Jaguar to Reveal XJ-Based Crossover, But Naming is a Problem [2013 Frankfurt Auto Show]

Jaguar's XF Sportbrake will share much with the upcoming crossover. Two years ago, sitting at a congested conference table in a back room of the Frankfurt auto show, Jaguar boss Adrian Hallmark turned to master designer Ian Callum, and then back at this writer and said, "We talk about it every day." The it was a Jaguar-branded crossover SUV. Not a rebadged Land Rover, but a bona-fide Jag. And nearly two years to the day after that inquisition, we'll see the fruits of Hallmark and Callum's daily discussions. At the 2013 Frankfurt auto show, it's very likely that Jaguar will be showing a lightly disguised version of its future crossover. The story was first reported by Autoweek, and after investigating the topic, we're fairly confident that it's accurate—most of it, at least. What you can expect from Jaguar is a crossover more in the vein of a Porsche Cayenne than a Mercedes-Benz M-class, something sleek and low and generally sporty. Jaguar essentially redesigned its entire front end architecture for the all-wheel-drive versions of the XJ and XF, no doubt with the nascent crossover prominently in the plans. The resulting driving experience and shape should be entirely Jaguar, leaving the sporty trucks to Land Rover, and banishing fully the old nightmare of that time Ford wanted to stick a Jaguar hood ornament on an Explorer. Back here in reality, supercharged V-6 and V-8 engines will sit low in the Jaguar's engine compartment, spinning an eight-speed automatic transmission and a transfer case to feed power to all four wheels. We'd like to see lots of aluminum in the body and structure, especially given Jaguar's proclivity for the lightweight metal, but it's not clear whether the costs of widespread use can be justified. Naming may be a small problem. The original report said Jaguar would call its crossover an XQ or Q-type, but we believe that both are now completely off the table. Jaguar withdrew an application to trademark Q-type after Audi challenged the filing, citing likely confusion with the Q line of SUVs. Around the same time, Jaguar pulled its trademark application for XQ, probably foreseeing a similar response from Nissan, which recently renamed its entire SUV portfolio with the prefix QX. Of course Jaguar will come up with something for its crossover's badge, but arriving late to the segment means there aren't many alphanumeric names left on the shelves. Instrumented Test: 2013 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged First Drive: 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport First Drive: 2014 Jaguar F-type If you developed a minor neurological tic upon first seeing this post's title, and continued thoughts about a Jaguar SUV have sent you into a full angry rant, here's the case for the crossover: Jaguar needs to grow as a company—a lot. Americans and Chinese will be at the heart of this sales drive. We demand SUVs and crossovers, especially from premium brands. Porsche has already done the dirty work of convincing the car-buying public that SUVs don't have to destroy a brand's athletic image. Now, Porsche's Cayenne—and subsequently, the massive Panamera sedan—is the breadwinner for the Porsche brand. A Jaguar crossover should do the same, and bring in the money to pay for awesome but super-low-volume cars like the F-type. Overlap with Land Rover will be less than you think. Even the sportiest Range Rovers are still "trucks" in the vernacular. The buyer profile for each brand is different, the market positions are different. A Land Rover says "I want to look like I can go anywhere." The Jaguar could say "I'm rich and stylish and trendy." We'll have full coverage of the entire Frankfurt show including, hopefully, an all-new model from Jag. Check back in early September. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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