Jaguar Wants To Rival Bentley, But GT’s Cabin Goes In A Different Direction Entirely
Posted by Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 112 comments
FoMoCoNutjob@reddit
Lol, these clowns are churning out exactly the kind of stuff we thought would be cool a decade ago - right up until people actually tried that touch-sensitive crap, especially on the steering wheel, and realized how utterly awful it is.
Now, the luxury brands are backing away from that trend, but sure - Jaguar shows up years too late, as usual. Thankfully, this brand won’t even exist by 2030. The environment won’t miss the waste of resources on overpriced shitboxes - nor will I.
yktoday@reddit
Completely agree with you
cameronfry3@reddit
Oof.
It’s sad to see Jaguar floundering here with this minimalist and cold approach.
The problem is it comes off generic and forgettable. Kind of like the Escalade’s new interior as well as the new BMW iX3.
Thinking back to my favorite Jaguar, the 90s XJ (X308), that was an interior that had a sense of occasion. It was warm, rich and inviting. It was, IMHO, essentially a discount Bentley that was unapologetically British.
Now, we’ve got a sterile mishmash of design that seems French/German/Korean — All of which are good on their own but terrible together.
strongmanass@reddit
You can barely see anything of the interior. You have a a steering wheel and part of a screen. Everything else is covered. The article doesn't even bother to tall about the most interesting parts we can see, like the brass on the doors, steering wheel, and the inside of the center console - all consistent with Type 00. Same with the steering wheel. They don't even bother to do 7 seconds of thinking:
Or, you know, a 2024 concept car - one that got quite a lot of attention.
Even their comments on the steering wheel buttons are odd. They look more like soft damped buttons that share a covering to me. There are clear indentations in the center of the arrows left and right and the surface doesn't look like one for haptics. But nothing can be concluded from zooming in on someone else's photos of the prototype. This is a non-story.
cameronfry3@reddit
The concept car got a lot of attention because of a laughable rebrand and joke of a campaign — if you even want to call it that.
When the design was revealed very few people said “Ooh, I want THAT!”
Most said, “WTF? Is that the back of an air conditioning unit?”
The only people that I know are interested in Jaguar’s future are current employees at HQ. They seem to think their work is genius quality.
Unfortunately, all signs point to “Not even close.”
yktoday@reddit
Very well said
strongmanass@reddit
Count me among the very few.
I won't use genius but overall I think it's brilliant. The design inside and out and the driving character are contemporary interpretations of traditional Jaguar. The interior of Type 00 was actually a lot more considered than the designers got credit for. If they can keep that cohesiveness in the production car I'll be very impressed.
DodgerBlueRobert1@reddit
Agreed. The X308 was peak XJ, both inside and out. When Tata bought Jaguar, that's when things started to go downhill stylistically.
Real_Science_5851@reddit
The X308 was sick, but definitely not, some of the coolest Jags have been modern ones (see: X250 XF post-facelift, latest XJR, F-Type, amongst others))
yktoday@reddit
Hahahaha. Jaguar wants to rival Bentley is the funniest thing I have read for months. Jaguar is not even close to Korean mainstream cars when it comes to fit and finish and build quality and reliability. Anyhow. Another year's time Jaguar won't exist
s3cf_@reddit
why is it a LHD?
Real_Science_5851@reddit
Prototypes - this would've been for Scandi winter testing
Darmstadter@reddit
I want Jaguars to feel like a cozy British pub inside.
