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Nearly-ready electric Jaguar XJ gets scrapped even as JLR announces its EV push

A smattering of news from Jaguar Land Rover landed this morning concerning the brands’ electric futures. One sentence partway through JaguarÂ’s long press release caught our eye, though, and it has to do with the Jaguar XJ. “Although the nameplate may be retained, the planned Jaguar XJ replacement will not form part of the lineup, as the brand looks to realize its unique potential,” the press release states. If youÂ’ve been following Jaguar XJ news, youÂ’d know that Jaguar planned on making the next-generation XJ a fully electric car. ItÂ’s been in development for several years. Jaguar has been talking it up pre-reveal, and weÂ’ve even spied the car out testing a couple times. We were expecting a debut event for this new electric XJ to happen any time now. Theoretically, it should fit in perfectly with JaguarÂ’s vision to sell 100% electric cars by 2030, right? Apparently not, because itÂ’s dead. We contacted Jaguar to get a better explanation for what is going on here. Jaguar XJ 1 View 10 Photos When queried, a spokesperson sent us this in response: “Following a thorough technology review against the exponential change in the automotive industry, we concluded that the planned XJ replacement does not fit with our vision for a re-imaged Jaguar brand. We have made the tough decision that it will not form part of the lineup, as the brand looks to realize its unique potential. However, the nameplate may be retained.” To make doubly sure that Jaguar is indeed throwing out a nearly-ready EV the same day it announces an all-EV future, we asked again, and Jaguar confirmed. “We were working on an XJ EV, but have moved on to a different approach for the entire Jaguar EV lineup vision based around a new unique Jaguar EV dedicated platform, all due in 2025,” a spokesperson sent us. So there you have it. The electric XJ was said to be built on the Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform, and Jaguar touted it as "the world's first, full-electric luxury sports saloon.” Now that thereÂ’s a new Jaguar-dedicated EV platform in the works, the XJ on the MLA platform is canned. We asked Jaguar for more details about the why of this situation, and the above, quoted explanation hints at it. Maybe the “technology review” found that the car Jag was putting together just didnÂ’t measure up to the competition? The new platform will certainly offer much better performance and range than JaguarÂ’s current technology is capable of.

2021 Jaguar F-Pace First Drive Review | A jam-packed update with a lot to like

As one of Jaguar’s top-selling models, the F-Pace serves as an unofficial ambassador for the brandÂ’s lineup as a whole. Its rather dramatic 2021-model-year makeover coincides with an effort by Jaguar (and sister brand Land Rover) to significantly overhaul its product offerings in an attempt to adjust to changing customer tastes. Consequently, the list of updates to the 2021 F-Pace reads like what youÂ’d expect from a complete redesign, rather than a mere mid-cycle refresh. To give you an idea of how dramatically Jaguar is streamlining its offerings, consider this: In 2020, Jaguar sold 12 variants of the F-Pace. Starting in Â’21, that drops to five: P250, P250 S, P340 S, P400 R-Dynamic S and the top-dog SVR. We say the 2021 model year, but thanks to COVID and the resulting supply disruptions, the timelines went a bit wonky. In just a few weeks, Jaguar will have 2022 models hitting showrooms. With the exception of the SVR, each model in the F-Pace lineup is named for its approximate power figure (in PS, because it has to be a little quirky for the American audience, right?). P250 models come with a turbocharged four-cylinder making 246 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. The P340 and P400 R-Dynamic S utilize Jaguar Land RoverÂ’s new 3.0-liter, 48V mild-hybrid inline-six. The P340 offers 335 hp and 354 lb-ft, while the P400 R-Dynamic S packs 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. The SVR gets a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 with 550 horses and 514 lb-ft. All engines are coupled to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and rear-biased all-wheel-drive system. Unlike JaguarÂ’s sedans and coupes, its crossovers arenÂ’t offered in RWD form. While the F-Pace received a handful of styling tweaks for 2021, the most noteworthy changes are inside. Just about everything in the cabin is new or updated, from the dash to the center console and even the steering wheel. The new design is more angular, with horizontal lines replacing some of the sweeping curves found in the 2020 edition. At the center of all this is JLRÂ’s updated Pivi Pro infotainment system, which is much prettier, snappier and easier to use than the one it replaces. Speaking of replacements, Jaguar chucked the F-PaceÂ’s rotary gear selector in favor of a more conventional shift knob – a welcome reversion, and one that is happening throughout the JLR portfolio. Elsewhere, the interior looks clean, sharp and upscale, but weÂ’d shop short of calling it characterful.

2018 Jaguar F-Pace: Heated windshield option may drive you crazy

Our long-term Jaguar F-Pace is stuffed full of options. It's the top-trim S model with the most powerful engine, and we selected five of seven available option packages. The two we didn't pick were the cheapest ones. There were a handful of individual options we selected, as well, and one of them, the heated windshield, is one that you should definitely think twice about before choosing. The reason being that, in this editor's opinion, it's thoroughly irritating. I actually didn't even know our F-Pace had it the first time I signed it out for an evening. At the end of the day, I grabbed the key, walked down to the parking lot and drove it away without a second thought. A couple miles down Woodward Avenue, though, I noticed that my view out wasn't quite as clear as I expected. I figured the windshield was dusty or something, so on went the windshield washer for a few moments. After everything dried off, I had the same issue. I pulled the washer lever again and still nothing. I leaned forward and squinted my eyes, and that's when I spotted the minuscule heater wires across the entire pane of glass. And once I saw the wires, it was almost impossible to unsee them. My unobstructed view out the car suddenly turned into a CRT screen full of scan lines. They never kept me from safely driving the F-Pace (after all, they are extremely small), but I could never completely forget they were there. It's incredibly frustrating and it gets worse at night as the wires combine with oncoming headlights. I'm not the only one who dislikes them either, as Senior Editor John Snyder and Contributing Editor James Riswick voiced their displeasure with the feature. Not everyone in the office feels this way about the heated windshield, though. Associate Editor Reese Counts said that they don't bother him one bit. And in cold weather climates like Michigan, it should be handy for clearing snow, ice and condensation from the windshield. With these differing opinions, then, this is an option that you'll definitely want to experience for yourself before actually choosing it. You might find it unobtrusive or you might find it insufferable. As for me, I don't think I could deal with having those wires in my face all year 'round. I would rather spend 10 percent of the year when we have accumulating snow and ice scraping it off manually so that the other 90 percent of the year I have a crystal clear view of the road.