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JAGUAR HAS come of age. The company no longer uses heritage as a cover for incompetence. Its 1995 XJ6 sedan is proof.

The new car, in every way, is discernibly better than the model it replaces. It looks better, which means it once again looks like a Jaguar — long, sinewy lines, round headlamps, feline stance, feline rear. Gone is that classless flirtation with modernity — a faux Lexus-Infiniti-BMW body sandwiched between square headlamps and a square tail.

Appearance, after all, is why most people bought Jaguars. Until its unfortunate restyling in 1989, nothing else looked like the car. Now, happily, it has reclaimed that uniqueness.

But there are more than looks to the new cat. The car has guts, most of which seem to be connected properly. Some things, such as overall reliability and durability, are impossible to determine in a 200-mile run. Other things, such as comfort, construction quality, cornering ability, wet-road behavior, acceleration and braking are easier to assess. In those matters, the test car passed the short course with flying colors — those being a topaz body and a tan interior.

The upshot is that all of the talk about Jaguar’s “heritage” now has meaning. Prestige with portfolio is infinitely more appealing than pomp without circumstance.

Background: What a difference $4 billion makes. That’s the sum of Ford Motor Co.’s total spending on Jaguar since it took over the British automaker in 1989. Ford has yet to see a financial return on its investment, although company officials and industry analysts expect Jag to become profitable soon, perhaps next year. But the new XJ6 is evidence that Ford’s money hasn’t been wasted.

The 1995 XJ6 and its elegant siblings have been extensively redone with 2,000 new and/or reworked components. Some of those changes correct the obviously embarrassing shortcomings of previous Jaguars, such as the absence of dual-front air bags. But there’s way more new stuff than that, including an improved in-line six-cylinder engine; a wonderfully reworked suspension system (no more lean-in corners, no more front-end dive in hard braking); an all-speed traction control system that improves XJ-series behavior in slippery weather; revised standard anti-lock brakes with power, four-wheel ventilated discs; new seats from a supplier that knows something about seats (Lear); and an all-new air conditioning and heating system that actually works well.

The tested XJ6 is equipped with a reengineered, 4-liter, 24-valve, inline six-cylinder engine rated 245 horsepower at 4,700 rpm. Maximum torque is set at 289 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm. A supercharged, 322-horsepower version of that engine is available in the 1995 Jaguar XJR sedan. And then, of course, there is the 6-liter, 12-cylinder, 313-horsepower engine that comes with the Jaguar XJ12 sedan.

Complaints: The tested XJ6 was a pre-production model, not quite ready for prime time, which Jaguar’s engineers said explained this problem: Several electronic gauges malfunctioned occasionally. But Michael Dale, president of Jaguar North America, swears by all that is swearable that the production cars are free of any electronic bugs and that they will work perfectly.

Also, at 11.1 cubic feet, the new XJ6 sedan has a fairly small trunk.

Praise: Overall excellent redesign and construction. Superb new suspension system. A simply exquisite car that’s as much go as show.

Head-turning quotient: Total knockout. One beautiful car. And, ah, yes — the famed Jag “Leaper” is back on the hood.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Triple bravo, even on slippery roads. The most sure-footed, well-balanced Jaguar I’ve driven in 12 years. Braking was excellent.

Mileage: About 22 per gallon (23.1-gallon tank, estimated 496-mile range on usable volume of recommended premium unleaded), running mostly highway with two occupants and no cargo.

Sound system: The XJ6 standard 80-watt, eight-speaker, AM/FM stereo radio and cassette, Alpine system. Excellent.

Price: Base price on the tested XJ6 sedan is $53,450. Estimated dealer’s invoice is $43,000. Estimated price as tested is $59,540, including $2,040 in patently discriminatory federal luxury taxes and $960 in transportation and dealer prep charges. These prices are preliminary for the 1995 model year and subject to change.

Purse-strings note: Jag’s back in the race for prestige-marque, luxury-car buyers, people shopping for cars in excess of $38,000. Anything in that league is more want than need. If you want it, buy it — or lease it.