Roll over to preview

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.