“The most wood in a Jaguar in 30 years.” Surprisingly, that isn’t a line leaked from the script of some future Austin Powers four-quel, but rather one of the official talking points of the company’s all-new XJ, a car that continues the company’s most dramatic design shift in an even longer chunk of Jag history. PETA members can join the treehuggers in protest, too, because we’re told the XJ is the most leather-intensive vehicle ever released from the folks in Coventry. Those materials haven’t gone to waste, either, because the XJ’s cabin may be one of the best of 2010.

The XJ interior is so successful because its designers managed to take all that Jaguar once was and all that Jaguar needs to be, shook and then poured out a perfect cocktail. The chunky, retro metal air vents are ringed with a subtle green glow, and those slabs of oak on the doors are likewise awash in contemporary ambient light at night. The expanses of leather on the dash pause only for a huge touch screen and Jaguar’s futuristic shift dial while the tailored door cards house a few of the twenty speakers offered with the car’s optional 1200-watt (!) Bowers & Wilkins audio system. Also optional are two matching screens for rear passengers and a Whitefire headphone system that’s able to broadcast multiple channels to different passengers, like on a commercial airplane but without the wires. A huge, two-panel glass roof has to be standard because the thin glass was the only thing that allowed designer Ian Callum to sneak his low roofline past the product planners.

Our jaw dropped when we first saw photos of the XJ’s interior over the summer, and seeing it in person elicited a similar reaction. The overall shape and feel is just amazing, especially with the Supersport model’s added wood inlays and wood-ringed steering wheel. A fully digital instrument cluster is shared with the new 2010 Range Rover, and we sure hope the two brands don’t have reliability issues with those new units.

Stepping back and looking at the outside, our emotions are more mixed. If the car ended at the rear doors, we’d keep right on gushing like we have about the inside. The front is unique and aggressive, and certainly has some feline qualities to its slit headlamps and blunt nose. It looks like an XF on steroids, which is a good thing. There are a lot of good details, like the way the top of the fender drops forward and chops the orange blinker off from the rest of the lighting. A strip of LEDs below the xenon projectors is creeping toward overused, but the impact is still strong. Between those and the visual mass of the front end, if you haven’t seen the new XJ in person yet, be prepared to feel intimidated. Just warning you.

It’s at the rear where the design is harder for usto swallow, and particularly in the controversial rear window treatment. We appreciate the dare-to-be-different direction taken and understand the dynamic appearance the floating roof panel provides, and honestly, we’re not that against it. Our problem with its two most awkward points: the spot where the painted sheetmetal curves up around the quarter-window and is then sliced clean across, and the fact that the chrome window trim runs along the “floating” black plastic panel, in essence counteracting the effect. It’s a cool idea that we think needs some cleaning up.

Seeing the rear in person gives it more presence than pictures imply, but overall we think the back of the car is a bit bland. Three light tubes inside the taillamps are meant to resemble the slicing of cat claws, which is a bit gimmicky. However, its clean lines do make the car look wide and upscale from behind, and we like the jumping cat standing on its own in the middle of the trunklid and the way the roofline flows into the rear deck.

Jaguar had two XJs on hand for us to gaze upon and sit in — a basic short-wheelbase with the 385-hp 5.0-liter V8 and a top-of-the-range long-wheelbase XJ Supersport with the same 510-hp supercharged motor as the XFR and XKR. A third variant, the XJ Supercharged (which gives up 40 hp and a fair amount of content versus the Supersport) will also be available but was not on hand. The shorter car’s cabin feels no larger than an XF’s, and perhaps even smaller because of the low roofline. The long-wheelbase, which is how Jaguar predicts the majority of American buyers will spec the XJ, is much kinder to rear passengers. The stretch adds five inches of legroom, but it feels like more. The Supersport, which is limited-production and late-arriving (summer 2010,) includes basically every option as standard, and also gets an upgraded semi-aniline leather upholstery that feels like it’s still alive, it’s so soft and warm. We’re told the short-wheelbase Supersport weighs slightly less than an XFR, so it should be the quickest Jaguar sedan ever produced.

Our minor objections about the rear exterior design aside, we’re quite excited to get behind the wheel of the next XJ for the first time in the coming months. It promises to be a dramatic improvement over its predecessor, which itself was wonderful to drive but never attracted new customers with its stodgy old design. Versus the Mercedes-Benz S-class, the Audi A8, and the BMW 7-series, the new XJ offers a more intimate feel and we predict a lighter-feeling driving experience. While those other cars continue to evolve using the same formula — a little more size, a little more technology, but the same basic blueprin — the XJ represents something completely off the chart in a market segment that could probably stand to relax and lighten up a bit. Pricing will start at $72,500 for a short-wheelbase 5.0-liter, rising up to $115,000 for a long-wheelbase Supersport when the car goes on sale in Spring of 2010.

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