Diffcult second (electric) album
Jaguar’s i-Pace was a shockingly good electric debut; now for the saloon follow-up
It remains impressive that the first premium European car maker to pop out a Tesla rival wasn’t BMW, Audi or Mercedes but Jaguar – and the i-Pace is still the best of the bunch to drive. But the wait for Jaguar’s all-electric sequel, an all-new XJ luxury saloon (codenamed X301) had been a long one even before recent upheavals (change at the top of the company, with Ralph Speth retiring and ex-Renault man Thierry Bolloré arriving, and in design, where Gerry McGovern has been promoted to chief creative officer across Jaguar and Land Rover) delayed the Model S rival’s arrival by a few more months.
Still, the XJ’s zero-emission reboot promises to be worth the wait. With world-leading performance-BEV expertise in its engineering division, an on-fire design team and a box-fresh new platform underpinning the whole thing, the electric XJ will give prospective RS e-Tron GT (right), Taycan and Model S buyers a new alternative for their shortlist.