This looks like a Norwegian dentist's office.
shwiss@reddit
I remember a time where people despised that. When the new Jag XF was released, people were amazed with the silver interior with the blue lighting and the dial shifter. Fashion really does repeat itself doesn't it?
magnament@reddit
Because the shitfer never worked
Real_Science_5851@reddit
Weird, never had any issues with it and loved the way it looks and feels!
by_a_pyre_light@reddit
The shifter was great. Source: had 2 Jags with them.
magnament@reddit
That’s nice dear. Maybe the xkl was just garbage all-around
by_a_pyre_light@reddit
Well, that's certainly a dumb troll bait post, but OK kid.
magnament@reddit
The garbage roof, garbage shifter….am I the one takin crazy pills here or are you actually defending jaguar build quality haha
by_a_pyre_light@reddit
Garbage roof? It was a coupe, pretty standard roofs. And the build quality was pretty solid. Solid, real leather (not the pleather featured in lesser marques or lower trim tiers) with double French stitched full leather dashes and leather throughout. The interior was solid and didn't rattle or squeak, even a decade+ on.
Like, what are you going on about? Seems like you're parroting stuff you think you heard but don't have any actual experience with. Meanwhile, I've had three of them, from the 4.2L to the 5L and while they've had their issues, they've been such great cars I keep coming back between other ones.
magnament@reddit
Did you miss xjl
by_a_pyre_light@reddit
First, an XJL is not an XK.
Second, your attempts at insults don't bother me, you're clearly delusional and trying to troll. Pro-tip: you have to be more subtle in the future. As you graduate from middle school to high school, you'll pick up more on nuance, child.
magnament@reddit
The shifter sucked in the xjl that I had, simple down an learn to read buddy
YesIlBarone@reddit
Neither did the J-gate
shwiss@reddit
Sure it got stuck a lot, but the initial response was "look how futuristic a JAGUAR is!"
BillyJohnsFinds@reddit
Pretty sure all the new Jags got shit on for their crappy interiors
FrozenUruguayBallbac@reddit
honestly been looking for a word to describe this whole tech minimalist design trend thing that is happening and scandinavian is the best word to describe it
Tullekunstner@reddit
As a Scandinavian, I can tell you that that's not a traditional Scandinavian look at all.
FrozenUruguayBallbac@reddit
im aware, but that is the only word i can use to describe this aesthetic
tiagojpg@reddit
It’s a Jåg
the_lamou@reddit
Because that worked so well for them. Both Jaguars and British Pubs. You can't just make cars for the same rapidly dying demographic over and over again.
RIP_Soulja_Slim@reddit
Those 90s era XJs that were basically huge sofas were such cool cars, I think the general luxury car buying public wants something a bit sportier now but there's a lot of space in that segment IMO.
Trying to both rebrand, roll out new vehicles, and take your brand from one that sold ~$40k cars not that long ago to one rivaling Bentley is quite the undertaking.
Vizslaraptor@reddit
Waymo is getting an upgrade!
StinkySoggyUnderwear@reddit
This is an article to force you to watch a video.
I hate these things. It’s like click bait from a professional sounding company but is just a scam.
tokhar@reddit
Screams late 1980s Citroën…
pointblankmos@reddit
Aside from the screen, the steering wheel looks very nice. Reminds me of French cars from the 80s.
tiagojpg@reddit
The steering wheel looks like a Daft Punk helmet.
Damn this sub for not allowing us to comment pictures.
brickfrenzy@reddit
Had the same thought. That wheel SCREAMS Citroën.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
I'll give them points for making it a wheel and NOT a yolk like certain brands
Slasher1738@reddit
yikes
Diogenes256@reddit
Oh my...this is a complete disaster. There are no redeeming features here at all. This is like Elon's idea of a Jaguar. Off to the scrapheap of history then.
xXNodensXx@reddit
It looks like ass. I'm sure it will be ass.
As someone who loved the F-Type and almost bought one, I simply wouldn't even look twice at whatever this garbage is from what was once known as Jaguar.
strongmanass@reddit
That was their problem. People loved the cars but then ultimately put their money elsewhere. People who almost bought their previous cars aren't going to get them any revenue. They're making the new cars for an entirely different target buyer group.
