It's hard to tell looking at the color charts on various jaguar sites but I would like to see if anyone can give me an idea. I see EBONY and Ultimate BLACK and would like to get an appreciation/opinion of the differences of these colors. As I said it's difficult to tell the difference on line. Thanks

 

Ebony is a flat jet black, which is what I have and prefer. Ultimate has some sparkle to it.

 

PIC 1: A close-up of my Ultimate Black on a sunny day. Zoom in to see the sparkle (ignore the scratches). I'd say that from any distance greater than a few feet it's hard to "see" a difference between the two, and pictures don't really do it justice. But here's an opinion:

PIC 2: The Ebony may actually appear more "black". This is a 2007 we test-drove. You can see the color of the pavement is reflected in the side-panel, and fades to dark. Also the reflection of the sky in the front fender is darker. It's a more sophisticated look. I see more of a mirror finish in the reflection of the dealership sign on the far side of the hood/bonnet. Maybe it just takes a lot of light to pull this out.

PIC 3: The car I bought (keep in mind the paint is also 3 years younger than the 2007). The reflection of the grass in the side panel is true in color and doesn't fade to black with distance. It's very reflective and sometimes it's hard to tell what color it is on a very sunny day, but sometimes, at some angles, looks almost like a very dark silver, rather than black. It may be a more sporty look.

PIC 4: OK, now I'm just showing off. You can see the veritas of both color and form in the reflections on the hood, side panels and roof.

 

They both look great. I think I prefer the ultimate black which is on my Jag. My 2012 Volvo is black with ember metallic which is just stunning--wish I had the color on my Jag. The Volvo ember metallic changes the colour in the sun to a rich brown. Many people have commented on the Volvo colour.

 

I had ultimate black on the second XF. The idea is that with it being metallic it doesnt show the dust as much. I dont know whether that is right or not, but it seemed to last a little longer between washes, compared to a gloss black c70T5 I'd had.

 

I'd only have another black Jaguar if someone else washes and polishes it for me!

Graham

 

Possibly true about the dust. The pic of my car on the grass was after driving down a dusty road and there's a fine layer on it at the time of the snap.

Here's an example where that reflectivity works against it. On grey days, and we have a lot of grey days here in Seattle, it's hard to tell it's a black car because it looks like the color of the sky. Even the tinted windows look darker. There were other ebony cars on that trip that were definitely still black-looking, even with the raindrops and the clouds.

I'm not sure which I "prefer". I do think the ebony would require more work, but may look prettier when it's absolutely perfect.

 

Having owned both the ebony black and the ultimate black my vote goes for the ultimate black. The metallic finish sometimes looks blue and shows better between washes and polishes for a longer time period. I now go (w/ultimate black) for two weeks between washes and about 4 months for detailing including clay bar if necessary and a good waxing. with the ebony it was one week between washes and 3 months for detailing.

 

When I bought my XF Supercharged we literally sat in front of the Ultimate Black and Ebony for about 2 hours!!!

It was a very difficult choice so I know exactly what you're going thru. Either are great colors.

Obviously I picked the Ult Black -- like discussed above, keeping it clean is much easier. But I will say even when it's clean it looks a little dirty due the metal flakes.

when you walk up to it on sunny day it's really cool to see the metallic but it also doesn't give you that true black feel as the metal flakes have a grey tone to them....

I hope this makes sense and helps you make your choice

 

I too have had both--Ebony on an '05 XJR and Ultimate Black on a '11 XJ SC and I agree with most of this post except that I prefer the Ebony. It is a true gloss black and, yes, is difficult to keep clean, but when it is it's stunning--there's nothing like a gloss black Jag. The Ultimate Black always looked a little dusty due to the sparkle and I didn't think it was easier to keep clean.

 

Ebony. Enough said!