New Jaguar is just for China

The Jaguar XEL has extra room in the back - and you'll only be able to buy it in China.

It's been reported that the Jaguar XEL will be displayed in Guangzhou in November. [Photo: auto.sina.com.cn]

Chery Jaguar Land Rover - a joint venture partnership between Chery in China and Jaguar Land Rover, have unveiled a new Jaguar with a difference.

Called the XEL, it features a longer wheelbase than the standard version of the Jaguar XE.

This will give a little more leg room for passengers in the rear seats, alongside a host of other comfort features, such as massaging chairs.

Although the leg room improvement might be marginal - it will nevertheless be welcome.

Car manufacturers are quickly realising that room in the rear seats is an important feature for Chinese customers, especially executives who might be riding with a chauffeur. 

Jaguar isn't the first company to design a car with this very fact in mind - nor has it come-up with the most original solution.

In 2016, we reported that Volvo had unveiled the S90 Excellence for the Chinese market - a car that doesn't have a front passenger seat.

 You might be wondering why that's a good thing. The answer is that Volvo closely analysed the market, and realised that increasingly their customers were sitting in the back when being driven in their cars (as opposed to driving themselves), and that the front passenger seat was therefore not being used much.

The freed space will enable a much more spacious rear seat, with better visibility and legroom. It does, in honesty, look a bit weird! Perhaps anticipating this, Volvo will still offer a seat as an option.