|
Jaguar's first entry into the popular SUV/Crossover market is a really nice vehicle, if my brief test drive recently is any indication.
The new for 2017 vehicle came into my possession for three days a couple of weeks ago; it would have been a full week but family emergencies cut short my time with it, much to my chagrin because I really liked the new Jag. The F-PACE goes head to with such competitors as the Porsche Macan, BMW X3, Mercedes GLC, Lexus RX, etc. etc. etc.
It's a crowded niche made up of very nice machines but I have a feeling Jaguar will do just fine. This is one of the sportiest-looking and feeling of the vehicles I've driven in the niche, and it emits the greatest sound from its twin exhausts. I kid not you; if an F-PACE pulls away from you, you'll know it's there - and gone! more...
Jaguars, as in the big cats, are apparently solitary animals for the most part, but when you bring them together in a group it's referred to as a "pride," just like with lions.
And I'd be lion if I told you I didn't have a really great time at Jaguar Land Rover Canada's Art of Performance tour, which stopped in Calgary over the September 17 weekend. In fact, my buttocks had to be "pride" from the seat of an F-Type before I'd leave.
The Art of Performance tour is billed by the company on its website thusly: "Thrill your senses. Introducing the all new XE, XF and F-Pace, our new generation of vehicles at the Art of Performance Tour." And that's what it turned out to be, a two and a half hour first impression of the marque's newest vehicles, with a bit of "fake off road" Range Rover performance thrown in for good measure. more...
Range Rover has a solution for buyers of big, luxury sports utes who don't want to pay through the nose at the gas pump to get their big and heavy luxury vehicles around: get a diesel!
When Jaguar Land Rover Canada offered me the use of a new Range Rover HSE during part of my recent trip to Ontario and Indiana, I jumped at the chance, though with reservations. I was worried about the cost of the gasoline I'd have to put into the big and heavy vehicle because I figured I'd be driving the version with the lovely five litre supercharged V8.
But it was not to be! The V8 comes on the Supercharged Range Rover and my sample this time was a deliciously all black HSE diesel, and it was a fine choice; if I were shopping for a Range Rover, I'd probably choose this one because it cost me a LOT less to keep on the road than I expected. I didn't actually track my mileage religiously, but my out of pocket fuel purchases were substantially lower than I expected to pay. Range Rover claims just shy of a 25 per cent increase in mileage over the gas engine, and that's probably not too far off. more...
History, tradition, innovation. Three words that apply not only to the Indianapolis 500, the greatest spectacle in racing, but also to the British brand Jaguar, whose history includes plenty of racing as well as such fantastic designs as the historic E Type sports car that was arguably the most beautiful vehicle ever made till then - and long after then.
And though it appears Jaguar never actually competed in the iconic Indy 500, Jaguar Racing did contest the Indy road course from 2000 - 2004. That was during its Formula 1 days, when the company was owned by Ford (who bought the team from another legend: Sir Jackie Stewart, who has competed in the 500) and before it evolved into team Red Bull. But for a few years, it was Jaguar. That's my hook and I'm sticking with it!
However you slice it, and whether you talk about the 2.5 mile oval or the 2.6 mile road course that also occupies the huge facility in Speedway, Indiana, there's a lot of tradition there. And what better way to honour such tradition than to take one of Jaguar's current offerings to the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the end of May? more...
The XJ is the big Jag, a car that goes toe to toe with contenders such as the Audi A8, Mercedes Benz S class, BMW 7 series, Lexus LS, and I suppose the Hyundai Equus as well. The car has been around in various generations for, well, generations, but this latest iteration is as modern as those it battles with in the marketplace.
It starts with aluminum, which is everywhere and allows a bigger car to have lower mass, which makes it lighter on its paws. You'll never forget you're in a big sedan, but activate the Sport and Dynamic modes and it almost seems as if the car shrinks perceptibly, making it feel more sprightly and, well, cat-like than when you're using the big feline to just cruise along serenely and comfortably – which it also does extremely well.
Jaguar Land Rover Canada's review sample was the XJ L, the "L" indicating that it was the long wheelbase version, which translates into a huge back seat compartment. It's also a very comfortable back seat, with nicely sculpted seatbacks and full heating/cooling controllable right from there. And talk about room! No one in my family is particularly tall, but it seems as if there was enough room back there for an entire marching band, perhaps sans the bass drums and tubas. I'd have loved it if the seat backs reclined, but such wasn't the case and it wasn't a big deal. more...
The Land Rover seems to be the go to vehicles for those out in the wilds of places like Africa, and you can see the vehicles on display in many documentaries filmed in such far off locales. Serious off roaders, indeed, these vehicles have also gone upmarket in recent years, at least as far as the creature comforts are concerned.
So it is that the Land Rover LR4 enters the 2015 model year with mostly cosmetic changes, and that’s okay because, as mentioned, the Land Rover's substance has been the stuff of legend for years.
This is also a tall vehicle and if you're altitudinally challenged it can be interesting climbing aboard. Once you're in, however, you'll be treated to a modern, comfortable and reasonably easy to fathom interior. more...
Welcome home, Jaguar! Your new F-Type coupe is a real tour de force, a luxury sports car to lust after and a legitimate competitor to mighty Porsche.
Comparing the Jag to a Porsche isn't exactly an apples-to-apples thing, considering the former is more a luxury car that's sporty as opposed to the latter's penchant for making sports cars that are luxurious (and yes, there's a difference), but I would be remiss in not putting the two marques side by side since Jag - via some of its initial advertising for the F-Type - is aiming the car directly at people who might otherwise look to the 911.
It's about time, too. more...
Talk about a car that speaks for itself! Here's one that roars!
Thanks to voice technology, many cars have the ability to speak, but their vocabulary is limited to whatever has been programmed in, and it probably has little to do with the car's actual performance on the road.
Then there's the Jaguar XKR (click the picture on the left to open a slideshow), a beast that's come in from the wild but which hasn't been domesticated fully. This is a car that does, indeed, speak for itself and in a most visceral way, one that reflects its personality and raison d'être . Yep, fire this thing up from the center console-mounted push button and you're poking the beast with a stick, waking it from the type of peaceful slumber for which cats are known. more...
|
