Jaguar XJL 2012
Test Drive

AllCarCentral.com's Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012 Jaguar XJL 2012 Test drive April 2012 We received an offer to do a test drive in a 2012 Jaguar, so I went down to Walnut Creek, to a San Francisco Bay Area's Jaguar dealer to see what the new Jaguar sedan was all about. My previous Jaguar driving experience was less than inspiring as the built-in computer control system over managed the throttle input to such a degree that the acceleration out of a corner was simply frustrating. But this was several years ago and that car was supercharged. Walnut Creek, California is home to the newly remodeled Cole European, the dealer for Jaguar, and Land/Range Rover. I and my co-tester Clara walked in through the main doors and immediately received a friendly greeting and was quickly set up to do the test drive. The all aluminum 4-door Black XJL V8 Jaguar was brought around by our host David Morgan, who gave us the instructions to the workings of the car. Jumping into the all black full leather interior on this first day of spring when we finally had strong sunlight and higher temperatures gave a heat shock to the back-side. Not to worry, this Cat is cool. The seats come with a built in cooling device and in an instant the leather was a cool place to be sitting. This XJL came with a paddle shifting automatic transmission. The paddles could be engaged for manual clutch-less shifting or the option of full automatic could be chosen. The drive selecting mechanism was an interesting feature. It resembled a oversized knob from an old style radio or TV and was set in the horizontal center console near the vertical potion of the dash. The driver rotates the knob left or right to select park, neutral, reverse, drive etc. The selected position is displayed in the all digital dash readout. The rotating shift knob is curious as there is no intuitive understanding of its chosen function/position, such as the more oblivious different positions of a lever. One has to look at the dash to verify just what is going to happen when the right peddle is pressed. Having our man David Morgan, operating the shift-selecting-knob was helpful but this is like having a co-driver on-board. The dash indicators, speed and tach, was a visual representation of an analogue dial and will be accepted by the Video-Game Generation. The greatest boon to this new generation of automobile are the driver aids. This XJL gave both a center console screen with GPS views and direction and in close quarters such as parking lots there was an additional view popping up that enlarged the cars location within the parking and drive lanes. Nice. Not to forget the rear camera. For backing up this should be a required device for all cars. The XJL's was very well designed and useful. The back seating area has enough leg room to suggest that maybe this car should come with a professional driver to take you around and open the doors for you. Underway the XJL moves, (using the old cliché), with all the grace and quickness of it's name sake. This car is quite large but at 3,000 pounds the V8 makes the XJL respond quickly with a feeling of lightness. This was a normally aspirated V8 engine with no lag or supercharger kick, so the acceleration was predictable and straight-line for my stint at the wheel. There was no V8 roar like the US V8's offer, as after all, this was a Jaguar. Under the hood, a new twist to the old issue of changing the engine oil. The XJL did not need herself hoisted high into the air just to drain the oil. The designers came up with a simple way to vacuum out the oil from a tube provided at the top-side of the engine. Where was this when I was having to change my own oil and had no expensive hoist to raise my cars. The Jaguar XJL is an all around car. To the store for shopping; easy to turn and park, big trunk for hauling, easy in and out? The doorsill was quite wide. Off to the show at night; you have elegance that only Jaguars and other even more expensive cars can provide. On the road; quiet comfort, smooth Jaguar ride and ample power and responsiveness for speed and safety For more cars, Click Here To search under Make of Car

Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012	Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012
Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Real Wood Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012	Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012
Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012	Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012
Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012	Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012
Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012	Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012
Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Test Drive Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012	Jaguar XJL sn-SAJWA2GB9CLV29302 2012 Top Side Oil Filler and Oil-Remover Access Cole European Walnut Creek California, April 2012

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