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Jaguar XJ vs BMW M5

What's the difference?

VS
Jaguar XJ
Jaguar XJ

2017 price

BMW M5
BMW M5

2018 price

Summary

2017 Jaguar XJ
2018 BMW M5
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Supercharged V8, 5.0L

Turbo V8, 4.4L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
11.6L/100km (combined)

10.6L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Options pricing
  • InControl software a bit ordinary
  • Too much in-cabin chrome

  • Hefty price hike
  • Design, inside and out, could be more adventurous
  • Still no phone mirroring
2017 Jaguar XJ Summary

As a child, my parents - who aren't car people - would see a Jaguar and point. It didn't matter if it was an XJ, Daimler Double Six or a Mark II, there was a great deal of mystique around these bastions of Britishness. It also didn't matter that these weren't necessarily good cars. The Seventies and Eighties saw the brand slide into a funk while being passed between owners like hot potatoes.

Somehow, the brand survived its brush with Ford's useless Premier Automotive Group strategy which only came good towards the end as Jaguar's management woke up and put in place a change in direction that produced the Ian Callum-designed XF. Riding high on that design, Jaguar then promptly introduced the very pretty Jaguar XJ.

It has been on sale for ages, but with the addition of a few bits and bobs to stay competitive, it's as compelling as ever. Most importantly, the performance-focused R has kept its unique supercharged V8.

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2018 BMW M5 Summary

Remember back when people were saying the BMW M5 would lose a little something by shifting from its traditional rear-wheel drive set-up to all-wheel drive?

It would drain a little sparkle, maybe. Or some excitement. It would become more predictable, more placid - hell, even boring.

But hindsight is always 20/20, and we know now that switching to AWD has done nothing but allow BMW to funnel even more power into the tarmac, with the German brand upping power outputs and dropping lap times in one fell swoop. 

Consider the M5 Competition, then, BMW’s way of delivering the ultimate 'I told you so'. Because it’s not just the most fun, most potent AWD M5 ever - it’s the best M5 period.

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Deep dive comparison

2017 Jaguar XJ 2018 BMW M5

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