Jaguar World Magazine X350 XJ owner’s guide May 09 Back Issue

When the last of the current ‘X350’
XJs rolled off the line at Castle
Bromwich on 27 March it brought
to a close just over 40 years of XJ
production that, with the angular exception that
was the XJ40, drew strongly on the curvaceous
styling of the original ‘Series 1’ XJ of 1968.
That Series 1 XJ was, of course, rightly applauded
when it was new for its clean, uncluttered lines and
road-hugging stance, and Jaguar’s return to those
classical cues in later years with the X300 of 1994
proved to be no bad thing. In fact, an average of
around 31,600 X300s were sold for every year it
was in production, a figure that bettered any XJ that
came before it. The almost identically bodied X308,
its successor, did well to maintain much the same
sales pace, an average of 24,100 examples being
built for every year of its production until, in 2003, it
was replaced by the X350.
Packed full of industry-leading technology, not
least its lightweight aluminium riveted and bonded
structure, styling wise the X350 still leaned
heavily on those classic XJ cues,
and it was widely criticised for
it. Personally, when specified
correctly – and for me
that would mean larger
wheels, dark exterior
and interior colours
and a mesh grille,
whatever the engine
choice – I think the
X350 is an imposing
and impressive
looking car on the
road, especially since
its facelift in 2007, and
it’s also been the recipient
of several significant industry
awards.