The chauffeur industry has never been involved in the development of a new luxury car, but now, Jaguar says it has listened to the chauffeur and responded to its needs when designing its brand-new XJ. Paul Gibson takes to the French roads before its launch in the UK in May.

On the official launch in Paris, thechauffeur.com was been given access to the new XJ to see what changes and improvements have been made, which the manufacturer hopes will see it further penetrate the market.

Chauffeurs not only suffered from a severe lack of boot space in the outgoing model, but there were some quality issues which stopped the brand becoming as popular as it hoped.  However, the XJ became a good seller for the private chauffeur sector as loading the boot full of luggage for the traditional airport run just was not possible.

For the first time, Jaguar now has an S-Class contender with its completely redesigned model and from what I have seen so far, it should make most German manufacturers somewhat worried.

The emphasis around our two day launch was very much focused around the chauffeur and the experience of riding in the back. I personally haven’t heard the word ‘chauffeur’ mentioned so many times during the last six years of car launches, so it’s obvious Jaguar are now very serious about the market.

On arrival in Paris, a stunning fleet of highly polished XJ’s and suited chauffeurs awaited us and as we slid into the rear seats, we got a first hand view of what has been achieved in the lengthy design period.

It soon becomes obvious that the outgoing XJ, which has been in the marketplace for many years now, simply lacks charisma. The interior is somewhat bland and it doesn’t really feel as if you are driving the company’s flagship model – and that’s something which has changed massively in the new model.

The driver is now more cocooned into a finer luxury environment and there is much more attention to detail throughout the cabin. The chauffeur now feels more involved in the drive with sharper steering, impressive high-definition 12 inch dash display and beautifully crafted switch gear and controls.

Being chauffeured through the streets of Paris, the client is again treated to acres of legroom in the long-wheelbase version which offers an extra 134mm of space. There doesn’t seem to be a dramatic change anywhere else in the rear from the current model, which is no bad thing! A panoramic glass roof however does let more light into the cabin and privacy glass and blinds as standard in the LWB version make the rear a more cosy experience.

The waistline of the car is much higher so it does make you feel more closed-off from the outside world. Personally, I feel the air conditioning controls on the back of the centre console should be in the rear armrest, and maybe more body-hugging seats allowing the client to ‘sit in’ rather than ‘sit on’ would make a real difference.

So, has the boot issue been resolved? To a certain extent, yes! Bosses say the car now has 520 litres of boot space which is slightly less than a Mercedes E-Class. But now, there is more workable space thanks to wider wheel arches and it does have more depth.

The 3.0 diesel engine is simply stunning and gives as much performance and economy you could wish for. The V6 power plant offers 275 bhp and more than 40mpg, thanks to the extremely light aluminium structure which was designed and built in Coventry. CO2 emissions have been dramatically but to 184g/km making it 14 per centre more efficient that the outgoing model.

The long wheelbase version of the new XJ starts at £56,685 for the Diesel Luxury model, and goes up to £90,455 for the 5.0 Supersport nutter 510 bhp engine.

Throughout the Paris launch, it has become obviously that everyone who has worked on the XJ project are passionate about it and have worked extremely hard to make the car stand-out and set itself apart from anything else in the marketplace.

It is going to be a tough year for any manufacturer out there at the moment, especially as we wait to see what is offered with the launch with the new Audi A8 which is waiting in wings.

The details of the revised Chauffeur Programme are still being kept under wraps with just a couple of months before its launch, I personally hope the XJ lives up to all our expectations when the clients start riding in the back.