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The XF looks a lot like a Lexus GS in profile. That’s no bad thing, but the XF hardly provides the drama that you’d expect from the brand that created the original XJ in the 1960s. The overall visual impression you get from the XF is that it’s nice but not stunning. It has some really good detailing, such as the chrome strip at the back that sweeps under the taillight cluster and its complex headlamps. But Jaguar has attached a large chrome “leaper” on the trunk lid because, as insiders admit, most onlookers won’t know that it’s a Jag otherwise.

On a more positive note, the XF’s interior really scores – there’s plenty of room to seat four large adults in comfort. The cabin overflows with neat details, such as the gear shifter, covered HVAC vents that rotate to open, a start button that pulses red when you enter the car, and blue lighting around the instruments and dials. And the quality of materials and assembly on the XF we recently saw at Jaguar’s design studio was as good as anything in the class. The XF’s long list of electronic driver aids also is competitive and includes voice control for audio and telephone, a blind-spot monitor, adaptive cruise control, a tire-pressure monitor, and an electronic parking brake.

Jaguar fans have always been vocal and opinionated about what sort of cars Coventry should be building. Their opinions usually boil down to “make it breathtakingly beautiful, with loads of performance.”In the meantime, we’d really like to see Jaguar succeed with this new sedan. And while it’s good that the brand is abandoning retro pastiche design, we wonder whether the XF has pushed Jaguar’s new look far enough.

It has hardly been the best-kept of secrets, but visitors to Detroit will be the first to see the new R version of the Jaguar XF plus the revised range of XKs. All these cars get Jaguar’s all-new 5-litre V8 engine, which replaces the 4.2-litre unit and has just the cylinder-head bolts and the exhaust tappets in common with it.The new engines, and the 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel recently announced, are joined to revised ZF automatic transmissions which should feel more DSG-like than ever, thanks to crisper shifts and more locking-up of the torque converter.

One thing that’s missing from the supercharged engine is the characteristic whine. Sandford hates it: ‘It’s the sound of imperfect machinery and it shouldn’t be there,’ he says. So there’s a new Eaton ‘Twin Vortex’ supercharger with four lobes per rotor instead of three, which is more efficient and soaks up less energy to drive it. The water-cooled intercooler can absorb up to 30kW of heat from the intake air.

It’s all quite understated, as is the interior which gets some new dark wood and aluminium treatments and new body-hugging front seats. Understated, that is, unless you go for the Red Zone seat facings. The former CATS suspension, with its two automatic stiffness settings, is replaced by a continuously-variable Bilstein system using sliding valves. The XF SV8, incidentally, has disappeared from the range although Jaguar insists the XFR is not its replacement, being an altogether harder-edged car.

The new XKR is mechanically almost exactly the same as the XFR, and both get a new electronic active differential which functions much like Ferrari’s version. So if there’s a tail slide, it can divert torque to the outside rear wheel to help correct it instead of relying on the electronic stability system to brake the inside rear wheel. With the stability system switched off, both Jaguars are set up to allow progressive power slides with the electronic differential keeping torque where it needs to be.

The 2010 Jaguar XK lineup gets more power from new engines. XK seats four and comes as a 2-door hatchback coupe or 2-door convertible with a power-folding soft top. All models have a new 5.0-liter V8 engine, which replaces the previous versions’ 4.2-liter V8. Base XKs have 385 hp. The supercharged XKR has 510 hp. A 6-speed automatic is the sole transmission. It includes the “JaguarDrive” rotary knob for gear selection as well as steering wheel paddles for manual operation.

The XKR has specific interior and exterior trim, brakes, and Jaguar’s new Adaptive Dynamics suspension, which automatically adjusts firmness based on road conditions to balance ride and handling. The adaptive suspension is also standard on the base car. Available safety features include ABS, traction control, antiskid system, and front side airbags that provide head and torso protection. All models have a navigation system, wireless cell phone link, and keyless entry and starting.

Consumer Guide Automotive places each vehicle into one of 18 classes based on size, price, and market position. Offering more power and style than typical Sporty/Performance vehicles, Premium Sporty/Performance Cars usually cost much more and have more comfort and convenience equipment. Two-passenger convertibles and four-seat coupes rule the roost in this class.

Xynthia ripped into France merely hours after our arrival. Packing gale-force fury, the ruthless wind and rain battered the coast before moving inland with its crushing blow – sadly, it was the country’s deadliest storm in more than a decade. While we were spared most of its rage, the countryside outside Paris was a soggy debris-laden mess – not exactly optimal conditions to test the latest flagship sedan from Jaguar.

Originally launched in 1968, the Jaguar XJ was cast as the flagship of the British automaker’s lineup. The new four-door saloon rolled into the public’s eye with a straight-six engine and rear-wheel drive. Within a few years, a V12 would be fitted under the hood and the XJ would be sold as the world’s only twelve-cylinder sedan. It was more than appropriate for Jaguar’s jewel.

More specifically, the new XJ is a solid alternative in a concentrated segment of formidable Germans and one nearly faultless Asian. This completely redesigned sedan at last delivers the nobleness of spirit and prestige of the Jaguar marque that had gone missing in many of its predecessors. Jaguar has once again introduced a traditionally British full-size four-door saloon that exudes eye-catching styling, exquisite luxury and traditional wealth. Let us just say in our most complimentary tone, the new Jaguar is decidedly British; a gentleman in its class.