'Jaguar in good shape for a transformative 2020'

Jaguar had, for a while, been seen as the poor relation in the JLR family. At one stage, Land Rover was selling more Evoques alone than Jaguar was selling of its entire model range. 

That changed with the arrival of the F-Pace and E-Pace SUVs, while the multi-award-winning I-Pace has really helped move the brand into a new electrified era.

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We’re back on petrol power this week as Jaguar reveals a heavily revised version of its fabulous F-Type sports car. Always pretty – maybe more from the back than the front – this new model now has the whole package. I understand that the previous model wasn’t exactly the car the design team wanted – the joys of a management team that thought it knew better, perhaps – but this facelift rights those wrongs. It looks stunning.

And it heralds a busy 2020 for Jaguar. We’ve spotted a revised E-Pace on test, while heavily tweaked versions of the XF saloon and F-Pace SUV are also on the cards.

Most important of all will be the arrival of Jaguar’s new flagship – the XJ. So what can we expect from it? Finbar McFall, JLR’s global product marketing director, gave me some insight at the recent LA motor show. “If you look at the new XJ, which we’ve said will be fully electric, when I think of the archetypal Jaguar, it’s the XJ; the epitome of a beautiful, elegant Jaguar,” he said. 

“My boss said this to me the other day and I think it’s spot on; if Sir William Lyons had had the option of electrification in his original Jaguar, he would’ve used it. “It’s perfect for that car. You’ll have all of the elegance, all of the power and sporting edge you’d expect from a Jaguar, then the balance of ride and comfort.”

There’s another important element to consider, though: “You should derive as much pleasure from looking at a Jaguar as driving it,” said McFall. Jaguar is still a small player in the grand scheme of things, but it’s carving its own premium niche brilliantly.

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