Jaguar World – July 2019

July 201 9\JaguarWorld|6 7

TWINTEST

XJ40vsROVER 800

Bothcarshavea

fffooollllllooowwwiiinnngggtttooodddaaayyy,,,

theXJ 40 having

finallycomeofage

tobeconsiiidereda

‘proper’Jaggguar,and

the 800 asssanicon

oftheEiggghties

T

heEightieswasafashion-conscious
decade,andeachofthesecarsis
evocativeoftheera.
TheRoverismorethrustinganddynamic
–adjectivesthatyouwouldn’tnecessarily
associatewiththebrandinamoderncontext,
butin 1986 peoplestillhadmemoriesof
iconicRoverssuchastheP6andSD1,andthe
800 wasworthyofthatlineage.Inlowertrim
levels,itlookedquiteplain,butV6models
withalloywheelsandsmartinteriorswere
desirableandhandsomecars.Itwasthese
800sthatcompetedwiththeXJ40.
Thefour-cylindermodelsweremuch
cheaperandlargelyaimedatfleetcustomers,
bbbuuutttaaannn 888222777 ,,,eeesssppppeeeccciiiaaallllllyyyiiinnn‘SSSttteeerrrllliiinnnggg’tttrrriiimmm,,,wwwaaasss
anexceptionallllyplushvehicle.Ourtestcaris
an 827 Si,asliggghtlylowertrimderivativewithhh
velourupholstttery,butstillwell-equippedanddd
stylish,withthhhelargest-capacityengine.
TheXJ 40 ,mmmeanwhile,wasn’tshyof
lookingbackwwwardswithitstraditional
profile,althouuughthatdoesbegthequestion

thatifdevelopmentworkontheXJ40had

startedintheEighties,mightithavelooked

quitedifferent?We’regladitdidn’t.

Thecarwehavehereisabasemodel,

albeitwithalloysfromalaterSovereignand

leathertrim,alongwitha4.0-litreengine.

Allwereofferedasfactoryoptions,andit

wastheentry-levelXJ40thatwasclosest

onpricetoahigh-endRover8 00.

Oneofthebiggestevolutionsincar

designoftheEightieswasininteriors,

withincreasinglystylish,upmarketcabins

thatwereaidedbyhugeleapsforwardin

injectionmoulding,whichallowedcar-

manufacturerstomakethemostofsome

farmoreadvancedshapes.

Whereas,previously,doorsand

dashboardswereseparate,intheEighties

interiordesignstartedtointegratethem,

andtheRover8 00 isagreatexampleof

this.Ithasanavant-gardedashboard,which

curvesaroundtomeetthetopofthe

doorcards,envelopingthedriverwithina

propercockpit.Itretainsamodestamount

ooofffwwwooooooodddtttrrriiimmm,,,bbbuuutttfffaaarrrllleeessssssttthhhaaannnuuupppmmmaaaarrrkkkeeettt

Roversssofold,whiletheseatsarefirmmm

andsupportive.Theyfeelalittleharrrdand

unwelcccomingatfirst,butareextremmmely

supporrrtiveoveralongjourney.

TheJaguar,ontheotherhand,ismmmuch

moretttraditional.Thecabinisinstantttly

moreinviting,withhigh-qualityveneeeers