Yes, during rush hour it is a better solution.

If taking taxi upon arrival:

Is there a set rate from PVG to Jing An? If not a set rate, is it negotiated or metered? I'm guessing there's a 0% chance the taxi will accept credit card so I need to plan to get cash upon arrival from an ATM or use a currency exchange upon arrival at the airport?

Besides the maglev being a super fast train is there anything all that special about taking it versus just getting in a taxi and getting into Shanghai for a first time visitor?

The Maglev won't save you any time at all.

There are no set rates for taxis.

The #2 bus actually goes directly to your Jing'an Temple, but taxi is faster because you won't have to wait for the bus (leaves once every 20 minutes).

I can get from my apartment on line 1 to Pudong Airport in 50 minutes with the subway to Maglev combo if I end up getting to Longyang Road station right as the maglev is boarding. Nothing is faster than this and I even have to transfer at people's square. Taxi drivers are falling asleep half of the time I take a taxi so I try to avoid them. I know Moondog isn't a fan of my maglev shuffle routine but in 10 years of doing it I've never once missed a flight and I only spend 44RMB each time! If you're going to end up anywhere near a subway station in town then the Maglev to subway is my recommendation every time.

Neither you nor me live near Line 2, but if we did, the #2 bus is still the best option.

These days, I pony up for a taxi outbound, and do the #2 bus inbound (I hang out at Crocus until the traffic dies down).

I lived right above Xujiahui station and did the Line 9 to Line 2 to Maglev going to the airport many times. I moved out of Shanghai three years ago and can probably still do it with my eyes closed. Always felt like it was the quickest solution for me.

I live in Xujiahui at present, and my first preference is to avoid PVG, but when PVG is the only viable option, I take a taxi on the way there. While this costs me an extra $30 over other options, I don't need to deal with Line 2 (very crowded) or getting to Line 2.

To be honest, I never found Line 2 as crowded as Line 9 is in the morning heading to the High Tech Park. I started taking the bus rather than the metro.

This is a good solution, I arrange a black car the night before so I know I'll get a (relatively new and safe) car with a pleasant driver. Same price as the taxi and no meter involved.

A Black car? These things still exist? I would have thought that they all joined didi by now.

Yes, been using them for many years. You just need to make your request by 9 pm the day prior.

Using didi does not prevent them from negotiating rates directly with passengers.

Back on the xujiahui as origin topic, it just occurred to me that taking line 11 to Disney or the stop just before Disney might be a decent option. I've really found any practical uses for line 11 until recently.

I want to offer some more general thoughts that pertain to the current Shanghai metro system:

1. After I mentioned that Line 11 has been almost completely useless to me until recently (now it is only 90% useless because at least it can get me to Jiangsu Rd, where a friend of mine works), I realized that some of the newer lines are even more useless (for me)
https://exploreshanghai.com/metro/#
-17
-5
-6
-8 I have taken 8 one or two stops a few times, though
-3

2. Lines that I like and/or need
-10 I live and work on Line 10 because it is much more civilized than Line 2, and passes through a lot of useful places
-13 I like 13 because I can almost always get a seat, and it connects my office to Nanjing West as well as Hanzhong Road (we have clients there); it also hits some decent areas after it turns west at Hanzhong Road
-12 Not quite as useful as 13 because it turns east at Hanzhong Road, but it's still a good north/south option through town, and the stations seem to spaced a little further apart than 13's
-1 While I've never been a fan of 1, I appreciate it a little more now because it allows me to go both east, and north from Xujiahui/Hengshan Road, and passes by Shaanxi South Road as well as Huangpi South Road (north end of XTD)

3. Lines that I dislike, but sometimes use out of necessity
-2 Most people say, probably correctly, that 2 is the most important line in the network. While I can tolerate it for 2-3 station runs, I dislike the crowds, and the downtown stations are not conveniently placed (e.g. if you want to go Plaza 66 or the Portman, you're looking at 800-1000 meter walks)
-7 Line 7 barely connects to lines 1 and 2, and does not connect with line 10, in spite of the fact that they cross each other. It is also quite crowded (not sure why)
-9 I'm lukewarm about 9. It is crowded because many people live in Songjiang these days, and I get this. It does the same cross town job as 2 and 10...just further south. Like 10 and 1, it can also get me from my home to XTD (Madang Road in this case)

4. Line 14 (2020 launch planned)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_14_(Shanghai_Metro)
-Line 14 is yet another east/west line, intended to relieve Line 2
-within downtown, it will provide a north/south link between Wuding Road (bar area), Jing'an Temple, and Huangpi South Road (XTD)
-it is expected to have extremely high ridership levels, and I've heard through the grapevine that 2 minute spacing has been planned

5. Transfer stations
a) good
-Century Avenue -- three lines connect there, and the transfer process is seamless
-XTD
-Shaanxi South, but only between 10 and 12; 1 is a bit of a hike
-I'm guessing there are some other good ones, but as intimated above, I lack personal experience wrt a large percentage of the network

b) bad
-People's Square -- ~20 exits!
-Xujiahui
-Nanjing West Road -- remarkably bad because you need to exit the station in order to transfer, and 12 to 13 entails a really long walk
-Nanjing East Road -- not as bad as the others on this list, but definitely not good
-any station that facilitates transfers to the above ground portions of lines 3/4
-Jing'an Temple -- 2 and 7 are pretty far apart there
-Changshu Road -- likewise 1 and 7 are far apart there

Another data point in favor of maglev/subway over all other options. I walked off the jetway today at PVG T1 (old terminal international) at 12:13pm and walked into my front door in Xuhui at 1:20pm. No other option would be even close to as fast. Yes, everything went extremely smooth but it just goes to show it�s the best choice!