RE: Jaguar XKR: PH Carpool

[cognac1979]

Titan2 said:

Love these cars,they would have to be one of the most perfect Gt cars.

Unfortunately it would cost over €1800 a year to tax this car in Ireland so maybe I should move to the land of the Autobahn..

I feel your pain lad, impossible to run anything with a decent size engine here in Ireland. Had a BMW 328 for a while, that was too expensive to tax and was nearly impossible to sell on.

[V88Dicky]

FN2TypeR said:

These are smashing but that bit of chrome trim just before the doors is an eyesore IMO. Superb otherwise

They're easily swapped out for body coloured ones, I think they were a no cost option

[Lozrington]

Love my early 5.0 XKR- the effortless torque at any speed is an absolute joy.

Shame it needs to be sold in the next couple of months....I'll really miss it.

[Big Al.]

Just purchased an XKR 5ltr convertible 5 weeks ago, I owned and driven some great cars in my time, but IMHO this one exceeds them all on so many levels.

[swisstoni]

I was looking at these about a year ago. They are an often overlooked high performance coupe that is looking better with age (I didn't like them compared to the model they replaced when they first came out).
In the end I bought an SL55 but I would have been happy with one of these I'm sure.

[Rogere]

Well I have just swapped my 148,00 997 GT3 for a 2012 XKR-S!!
Yes, the mega miles GT3 was mine....and I simply love the Jag

Far more nimble than I imagined and simply mega rapid.

Just need an oil well in the back yard!

Roger

[Titan2]

cognac1979 said:

I feel your pain lad, impossible to run anything with a decent size engine here in Ireland. Had a BMW 328 for a while, that was too expensive to tax and was nearly impossible to sell on.

It's a total pain in the arse.

If you bought a XKR post July 2008 it goes up to €2350!!!

I'll have to stick to the diesels for a while yet,pity cause these are stunning cars in the flesh and not shy of power either

[Paracetamol]

Rogere said:

Just need an oil well in the back yard!

Roger

I have got one

[resonic]

JordanTurbo said:

The analogue temp gauge in most modern (90's onwards) cars are mostly pointless anyway.

They are normally programed to sit dead center throughout a large operating range to instil owner confidence, then flick to red once the temperature reaches a set figure.

The Jag will still flag up an overheat condition via the central digital display, so it's not really any worse off.

Still annoying My old car had oil and water temperature, oil pressure and also independent EGT for all four cylinders. It was quite odd when this all was gone suddenly.

Angrybiker said:

That basically summarises my experience of my XKR too. I'm finding my driving style adjusted from my old MR2 - there's so much power in the power steering it feels odd to be so much less engaged with the road. More difficult to judge the limit on corners so I err on the side of caution. I even wouldn't have noticed a rear off side flat had it not been for the increased noise crossing the cats eyes! This coupled with the extra length at the front (with less clearance) means I'm not ragging it round the country roads any more. Definitely more of a GT than a sportster. Perhaps I just need to go on a day course to learn the car.
I don't notice a supercharger whine in mine though; and while relatively quiet it's no Lexus!

The MP3 thing is annoying. It's just software, it's not outwith Jaguar's capability to make an update here.

Well I consider the Jag not a sports car, its just a very fast and nimble GT. For me a sports car is really something rear-mid-engined or a short and quick V8 Vantage. Still the XK and XKR are really great to drive and fast but not "real" sports cars

The entertainment setup back then in 2006 wasnt that sophisticated as it is today. But well thats a thing you have to deal with. On the other hand its not a problem to connect some iPod to the cable in the mid compartment.

To be honest I end up listening to classic radio anyways.

Big Al. said:

Just purchased an XKR 5ltr convertible 5 weeks ago, I owned and driven some great cars in my time, but IMHO this one exceeds them all on so many levels.

Totally agree. It has its flaws in some minor details but in general it makes the owner pretty happy and you get a lot of car for the money. Also its a total head turner! Funny to see the girls look at you AND their partners too.

Edited by resonic on Tuesday 31st January 08:08

Edited by resonic on Tuesday 31st January 08:16

[alpha channel]

I think the Jaguar styling seems to be ageing well... either that or I'm beginning to appreciate them more as I get older, I even like the previous XJ. I never really liked the look of them when in production, I thought they looked a bit old fashioned, now? elegant, bereft of the idiotic craze for sharp angles from nose to tail. I have however always liked the styling of these (barring that damned aerial, surely there must've been better in the Ford parts bin than that!).

