Photo location: John Dodge mansion, Detroit
When Jaguar of North America informed me that I’d be getting a 2012 XJ Portfolio for review, my first reaction was to engage in some mental bench racing. How would the new XJ compare to the smaller but more powerful XF Supercharged that I tested just about a year ago, and how would it compare to my dearly departed Series III XJ, considered by many Jaguar enthusiasts to be the finest of the traditional XJs. On both counts the 2012 XJ comes out favorably in the comparison.
The XJ Portfolio is the fully equipped normally aspirated version of the XJ. Other than a small handful of options like back seat entertainment and the two available supercharged engines, the test model had just about every luxury, convenience and safety feature that Jaguar offers. With transportation charges, as tested it comes in at just a tick over $82K.
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When he’s not busy doing custom machine embroidery at Autothreads Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth and contributes to The Truth About Cars and Left Lane News
That may be the best looking 4 door I’ve ever seen. That is, if it looks as well proportioned in real life as it does on the screen. If it’s that pretty, who cares if it runs well? My family and I can just live in it on the side of the road, and push it to a new neighborhood when we wear out our welcome. (Well, maybe Jag reliability has improved, and we could just drive to a new parking spot.)
After years of owning BMW’s, I purchased a 2010 XF. A beautiful car with great features but the build quality was just not there with the Jaguar. Also, because Jaguar does not sell nearly as many cars in the USA as does BMW or Mercedes, for example, the waiting time for parts can literally be months. I experienced both of these issues and, as a consequence, traded in my Jag for a BMW after less than one year of ownership. The details: the transmission had to be replaced due to a contamination issue relating to the cooling system. I waited six weeks for a replacement transmission to be shipped from the Old World. Many other examples such as a replacement of the gear box that shorted out, but hopefully you get the point: unreliable.
Now wouldn’t this be a nice gift for me. I know there must be someone with deep pockets out there just itching to surprise me with one of these babies. Perhaps a black or Red one would be nice. lol
Dang, I gotta be in the 1% to drive this baby. *sigh* LOL!
35+ years ago I was going to sell my Volvo 1800E for an E type. I drove it on back roads in Connecticut, the kind that the Jag was built for. I scared the sh*t out of myself. I knew then that had I gotten the XKE, I’d be dead within six months. I was just mature enough to realize that I was too immature to buy the Jag.
Looking back now, it was one of the smaller regrets I’ve had. I also knew that I didn’t have enough money to keep the Jag going; that the repairs would bankrupt me eventually. So, I kept the 1800, an incredibly underrated car IMHO. I understand that since Ford bought it (before it was sold again) that Coventry finally got the Jaguars to stay out of the repair shops for months at a time. Hope that’s true. I’m thinking of looking for an old XKS 12 cylinder coupe. (I know, I know…before Ford’s time, but they’re still beautiful).
Oh, and the 1800 was also was a pretty good chick magnet…helped me get my wife. No regrets there.
Gorgeous. I currently drive a Jaguar X-type, but unless the economy recovers a whole bunch, all I can do is drool at new Jaguars.