Is Jaguar The Most Exciting Automaker?

"Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez" (apidaonline) 04/25/2014 at 23:48 • Filed to: None

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Jaguar, makers of such deplorable turds as the S-Type and X-Type just a few years ago, perennial British underachievers since the mid 1970s, are the most exciting mainstream car company with vehicles for sale in the US right now.

You may be wondering why I'm making such a bold argument for a company that made such terrible products for the majority of my lifetime. And the answer is simple: Jaguar's lineup is, on a whole, more exciting, sexier, and of higher quality than that of every other company.

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Allow me to elaborate. In the last few years, Jaguar has been on its own with corporate partner Land Rover. Yes, they were purchased by Tata shortly after being cut loose from Ford in the midst of the Carpocalypse, but the Indian automaker has allowed JLR to do their own thing to an enormous extent, and it has paid off tremendously. Given this freedom of operation, JLR chose not to shamelessly copy or directly compete with the big three German luxury companies, but rather to return to their roots, designing and manufacturing elegant, fast, and downright gorgeous vehicles. They could have played it safe and groveled for sales, but instead they said "Boffins!" (I presume). "Let's make some bloody good automobiles, chaps! Cheers!" So they hitched up their knickerbockers, grabbed a pint, and designed and built a lineup of sedans and coupes with roaring V8s and drop-dead gorgeous looks.

In my completely objective and not at all biased opinion, Jaguar makes the best looking car in each of their respective classes. Anyone who thinks that the S-Class, 7 Series, or A8 is in any way comparable to the XJ in terms of looks needs to get the liederhosen out of their eyes and take a second look. And while I've always been a big fan of Porsche, the F-Type is still the sexiest car I've seen in a long time. The only potential weak link is the aging XK, but it's still a remarkable grand tourer, and its production is slated to be ceased soon, so it won't be around for much longer anyways.

Jaguar also focused their entire lineup on being fun to drive, which has become such a hollow promise from so many automakers these days, but one that Jaguar actually delivered on. The XF, XJ, and F-Type are consistently picked as one of the most fun options you can buy among competitors in countless comparison tests.

Not to mention that Jag's V8 produces a hellish snap, crackle, and pop that would make even the meanest Doberman whimper in fear. Hell, they're entire ad campaign is centered around British villains and how much fun being evil is. If that doesn't signify a fun-loving self-aware company, then I don't know what does.

With a all-aluminum sport sedan on the way to combat the 3 Series and many others in an increasingly-competitive segment, and a great looking SUV in the works, the only direction for Jag seems to be up. I'm excited to see where the next few years takes them, and if by some miracle they are unsuccessful, then I look forward to buying an F-Type 20 years down the road for pocket change.

Stay awesome, Jag. We enthusiasts depend on companies like you.

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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez 04/26/2014 at 03:13

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I think you're right. BMW, Audi, Porsche and Mercedes are all producing a similar quantity of really cool cars, but none of them seem to be expanding quite as readily as Jaguar.

2tonic > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez 04/26/2014 at 06:50

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They'd be even cooler if they had inline 6's instead of V-6's....

Signed,

Inline 6 Lover

djmt1 > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez 04/26/2014 at 08:08

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Hey, business men of China and in particular SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), take a note out of the Indian book of business and let us do our own thing. Like the article stated JLR has prospered because they controlled their own destiny, none of that rebadging nonsense or needless copying. Give MG some breathing room (and some decent investment) and you will be on to a winner.

boris-nofziger-laptop > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez 04/30/2014 at 21:06

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Great article and so true. It's not hard to be sexy anymore. You just can't follow the MB/BMW model of "make a zillion different crossover SUV's in bama/carolina and slap a German logo on them". That's not sexy, that's terribly boring (like, Oldsmobuick boring).

dingo427drivesaGKFit > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez 05/02/2014 at 18:45

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They just lack the avaiability of manual transmissions for being completeley embrazed by enthusiasts. Hope the XE will equip it

Capt. Janeway's Imaginary Cat > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez 05/02/2014 at 18:56

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I am also on the side that the XJ is the best designed luxury car. People say it's too copycat (!) but one of the best quotes about it came from the designer himself, Ian Callum, that if Jaguar is to survive and to continue to be at the cutting edge, it needs to use the current design language to advance. Jaguar's heritage isn't about looking back but being able to advance forward from the competition. He took a huge risk by leaving behind the cliched design elements stuck in the past and successfully one-upped where everyone was at.

SukhoiRomantic > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez 05/03/2014 at 02:24

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I disagree. For one, Jaguar only currently make the XJ (which to these eyes looks awkward in real life and has a needlessly contrived blackout on the C-pillar, as well as (I sat in an XJR here) interior that feels pretty ordinary materials wise, if not design wise), The XF (only looks good at the back in my opinion, again interior doesn't feel special at all and had nasty hard seats) and now that the XK is gone ( a lovely grand tourer and a car that I love) the XF, which sits on a modified platform of the aforementioned GT, and pretends its a sportscar, whilst not offering enthusiasts a manual transmission and weighing far too much for such a diminutive vehicle. To me Jaguars used to have class and a certain litheness to their proportions (S-type excepted, though I still kinda liked those), whilst also offering plush leather and wood interiors. Now they are high wasted (I accept side impact regs have a little to do with that) brash edgy Audi contemporaries for people with personalised number plates and carbonfibre furniture who never indicate. I would submit Maserati as the most exciting automaker but I fear they are going in the same direction. So I'm going to say maybe Mazda, who tend to make all their cars fun to drive, strive to make them lighter than the previous generation and will hopefully manage to not make their new MX-5 look like a 6-convertible (given the precedence of the 3 and the 2)

nihil > djmt1 05/03/2014 at 05:00

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It is more of a Ratan Tata book of business rather than the Indian book. Indian business management is often terrible because of micromanagement (I am an Indian). Ratan Tata is more of an anomaly in the Indian business circuit, and is a cult CEO in India, approaching Steve Jobs in popularity.
Also, what helped was Tata is an auto enthusiast himself.