because they built Jaguars. Not another anonymous luxury vehicles that blend with all others . If the current idea of a recipe for success is to water down your design to the point it's unrecognizable then it's a sad day indeed. Nothing about these cars stand out. Not the same boring led headlights that every other car has and not the Japanese Toyota Avalon/ Lexus IS 250 Rear end.


Sometimes it takes a little conviction and patience. Like I said earlier, I don't see any of the brands with a heritage like Jaguar building glorified Toyotas. A Porsche is still a Porsche, RR is still a RR, a MB is still a MB and even a Cadillac is still a Cadillac. Whatever Jaguar is building aren't Jaguars. And I am not just referencing the 69 XJ but everything that came before too.


And no I am not over 32 and yes I am in the market for a new car...before the "you must be 100 years old" or "you are not in their demographic" comments start.

 

I will stick with 4 eyes cars. I like S-type and XJ. My 76 and 86 XJSs had 4 eyes too.

 

It looks like an Audi, where is the unique Jag styling?

 

Sort of cookie-cutter, but still has the Jag vibe.


Now it is up to engineering to design the car so that all of the consumable bits are carefully hidden during construction in such a way that the car must be completely disassembled to change any part that may need changing.


Rather like changing Honds parts; to change the spark plugs, "first remove the left upper and right lower ball joints..."

 

I seen one of these today in DC. I swore it had the Jag logo on the grill, but I dismissed it because it looked like a glorified Toyota, aka Lexus. Guess I was not seeing things.

If there was something special about the car I possibly could like it, but not.