| First Drive | Versailles, France | 2010 Jaguar XJ |

There was this feeling at Jaguar that the XJ had run its course. After 42 years of basically looking the same, its buyer image was stuck in a rut somewhere between scrap dealer and octogenarian civil service retiree. It had to change. (Apologies if you're one of those things.)

So here we have the XJ of the XF era. A car that eschews the past (mostly) and pitches the flagship limo at hipper, younger executives looking for something with more character than the average S-Class or 7 Series. In that respect, we'll tell you already it's worked. It's not perfect though.

In the Metal

The looks are the crux of the new XJ. It's familiar already - the car was launched at a massive celebrity ding-dong in London months ago - but it's no less controversial now it's on the road. We'll spare you a description because your eye will already be drawn to any one of a few striking details - the big grille, the 'cats claw' rear light cluster, or the black C-pillars - and you'll probably already have set up camp on the love or hate side.

Exterior wise, we're on the side of love. In aiming to be modern it lands more in an area of peculiarity where the XF is just plain good looking. That's especially bold in the conservative luxury saloon sector. We like that. Inside, however, the XJ is more traditionally pretty - yet also more generic, and flawed in a couple of ways.

Firstly, it's actually quite cramped in there. There's plenty of legroom in both short and long wheelbase versions (the latter five inches longer), but headroom is sorely lacking, front and back. The standard sunroof lowers the roof lining by a good couple of inches, and it means anyone over six foot will be perilously close to depositing hair gel all over the lovely Alcantara.

From the driver's seat, though, the space, driving position and cabin layout make the XJ at times feel more like a sports saloon than a limo. The glasshouse is shallow, with the dashboard dropped down below a high scuttle line that's emphasised by an arc of material that runs below the windscreen and into the door cards. It looks great, but the result is that the wheel feels low and the seats high.

Largely the materials are fine, with a similar sort of leather-covered softness that the Maserati Quattroporte has. Yet, as in the Italian, there's not quite the ultimate solidity of the German barges. It's very tactile, even though some of the parts show the hallmarks of cost cutting, like the flimsy plastic air vents and the indicator stalks. Touches like the hi-res digital instrument display, touch screen dual-view satnav and beautifully weighted rotary gear selector do make the car feel like a flagship, though.

What you get for your Money

As you'd expect of a top level Jag the kit levels are alright. There are three standard specifications plus a top line Supersport model that's powered by the 503bhp supercharged V8. Called Luxury, Premium Luxury and Portfolio, the spec sheet of each would fill a toilet roll, but the higher models add 19- or 20-inch wheels, leather for the upper dash, better leather for the seats, trays for the back seats and four-zone climate control among plenty of other things. Plus, there are all kinds of trim options, and an absolutely mega optional Bowers and Wilkins 20-speaker stereo.

The price increase is around ten percent across the board over the outgoing model, starting at £54k for a Luxury diesel and ending at £90k for the 5.0-litre Supersport.

Driving it

Jaguar has redressed the balance of the XJ's setup slightly more in favour of handling this time around, which means it doesn't ride quite as comfortingly as the old car. It's sharp though, partly thanks to a quick steering rack taken from the XFR and partly because it's made largely from aluminium - so it's significantly lighter than any direct competitor you care to name.

What it is not is bursting with feel. The chassis is active, switchable between normal and sport modes (for which the instrument display glows a provocative red), with the latter doing the obligatory damping and steering tightening for a more involving drive. It's not that dramatic, though, and you can only feel the extra bite of the damping during really hard cornering - of the type most XJ owners won't indulge in. Yet it's a rewarding car to drive fast, because it feels small and the grip doesn't run out until you're at proper speed, or unless you really mash the throttle mid-corner. Our issue, though, is with the almost total lack of feedback through the wheel. It's accurate, but far too light.

On the other hand, we wonder whether some will find the ride just a tad too communicative for a Jaguar. It does successfully balance the often mutually exclusive qualities of staying flat through corners and smothering out the road's imperfections. However, there's an underlying rumble, a very slight harsh edge, which is the price for making the car 'sporty'. For a Jag limo, which really should waft, it's not quite as stately as it might have been; those being driven might, given the car's spatial deficit as well, choose German.

The engines are pretty flawless though. Three outputs are available: a 3.0-litre V6 diesel with little and large turbos, sporting 271bhp and 442lb.ft; a 5.0-litre V8 petrol unit with 380bhp; and a supercharged version of the same engine with 503bhp. That's the Supersport. It's ballistic and loud, and it's the one you'd want if you lived in a parallel universe where traffic jams don't exist and you can have your own fuel pump at home.

But you're unlikely to be a Sheik and anyway the diesel is so good that the Supersport seems even more extravagant. The V6 only loses 20lb.ft to the supercharged unit, and it's available lower in the rev range, which is where you want the performance anyway. Plus, it's a 41mpg combined unit whose rattle is completely quelled, yet sounds pleasant when pushed hard. Every cliché you can think of that expresses the advantages of a diesel applies here. And it's linked to a six-speed automatic gearbox that's snappy and willing to hold gear until the red line, and throttle mapping that's sharp without being twitchy.

Worth Noting

Jaguar MD Mike O'Driscoll called the launch of the XJ Jaguar's 'coming out party'. We're not sure what that means, but we think it's something to do with forgetting the past and starting afresh. That or it's spent a year hitch hiking around the world with a group of art students and 'found itself'.

Whatever, the XJ marks the end of phase one of this coming out, so phase two is about to begin. What that entails Jag won't quite venture, but we did discover that the dropped X-Type won't be replaced any time soon, but there will be a sportscar to compete with the Porsche Cayman. That'll be the next Jaguar to come out of the closet. And that also means a new engine too, because it'll be an entry-level product. Small capacity and turbocharged, probably.

Summary

It's a shame the Jaguar XJ's ergonomics and anodyne steering conspire to spoil things slightly, because it really is on the fringes of greatness as a driver's limo. In terms of character it has the German cars all over, though for space, ride comfort and gentle cruising ability - the fundamental tenets of a luxury car - it's a little lacking. Is it the limo we'd buy with our own money? Probably. But is it the new standard bearer? No. It's very good though, and we hope that in attracting some new clientele to the brand it doesn't simultaneously upset too many old ones. Coming out is never easy, is it?