As someone who likes the looks of the F-Type but hates being around it because of how loud it is, the upcoming GT is the car I'm most interested in buying.
xXNodensXx@reddit
It's a bold move, Cotton. Let's see how it plays out for them...
strongmanass@reddit
It could very well fail. But I like that they're committed and unapologetic. And I find it amusing that they've ruffled so many feathers.
xXNodensXx@reddit
Eh, it's more just a 'let's all point and laugh at the stupid' kind of thing. No ruffled feathers, just having a laugh.
strongmanass@reddit
Your feathers may not be ruffled, but plenty of other people's have been. It's clear in every comment section wherever an article or video is posted about it that people are still upset.
AmericanExcellence@reddit
totally lost.
truly almost incredible how cheap that interior looks.
strongmanass@reddit
It's a development prototype. Its purpose is testing.
by_a_pyre_light@reddit
If that were the case, they wouldn't have invited the press to see it, photograph it, and publicize it. Everything they don't want publicized is carefully hidden. This is a controlled narrative, so this is not just a "development prototype for testing", especially as they voted the development is nearing completion for an unveiling later this year.
strongmanass@reddit
The development is nearing completion, but the cars in wraps that the development team and journalists have been flogging aren't the ones they'll unveil as the production model. The ones they've been driving are literally prototypes. They have computers attached to them for data analysis. Prototypes famously live very hard lives, so judging it the way you would a pristine production model doesn't make sense.
which is why comments like "it looks cheap" are silly. You can't see most of it.
by_a_pyre_light@reddit
The car's obviously under camouflage and the parts they don't want to be publicized are under wraps. That's what makes it abundantly clear that they've taken a deliberate approach to have these specific elements publicized.
The car overall is a prototype, but that doesn't mean every component and every switch is. For example, you can have a prototype computer that's 90%+ production ready. It's getting final drivers and a small component may be switched out, but the CPU, GPU, and RAM are all locked in. I guarantee you that's the case here: the elements they're showing are nearly done or done, otherwise they wouldn't show us.
strongmanass@reddit
I agree with that, with the caveat that we don't know if it's done or "nearly done." But my point is that because it's a prototype that's put in hard miles, is mostly covered, and no details have been confirmed, comments about how cheap it looks based on a photo Carscoops took from an Instagram post - some of whose resolution was lost when they resized the image - don't make sense.
by_a_pyre_light@reddit
Buddy, I'm not saying it looks cheap. I'm saying that the cover of "it's a prototype" doesn't fly for whatever the charge may be. They could say it lacks style or it's the wrong color, and you would say "it's a prototype" and the result would be the same: Jaguar are confident enough in the current design being representative of the final product that they have chosen to invite the press to scrutinize and publish this one, specific aspect of the car. No one is talking about the covered parts, because we can't see them. The people are talking about the things we can see and if they're arguing they look cheap, you can disagree on that, but you can't use "it's a prototype" as a handwave to dismiss that criticism.
strongmanass@reddit
I disagree. I think criticism of aspects that are influenced by materials and condition isn't sufficiently well-grounded. For it to be, we have to assume that the materials and condition are representative of the production car. We have no confirmation of that, so assuming accurate representation of material and condition is a leap IMO. As far as I'm concerned, "it's a prototype" is a valid response to the criticism of it looking cheap.
Where we disagree is whether that leap is large or small, and whether it's small enough to justify judging the upcmoming car based on this prototype. I don't think your reasons for thinking it's a small enough leap to maks assumptions are unreasonable. But I don't think that mine for thinking it's too large a leap are either.
The design is representative, so I have no objection to people saying the steering wheel looks like an old video game controller or Thanos' chin.
nolongerbanned99@reddit
Just shut it down pack up and go home. Would be better for the world really. Unless you can compete with bmw, Audi, Mercedes and the ultra luxury carmakers just stop.
thefanciestcat@reddit
Well, at least the Atari Lynx on the steering wheel is on the feline theme.
turb0_encapsulator@reddit
another ultra-luxury brand is what the UK really needs to be globally competitive.
