We are looking at 2 XJL's, both 2017 and loaded, but are having qualms about the two color choices. One is Santorini black with ebony interior, and the other is Yulong white with oyster interior. I saw a photo of one in rhodium silver which I thought was stunning but may not be so easy to come by. Husband likes the white and I like the black. So it really is a black-and-white issue. Which has the most head-turning appeal? Thanks!

 

I personally like the black look. But, depending on where you live, this may be a bad color. While I don't live in the hottest of places, it does get warm in my area (summer is normally around 90ish) and the interior of the car will be very hot at first. With the black interior like you are looking at, it is going to get just that much hotter. If you think about sitting in the seats wearing shorts, you will quickly learn that you won't do that a second time. I am "fortunate" in that my car came with a black exterior, but a cream interior. So, if you live up north, the black will get more looks. If you live down south, then the white is the way to go.

 

When we had to drive a loaner in all b!ack for a week, we really got the looks and comments. Especially from people you wouldn't think would notice something like that.

 

I always go with white.

Not sure if this has been disproven, but I was always told, black cars get hotter (they absorb heat easier, whereas white reflects it) and they look filthy when there is just a little bit of dirt on the car.

In my non-scientific research, this seems to bare out. If you don't care about those things, then it won't matter, but the look and temperature of my car are a big deal to me.

 

I will NEVER own another black car again! It always looks dirty except immediately after it's washed, shows every paint blemish, and makes the interior way too hot in the summer. And It's the most appropriate color for a hearse.

White or black? Don't make a grave mistake!

 

I am partial to British Racing Green with London tan interior.

 

I'm not an XJ owner but I do like them so I will offer an opinion.


I agree that silver is a good choice. It looks classy, shows the shape, lasts forever between washes.


I dont like white in pretty much any car although it really is the most practical. It is miles cooler and surprisingly easy to keep clean. It also looks good against black trim. If I was to get a white XJ, I'd be setting it off by dark tint and maybe black wheels. White is also good for resale because it is a "safe" colour.


Black looks much better but is monstrously hard to keep clean unless it has a good amount of sparkle in it. The more metallic sparkle, the easier it is to keep clean, but the less stunning it is.

 

black is great but impossible to keep clean always have to work at it.
I cleaned ,polished, then over 2 day period waxed car twice a lot of hard work but now hose car and dirt flows off job done
used auto glym polish and wax my xj is dark metallic red
hope this helps

 

I am a fan of IRR (Italian Racing Red) and Technical Grey wheels. With a London Tan and Warm Charcoal interior.

BUT I realize that does NOT answer your question!




Let us know what you get!
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Caviar with Navy/Ivory interior

 

Well, just remember, you're going to be in a black car eventually !!

In my experience with a white XJ6 in the late 80s, (and no air-con either), is that a white or light coloured car stays a lot cooler when parked in the sun. So when you get in to drive off it's immediately reasonably comfortable. A black car, on the other hand, is like an oven initially.

 

Regardless of exterior color, always use a reflective sun shade to protect the leather dashboard from shrinking. And use a thin viscosity leather conditioner that can be absorbed to help preserve your interior.

See my post #3: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...yellow-170469/

 

Stuart you bring up a point I wondered about?
It did not completely keep me from getting and XF but everyone knows they suffer from the leather dash peeling up.

But I have never seen or heard of anything like this on a X351 XJ?
Seems like the XJ dash is much larger and has a lot more leather on it too.
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While I don't have an issue with the dash leather, I did have ir heat coming through the my windshield after I had to have it replaced due to debris kicked up when I was on a highway as the newer windshield only have uv shielding. So I had Illimar air 80 "tint" installed and it cut out more than 89% of the "heat" coming in, but it is invisible as it's designed to reflect ir and uv. It's so good had it installed on my wifes 2018 Audi Sq5 windshield and front side windows. Wow what a difference in the comfort level and interior heat after being parked out in the hot Georgia summer sun. Just my 2 cents.

 

 

Way back in the 1980s I remember watching a TV news story about a local school science class that tested the theory on a hot day. They knew that dark colors absorb heat more readily than light colors, but did that really mean that a black car would get hotter inside than a white car? The science teacher arranged with a local Ford dealership to put a thermometer inside all the Taurus sedans on their lot and have the kids monitor the temperatures throughout the day. They found that the exterior color of the car didn't matter but the interior color made a slight difference. Dark exterior color cars tho tended to come installed with darker interior colors and so they concluded that's probably where the notion got started. I think they were just measuring the air temperature tho and not surface temperatures. Obviously, if you have black leather, no shorts!

 

 

Jupiter Red

 

I agree with this, black shows dust and dirt so much more than white/silver but if maintained and cleaned regularly black is very very nice on the Jag even if I sometimes think it's too formal and business like. Also agree on heat absorption especially on the seats. My car has the London Tan seats and my girlfriends always complains about the seats being too hot whenever its parked in the sun. I have to turn on the AC and seat coolers for a full 5 minutes before she's able to get in and sit. And it's only been high 80s to low 90s in my area so I cant imagine how much hotter black seats would be.

 

The car I bought was not my first color choice. Initially I was looking at the darker reds like Caviar. Wanted the London Tan inside for sure.

I ended up with a Stratus Gray exterior. Was not even on my short list of colors but the car was just too good to pass up. Now that I have had it for about 18 months I am really happy with it. It always looks good even when dirty. And it has specs of green and magenta in the paint that are seen in the sun. At night it looks nearly black and elegant. Who'da thought such a bland sounding color would be so versatile?

If I had to decide between black and white I would go with white just because it is much more rare to see on the road. White on white would likely be even more rare. Plus you do get the better heat dissipation.

And I rarely see X351s anyway. So far only seen 8 of them on the road in 18 months (4 black, 2 silver, 2 white).