2002 Jaguar Xj8 Sport Sedan 4-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Jaguar XJ facelift suggests that if it ain't broke...

Jaguar is preparing what looks to be a very modest upgrade for its long-serving XJ, now heading into its fifth year in production. The fullsize luxury sedan's changes are so limited it seems like a stretch to even refer to these changes as a proper update. New front and rear lights represent the big changes, although the XJ's front grille looks to get a tiny bit of tweaking. Beyond that, though, we can't see too much changing for Jag's flagship luxury car. That said, there could be some tweaks below the sheetmetal and within the cabin that these images don't really show. Take a look at our gallery of spy photos, at the top of the page, and let us know what you think Jag is up to with this particular XJ.

Who picks car colors and materials? Designers like Hannah Custance

As automotive journalists, we're often asked "how did you get that job?" People usually didn't even know you could do such a thing. In this 7 Questions series, we're highlighting other jobs in the automotive industry that you might not have heard about before. What do they do, how'd they get to do it and other questions about their particular corner of the car world. Slowly but surely, the automotive landscape is becoming more colorful. Look beyond the unrelentingly conservative palette of white, black and gray most buyers opt for and you'll see the increased use of exterior trim types beyond the usual chrome. There's gloss black, of course, but also other metallic finishes like gold or copper. Those can be found inside, too, where there's also an increase in colorful leathers and trims, innovative fabrics, new wood types and finishes, and greater creativity in general. So where is this change coming from? The answer is designers like Hannah Custance, the color and materials design manager for Jaguar Land Rover. Her team's latest effort is also its magnum opus, the 2022 Range Rover. Although saddled with the expectations that comes with one of the automotive industry's classic nameplates, the all-new Range Rover is also a celebration of cutting edge manufacturing and fashion-forward materials selection. We sat down with Hannah at the L.A. Auto Show to find out more about color and materials designers, how she ended up in the industry, and advice she might have for young designers out there. It has been condensed for brevity. Autoblog: What does a color and materials design manager to do?Hannah Custance: I basically look after a team of designers who design finishes for every A surface on the car. So, that could be exterior finishes. It could be interior trim materials, soft materials, hard materials, chromes, metals, woods, ceramic – that's one of the new ones – anything you can kind of touch and see is color material design. Autoblog: How early in the design process does your team become involved.Hannah: Right at the very start. In fact, we look at materials that don't have a product assigned to them or a car assigned to them. So, it takes actually a very long time for us to get materials approved and fully validated. We have to find suppliers that are willing to work in automotive and our test standards are incredibly high, some of the highest in the industry.

2013 Jaguar XF Sportbrake

Editor's Note: Our reporter was anxious to get some time behind the wheel of the XF Sportbrake, even though Jaguar only had a very small window available for us to drive it. As a result, we weren't able to capture our usual original images to go with the Quick Spin story. Please accept our regrets, and Jag's lovely stock photography, instead.
The last wagon attempt from Jaguar was the X-Type, built between 2003 and that model line's unceremonious end in 2009. That X-Type and its legacy represent a real dog of a chapter for Jaguar, and for the Halewood factory where the barker was built. It was the final joke told prior to the brand's proper rebirth phase - a phase we're enjoying the heck out of today.
Current magnanimous Jaguar owner Tata can be thanked for this new wagon, the XF Sportbrake. Like all newness coming from Jag these days, this new wagon also feels lightyears more serious an offering, ready to compete squarely with established premium wagon makers across Europe. A Jaguar wagon in America is a far-off priority for the company, frankly. Still we deserve to know what we're missing for the time being from this (sometimes overly) cherished British firm.