MasterofPeridots@reddit
I have a lot of conflicting opinions, but I think what Jaguar should really be worried about the most is whether they can finally shake off the reputation of unreliability they've had for the past 40 years.
MLPorsche@reddit
if they wanted to rival Bentley then they should've started that change 10 years ago, maybe 15 years ago right after the Tata refresh of the brand
strongmanass@reddit
The media will keep printing that Bentley rival crap until the end of time even though Jaguar have said for 5 years that the price point is £100-120K, which is about 60% of the price. It's like saying the M3 is a 911 rival.
PanadaTM@reddit
I was someone who actually liked the look of the new jaguar and was waiting for more info before shitting on it like the rest of the sub.
But that interior is the nail in the coffin, minimalism isn't luxury anymore. Most brands have realized that by now but somehow Jaguar still thinks they can charge more for less in 2026.
Their entire branding pivot and philosophy is 5 years too late
strongmanass@reddit
What interior? You're looking at a development prototype with most of it covered.
It depends on how you approach it. Expensive materials like brass, travertine, alabaster, and high quality wool are luxury, and all of those will feature or be options in the production car.
tsar73@reddit
That steering wheel looks almost exactly like the old Nintendo Wii wheel with the remote docked.
EviIution@reddit
This looks like someone tried to mimic hyundai/kias interior but with Dacia budget.
Purrchil@reddit
Looks likes a KIA steering wheel. And that front window looks so low, in one picture it seems that the driver is looking directly at the sun visor.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
Instead of adding yet another poor selling luxury EV sedan to the market, Jaguar should have built more ICE SUVs. They have access to LR for the love of God
A large 7 Passenger SUV based on the Range Rover and a smaller one based on the Range Rover Sport would each outsell this EV at least 15:1, if not more
desf15@reddit
Previous F-type definitely didn't build enough interest in Jaguar for it to make sense. What makes you think it would be better this time round?
Also, while SUVs based on LR products would probably sell better than this EV, there is another question - Wouldn't they cannibalize LR sales in process? Because investing in a new model for one brand, only to steal sales from other brand in the same group doesn't really make sense with such small manufacturer.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
Sure, there would be some cannibalism, but it'd wouldn't significantly harm either brand. VW sells basically the same SUVs under 3-4 brands. GM does the same as well.
Also, as long as Jaguar styled their cars uniquely, had a more road/sporty suspension tune, and offered different trim and package combinations than LR, they'd be fine. It'd cost way less than this EV development.
Jag now probably spent around $1 billion developing this, and it won't sell well. They need only look at models like the Porsche Taycan, Audi E-tron, and Mercedes EQ sedans.
The F-type didn't sell particularly well, and while it could have been marketed better. The majority of the people who bought them were new to the brand. Also, just by offering the car, a lot of people went into dealerships and ended up driving home in an F-Pace. I agree it isn't a priority, but it offers the brand some direction.
desf15@reddit
Did you do any market research about cannibalism and F-type pulling customers, or is just typical "trust me bro, I'm from reddit, so I definitely know how to run a car company"? Because it hella look like the latter.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
This is the typical "Automakers are run by the wisest sages, and we should never question their decisions" logic that has made this sub so exhausting 😔
desf15@reddit
Nah it's not. It's just that they tried competing with BMW and Audi and failed badly. F-pace was selling abysmally bad compared to german competitors. And you're proposing that they keep on doing it, hoping that a bigger suv will change it completely, without giving any reason why it would.
We can question car execs decision, and even should, but what you're proposing is simply even more questionable.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
My main point is this: If Jag is going to try something, they should try something that has worked for other brands (luxury SUVs). NOT something that most brands have failed at (EV sedans).
Yes, I understand Jag wants to crave out a unique section of market for themselves. But the time for Jag to experiment like this was 10 years ago, now they need to focus on survival.
strongmanass@reddit
The sedan will not be the only model.
desf15@reddit
They are already selling luxury SUVs under LR brand. It's the same company.
