| DRIVING RATING: |
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It's big - but configured to make driving as easy as possible. Power adjustment for seat, wheel and - unusually and usefully - pedals mean that you will, eventually, find the optimum seating position, while automatic transmission and an auto handbrake leave you with little else to do but steer, brake and push on. The XJ is so confidence-inspiring that you'll have no fear of driving it swiftly, even on tight and twisty roads. Unlike those of many of its rivals, the XJ's sub-systems are intuitive to use too - air conditioning, stereo, satellite navigation are all easily mastered. Visibility is pretty good and unusually, you can see much of the bonnet. And the rear end is protected by standard-fit parking sensors. Not a rating you'd expect for a car like this, but for its size the XJ is surprisingly entertaining. Finely judged suspension, keen and cultured engines, an excellent transmission and decent seats help, but the key to the Jag's advantage here is, once again, its low weight. Less mass allows the XJ to change direction with the accuracy and zeal of a smaller car. All of which will encourage keen drivers to use the performance, use the gearbox - stick it in fourth and let your right foot do the rest, advises Jaguar's development guru - and make the best of the XJ's mush-free, accurate steering and supremely capable air suspension.
Such is the tyres' grip that, even in rain, you're highly unlikely to unseat this car and if you do, there's dynamic stability control to rein you in. You can feel more of the road's surface through wheel and seat in the Sport, which has bigger wheels, lowered suspension and modified steering, but in truth the other models do just as well, and are slightly more comfortable. Brakes have been improved for 2006; those on earlier XJs lacked initial bite, but they have now been sharpened up.
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