Underway in town or on the highway, the XJ is smooth, quiet, stately and powerful, and it handles quite well for its size. It's easier to operate, certainly less complicated, than the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, and Mercedes S-Class. It's less burdened with systems and processes that can frustrate with their complexity. The five XJ models are loaded with sophisticated safety and performance technology, mind you, but all that technology is tucked away in a less obtrusive fashion, and it generally works without much annoyance or distraction. The XJs deliver the best EPA fuel mileage ratings in this class, and none carries a gas-guzzler tax......More> >

Considering the heft of the 77, which displaces 157,500 pounds, the boat shows surprising pep. I ran right up to 37.3 mph, and that was in 3' to 5' seas. I also didn’t spin the maximum rpm, and with a few tweaks of the props and calmer seas it’s reasonable to assume that breaking 40 mph is within reach in this monster machine. From the bridge, however, the 77 seems more gentle giant than monstrosity. A grunting croaker is louder than the maximum 66 dB-A my meter registered at the helm, and even with five-footers crashing the bow, the ride was comfortable, to say the least. Hatteras doesn’t depend on sheer mass to smooth out the bumps, either. It designed the 77 with a hull that breaks the waves with about 22 degrees of deadrise amidships, before tapering back to 2 degrees at the transom. The hull is solid fiberglass, and the hullsides and decks are cored with Divinycell. Most of the hatches, stringers, and bulkheads are resin-infused for the best resin-to-glass ratio, and the engine bearers incorporate stainless-steel mounting plates laminated...More>>