Keep in mind that this project didn't start yesterday, and when it was beginning every manufacturer saw EV future and were racing to announce when they'll become EV-only brands. If they were to restart Jaguar today it probably wouldn't be EV only brand, but the decision was made years ago, and before it became obvious that this market isn't growing as much it was kinda late to pull the plug on it.
This is not a VW group that can afford to burn few billions on EVs that won't hit the market and just carry on as usual. It's a small company, so basically at some point it makes more sense to finish it and and push it to the market, than to dump whole project.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
JLR is backed by the TATA group, a company that probably makes even more money than the VW group.
Jag could develop EVs all day, but banking on them alone was foolish and the main reason why their future looks so bleak.
Also, it isn't unusual for Automakers to have Stopgap products while they wait for new models to arrive. Making a second-gen F-Pace and another larger SUV would give the brand something to sell until this EV is ready, and a backup for when this EV inevitably fails
desf15@reddit
TATA is big, but car business is relatively small, and completely detached from JRL. So they can't really get much technical help from TATA group, and they probably get bored with shoveling money to burn.
They've explicitly said themselves that they tried to fight Audi and BMW and failed, and now they're trying to look for some other directions for the brand. And what you're proposing for them is to keep on going with business model that didn't work, without even a single reasons why it would magically change and work this time.
Aero06@reddit
But they literally did that in order to pursue this new design direction.
https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/jaguar-xj-leaked-ev-flagship-finally-surfaces-after-11th-hour-cancellation
desf15@reddit
True, I could've written "two times in a row"
SquareTarbooj@reddit
I would have disagreed until you mentioned that VW does the same thing, and that's actually a fair point.
SerialExperimentLean@reddit
VW has their brands pretty well segmented though, Skoda is the cheap one, VW the standard, Audi Premium, Porsche a level above that, Bentley super luxury and Lamborghini super sporty. Where does a Jaguar fit in on a Land Rover/ Range Rover platform? They tried it with the E and F pace but people would rather have one of the other two if they're after an suv
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
Your opinion is refreshing.
This sub has essentially become "The automakers are all-knowing, don't question their decisions" echo chamber
sioux612@reddit
IMO the F-type did a good job at creating interesting in the brand, but at the moment when it came out their newest car was their top level luxury sedan of which they have historically sold like 3 a year and then the new stuff they released afterwards had quite little to do with the F-type.
If there had been a logical trail of development, that could have helped. For the guy who wanted an F-type but needed something with more doors, or more size, or more height, so they could release a four door sedan with a similar front, an SUV with a similar front, give them all the same v8.
But only the XE, got the V8, none of them got the same front, the naming convention is roughly as self explanatory as the Audi naming convention on the day where they decided to switch naming conventions twice...
There were a lot of issues with brand management at Jaguar.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
Jag is basically finished. This car is essentially their death rattle. Once it flops, it'll be curtains for the brand.
sioux612@reddit
Absolutely.
I know two former Jag drivers who were THE Jag drivers. V8 is the smallest engine acceptable, british cars are the only cars with class, can't actually properly drive any car etc.
One of them got weirdly into Teslas, the other bought a used V12 S-Class because...I don't know, Jaguars were too reliable or something
SerialExperimentLean@reddit
The problem with just building rebaged range rovers is why would anyone buy one over a range rover, and why would you use capacity building and marketing them when you could just make more range rovers?
jurwell@reddit
Jaguar were mostly doing what you were suggesting they do and weren’t making money.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
The F-Pace was the only car making them money...
jurwell@reddit
And designing a new model, building more panel presses and setting up production just to put out a model that’d steal sales from a vehicle they’re already producing would be financial suicide. What they’ve done is a much wiser decision. A definite gamble but one that was required.
Redeemed_Expert9694@reddit (OP)
Alienating your small customer base and producing a product that is bound to sell poorly is a terrible decision.
