Taking a cue from my 24/7 blog mate Torbin, I’ve decided to lead with a more provocative post title prompted by my first live sighting of the new Jaguar XF on Hwy. 101 the other evening. At first blush (I came upon it from the right rear), before I had a positive ID as to the make, I took it to be just another amalgam of Japanese corporate committee styling, or perhaps another upmarket Hyundai, albeit with a little more flair.

My memory started to register a radio spot I had half caught earlier in the week for the XF that included some drivel about the electronic key fob that pulses visually to the engine’s heartbeat, the incredible novelty of the disappearing shift and some other aspect of the luxurious interior that captivate. A synapse or two made the connection and now I was interested in the beast.

Backing off the throttle, I began circling around it, taking it in. No, it wasn’t quite as it first seemed, because there was a bit more verve to the lines, an assertiveness that is generally lacking in vehicles from the Far East (or in Nissan’s case, a bit of false assertiveness). It was definitely a Jaguar, but one that has finally shed the visual references to the post-classic period in Jag styling – it is (at last) not a thrice reborn XJ6 (XJ8 > X-Type). I’m beginning to think this is progress, and some aspects, if not the whole package, are indeed pleasing.

Unfortunately for Jaguar’s marketing positioning, this Cat’s driver more closely matched a past, now almost fossilized Jaguar demographic rather than the one they’re ostensibly (or do I mean ostentatiously, or even desperately?) attempting to attract now.Automotive gestation being what it is, I knew this wasn’t in anyway Tata influenced – other than knowing that the new Indian masters have given Jag the AOK to proceed with their renaissance when Ford could not. (One can’t help but savor the irony of the formerly colonized owning such a hallowed brand.)

I would think that the XF is the fruition of the make or break remake that seems to have taken hold of Jaguar prior to the Tata sale. Overall, the my first take says that the XF is not all that bad, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that a lot of what I was seeing had been done before,and recently. What influences were at work here? Whose styling cues are tweaking and probing my visual receptors? And my visceral reaction?

As I came up on the beast from behind, we might as well start the styling originations there, and as I mentioned before, one of my first thoughts was of Hyundai. The Korean company has a history of rather shamelessly “borrowing” many design cues from both across the Eastern Sea and Europe. Most recently from BMW and the Bangle school of auto butt design. For all the disparagement BMW has taken this development has been influential (add Camry alongside Hyundai). Notwithstanding BMW’s almost tacit admission that it perhaps might not be what the masses want (the 3-series continues to lack a bangle butt even in the mid-cycle redesign for 2009) is not reflected in the new 7 series, and I must say Jaguar has let it influence their rear end treatment of the XF in a softer, gentler way as you can see.

The BMW influence continues in the Jag’s C pillar, showing a soft, but striking, a Hofmeister Kink (although BMW’s Wilhelm Hofmeister gets the credit, it turns out the real credit for this enduring styling trick goes back a decade further to the Dodge Dart of 1964 or even beyond that to a 1951 Kaiser).

Moving to the front, the Jag sports a look that shows a profound Maserati similarity along with latter day Volvo influences a well (the grille pucker – perhaps from having Ford as the uber owner of the two?). The Maserati cues are particularly noticeable in the grille’s ovoid shape and the raised, tapering hood bulge.

And in between? Well the roofline doesn’t buck any trends, emulating the Mercedes CLS with the pseudo coupe look and the wheel arches scream Audi. But it’s getting more difficult to be truly original these days, and Jaguar can’t afford (can Tata?) another miscue in a marketplace that has little patience for a marque that milks nostalgia like the Cat has in the past. From an aesthetic standpoint, I think Jaguar has actually come up with a visually pleasing package, and as a package, it falls closer to stunning looker than a derivative poser. I wish them success – let’s hope it drives as well as it looks.