chicagotribune.com's view

Solid? No doubt about it. Close the door and it sounds like a safe.

Quiet? Absolutely. Rolls-Royce boasts you can stand a coin motionless onits idling engine; the block of the Jaguar XJ-6 sedan would keep five nickels upright.

Reliable?

It`s this question that results in some would-be Jaguar customersremaining just that-would-be.

A week`s worth of driving isn`t going to prove the long-range reliability and dependability of the Jaguar XJ-6 sedan. And that time span won`t make usretreat from our longstanding belief that the best thing to come out ofEngland is Princess Di, followed by Winston Churchill. But the XJ-6 is noweven with Winnie.

Having an XJ-6 strapped to you makes for a very enjoyable week. Nomechanical problems, no electrical system failures. No bending over every few minutes to pick up the next piece to fall off and stow it in the glovebox, as was our first experience with Jaguar many years ago.

“Here we went and made a larger glovebox to store all the loose piecesand now there`s nothing to put in it,“ said one Jaguar official, chuckling.Before 1980 any laughter at Jaguar was reserved for when someone asked trade- in value.

Jaguar`s reputation had been so poor that some are convinced it`ll takestill some more time and highway miles to determine if the nitpicking problemsand annoyances commonly associated with the nameplate are now history.

Before the regime of Sir John Egan, who became chairman in 1980, Jaguarhad the temperament of a Fiat or Renault. In the last couple of years thereare encouraging reports that the dramatic turnaround promised by Egan hasmaterialized.

The fact 40 percent of today`s Jaguar buyers previously owned one meanslong-term customers are coming back into the fold.

Buyers are returning because “garage kept“ now refers to where theowner houses the machine, not the mechanic.

The XJ-6 4-door sedan is the type of car you simply want to get in anddrive. You`d better, or Jaguar`s seven years and $300 million developmentprogram to bring out the revised XJ-6 in May, 1987, was for naught.

The 1988 XJ-6 is powered by a 3.6-liter aluminum alloy six, which is much quieter than the 4.2-liter six it replaces, in part from being 25 percentlighter.

Teamed with four-speed automatic, the 195 horsepower 3.6 is rated at 18miles per gallon city/25 m.p.g. highway and thus escapes a federal gas guzzlertax. That`s quite a feat considering it has to propel 3,900 pounds.

If there`s a shortcoming, it`s low speed acceleration. It takes time forthe 3.6 to get the 3,900 pounds moving forward. Jaguar promises a differentaxle ratio will solve that problem for 1989.

The fully independent suspension compensates for most road surfaces. Itfeatures a ride leveling system for the rear, to detect and adjust fordiffering vehicle loads. That ensures the car remains level regardless ofpassenger or luggage weight. Bec ause the trunk isn`t all that big, we suspect the load leveler doesn`t have all that much to do in compensating for luggage. The XJ-6 is built on a 113-inch wheelbase and is 196.4 inches long, which compares with a 110.8-inch wheelbase and 196.5-inch length on a CadillacFleetwood.

Styling is simple yet distinctive and readily identifiable as Jaguar.When delivering our twin girls to a friend`s 14th birthday party, the guest ofhonor ran to the road and asked: “Is the Jag for me?“

Standard equipment includes power brakes and steering, antilock brakeswith yaw control to compensate if one side of the car is running on a moreslippery surface than the other, power windows and door locks, heated doormirrors and door locks, eight-way power seats, adjustable steering column,electric sunroof, cruise control, burled walnut veneer dash, thickly paddedleather seats, and AM-FM stereo with cassette and six speakers.

There are two oddities. The shift selector patter n is a “J,“ with Parkat the upper most rung of the J, Drive at the lowest portion in the crook, andLow at the toe of the J circling back up to the left. And the turn indicatorlever doesn`t stay up or down when in use. There`s only a faint trace of soundas a reminder the indicator is working.

The dash houses a trip computer with assorted buttons to the right of the steering wheel. We felt as if Jaguar were making a statement with thecomputer: smugly thumbing its nose at its past history of electrical problems by putting this electronic gadget in the dash.

Considering the standard air conditioning also has humidity controls toprotect contact lens wearers, Jaguar is allowed to show off with the tripcomputer.

Base price: $43,500, up from $40,500 in October thanks to the rise in the value of the British pound against the U.S. dollar. When you consider what youget for $43,500 versus $53,340 for a Mercedes 300CE coupe, the $43,500 starts to look like a value.

Egan said Jaguar`s sales goal is 56,000 cars worldwide this year, up from 48,000 last year. The U.S. target is 25,000 cars, up from 23,000. Egan alsosaid (Autos, May 8) that more new cars are in the works at Jaguar startingwith the XJ-S convertible this fall.

In 1990 the XJ-6 is stretched and a V-12 is added, the XJ-S coupe gets afacelift in 1991, and a two-plus-two sports car in the $40,000 to $50,000range comes out in 1992, a successor to the old Jaguar E-type.