But I suppose you're part of the "Trust in the wisdom of the Automakers, for their vision is beyond mortal understanding" crowd so if Jag decided to sell rebadged Reliant Robins, you'd probably still justify it
jurwell@reddit
It’s not the wisdom of the automakers, it’s simple economics. Their current customer base and model line up wasn’t making enough money to sustain itself. You were suggesting they invest a huge amount of money to generate a small return at the expense of the profits their sister company makes on an already existing model.
This way they go for a different market sector entirely, there won’t be 100% attrition for their existing customers, and all of the marketing, design and production goes towards a high margin product that’s solely for their own benefit, and won’t challenge any of their existing products for sales.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
That's kind of the issue: they're pretty limited in what kinds of SUVs they can build that won't cannibalise sales of an LR product
fuzzerino@reddit
Big rectangular screen that doesn't even integrate into the dashboard properly, daring today aren't we.
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
That just means DOA in this model…
bwoah_gimmethedrink@reddit
It was always on DOA trajectory and even a better interior wouldn't change that now.
RiftHunter4@reddit
My honest impression is that Jaguar is just making a very generic EV. There's been nothing unique about it yet.
OkDirection8015@reddit
Jaguar doesn’t even know what the hell it’s even doing. They don’t even know which direction to go. Also how is it that they still don’t have a production ready car to show?
strongmanass@reddit
Theyve been nothing but consistent about their new direction.
It is ready. But The £2 billion cyber attack that shut JLR down for weeks set them back, so they had to move production timelines which pushed out plans for the reveal.
argent_pixel@reddit
It's cool that they added Thanos' chin to a steering wheel and by cool I mean Jaguar just gave me cancer.
arsinoe716@reddit
That interior looks very basic to me. Flat surfaces should not be in a luxury car. Flat surfaces have no character in it.
strongmanass@reddit
That interior looks like a covered up prototype to me.
arsinoe716@reddit
The arms of the steering wheel and the stalks.
strongmanass@reddit
Are you talking about the shape? Personally I think it's consistent with their rectangular approach and the shape of the stalks flanks the small screen nicely. By "arms of the steering wheel" I assume you mean the pads to the left and right of center. That doesn't even look complete to me. We're bashing an unfinished prototype for looking unfinished?
If we're going to criticize a prototype for not looking like a luxury car then we should also point out the $400K Cadillac Celestiq for a similar shape on its stalks. Or the $420K Rolls Royce Spectre with stalks like this unless you shell out more money to have them covered with leather.
rugbyj@reddit
What else am I supposed to rack lines on?
arsinoe716@reddit
Non flat surfaces?
DistanceSolar1449@reddit
The correct term is “titties”
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
/u/strongmanass get in here, as the resident Guy Excited About The Jaguar I want to hear your take.
strongmanass@reddit
Initially I was disappointed with the big screen in the interior. But the right where the stalks meet behind the steering wheel is a small screen that shows odometer, speed, trip, etc which is odd if there's a huge screen right behind it. Then I remembered the screens in Type 00 are retractable. I assumed that was just concept stuff, but there's also an article from one of the journalists who's seen the finished production car:
It's possible that the retractable screen made it to production, which would explain the tiny one right behind the steering wheel. If that's the case I think it's a really great solution. And I could even forgive the small portrait screen in the center.
Other thoughts: that last photo shows brass on the door and inside the center console, which is a nice touch. It looks like there are 3 cameras where you'd normally find overhead lights. I assume those are selfie cameras that some markets love.
No rear view camera at the top of the windshield. That will be at the base of the windshield like an old XK120. I think it's a cool throwback. They say they're aware of the focal distance problem with rear view cameras and designed theirs to mitigate that. Jury's still out of course.
Overall there's not much to take away. If that big screen is retractable, great. If not, this is my first big disappointment with the car.
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devastationz@reddit
Just keep making F-Type parts and we’ll be good at this point.