Motoring: Battle of the giants

When I was young I knew an elderly Scottish gentleman who had the good sense to fall for and marry, despite his advanced years, an American widow of verve and charm. Nor did he lack those qualities himself: although half crippled by childhood polio, he became a pilot and a keen motorist. His cars smelt intoxicatingly of Turkish cigarettes.

At that time his stable included a Jaguar XJ Series 1 (1968–73) and a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow of similar vintage. I was somewhat in awe of the latter but he insisted the former was the better drive and kindly let me canter each over those empty winding Speyside roads. He was right.

The XJ was a sensation at its launch, a kind of automotive Usain Bolt that, at a stroke, changed the game. The last model designed under the influence of Sir William Lyons, Jaguar’s founder, in subsequent V12 form it became the world’s fastest saloon. But even from the start no other big saloon handled or drove quite like it, or looked so good. It wasn’t for lack of imagination that Jaguar continued breeding from that car until the demise of the last model that looked like it, in 2009. Nor is it lack of imagination that persuaded them to continue the XJ designation with their current range- topper.

It was partly memory of that comparison that prompted me to test the new XJ after last month’s enjoyable excursion with the Rolls-Royce Ghost. After all, if you can’t afford £200,000-plus for the Ghost this month, you might just cough up £67,400 for the long wheel base XJ diesel. A more appropriate comparison, of course, would be with the 5-litre V8 petrol Jaguar, but the 3-litre oil-burner is the one most UK customers will choose.