A few years ago the S-Type, XJS and others were uncool. I’m not so sure that applies any longer
Have Jaguars recently become cooler? A brand that was described by its own chief creative officer as having “no equity whatsoever” in the middle of 2023 now feels to me like it has quite a lot of the stuff, despite having introduced no new production cars since.
In fact, in terms of production models, what we had in the middle of 2023 is rather more than we have now, because all Jaguar production is suspended until its new car arrives.
Yet do I feel a lot warmer about Jaguars or that they’re cooler, as you prefer than I did three years ago? I think so. I notice, in particular, every latest-generation XJ that I see a car that went out of production in 2019.
It was handsome when it was launched but only seems to have become more so. There’s more. I’ve always liked old XJCs, but today one would find a place in my 10-car fantasy garage.
XJSs have been having their own little style renaissance for a while, and I don’t see that stopping either.
Early XK8s are most of the way through that difficult ‘meh’ phase that so many cars go through before they creep out of the other side as classics.
I could even fancy an S-Type R, beigely retro as the S-Type’s design was perceived at the time. Yes, I think that a Jaguar is cooler than it has been for years.
If you accept that this is the case (you may not), I wonder why it is.
Can it only be that it’s because the brand has taken temporary leave of us and that clichés like ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ and you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’ do in fact come from somewhere? Is there, then, some Saab-lite to it all?
There were some quirky and unusual features on Saabs that made them endearingly desirable, and they linger in the memory, so we forget that towards the end of their production life the cars weren’t terribly good.
They had those neat spinning cupholders and the button that made all the dials except the speedo go dark at night and you could lock the gearlever in reverse when you parked it. Charming. As a result, I’d like Saab back.
So it could just be nostalgia. Remembering the good times one had with an ex and not the arguments. Remind me why we broke up again? Because it wasn’t all good.
For every F-Type there was an E-Pace. For all the XJs there was also the X-Type. But nostalgia doesn’t work like that.
There’s no obligation to think about the humdrum or the difficulties of today; one is free to remember only the good times.
There has been, of course, a new Jaguar of sorts in the past three years: the Type 00, with its divisive reveal campaign.
About which the managing director has admitted they “didn’t take enough time to explain why Jaguar had to change” and whose underlying advertising themes have since been amended to include footage of the XJS and E-Type.
Has that changed how desirable older Jaguars are perceived as being? It’s possible, and it’s possible to form an argument either way as to whether it reflects well or poorly on the new concept.
It’s either so good that it reminds us that Jaguar has form at redefining itself or it’s so bad that it reminds us how cool the cars used to be. But I think I’ve read enough LinkedIn hot takes on the Type 00 for one lifetime, so I’ll leave it there.
Whatever the reason is, I’m looking rather more fondly on old Jaguars which I’ve always liked to some extent, I should add that I have done for years.
The idea of smoking around in a big old Jag barge seems more alluring than ever, the naff bits forgotten, the cool elements of it rather more front of mind.
I realise that this column is brought to you by a middle-aged man wearing a hoodie that his mum bought him for Christmas, which may reduce its credibility on what is a cool car or not. But still, I think it’s true.
Jaguars are on the up. I wonder if it will stay that way.