You lot aren't helping with all the positive comments mind as I'm personally after the NA version of one of these (the 4.2) to replace the Alfa which is just getting on my nerves now (doesn't help that the fuel economy from the Alfa is no better than a 19 year old Rover mind). I've got the itch to change even more so now, though I was surprised about the amount of road noise of the one that I had a test drive of, it was on 19" alloys and it was seemingly noisier than the Alfa which is also on 19" alloys (though they're marginally narrower).

[resonic]

The other day a guy in the XKEC forums put his 2006 XK up for 7500 GBP because he has to relocate. Thats a bargain...

Yes youre right, they age very well. I also began to like the previous XJ.

And you know what? The supercharged 4.2l XJ and S-Type might be pretty cool sleepers You can beef them up as good as any XKR while they got the same AJ34s.

Edited by resonic on Tuesday 31st January 08:31

[James Junior]

I have been doping driving tours through Europe for the last couple of years and last year there was a chap in a 5.0 XKR with a pulley upgrade to ther supercharger. I cannopt remember the exact power output but I seem to recall it being over 600bhp.

Unsurprisingly it left my 370Z for dead on the long straights, but he was also suprisingly quick on the bends too.

To those of you own one, how does the car handle when you are pressing on? How do the brakes stand up to fade?

I have been considering what to swap my Z for and one of these was an option, but I always assumed they would be a bit wallowy compared to the more obvious E92 M3 and less opbvious Lexus IS-F!

[resonic]

James Junior said:

I have been doping driving tours through Europe for the last couple of years and last year there was a chap in a 5.0 XKR with a pulley upgrade to ther supercharger. I cannopt remember the exact power output but I seem to recall it being over 600bhp.

Unsurprisingly it left my 370Z for dead on the long straights, but he was also suprisingly quick on the bends too.

To those of you own one, how does the car handle when you are pressing on? How do the brakes stand up to fade?

I have been considering what to swap my Z for and one of these was an option, but I always assumed they would be a bit wallowy compared to the more obvious E92 M3 and less opbvious Lexus IS-F!

The 4.2 XKR has the 355mm rotors in front and 326mm in the rear while the 5.0 XKR has the big 380mm brakes. Thats a lot of stopping power and I never heard anything about overheated rotors at the XKEC board. I can assure you that you can slow down the car from 170 mph without any issues a couple of times in a row Usually happens when some idiots pull out without a turning light right in front of you.

Also remember that the XKR stiffs up in sport mode thanks to the suspension. Its actually a low tech solution that dates back to the S-Type R. Its comparable with the Tein EDFC which means its just a setup with adjustable dampers but the adjustment is done automatically by a bunch of stepper motors ontop of the coilovers. You can not(!) adjust them by hand and its all triggered by road condition - so says the handbook - and the sports mode selector. Cheaper to replace than stuff like Audi's "magnetic ride".

I testdrove the E92 M3 and I thought its pretty boring while it lacks the torque which you get in the XKR. Also the M3 and M6 will kill you in service costs compared to the XKR once their dual clutch transmission or SMG needs a service. The automatic ZF 6HP needs an oilchange at 60k miles to bring back the quick shifting times again, thats it. Guess why BMW puts the ZF 8HP now into all the new BMWs

Edited by resonic on Tuesday 31st January 09:30

[smilo996]

Very well written article.

Always liked the big Jag.

[Funk]

Big Al. said:

Just purchased an XKR 5ltr convertible 5 weeks ago, I owned and driven some great cars in my time, but IMHO this one exceeds them all on so many levels.

You're in my next car.

[Big Al.]

Funk said:

You're in my next car.

Err, didn't you say that about my last one?

[Porkamoo]

Had my 2011 XKR a year now. Phenomenal car, looks, comfort, handing and so much power. Plus the depreciation curve seems to be flattening out a bit, paid £32k and its still probably worth £30K

[resonic]

Porkamoo said:

Had my 2011 XKR a year now. Phenomenal car, looks, comfort, handing and so much power. Plus the depreciation curve seems to be flattening out a bit, paid £32k and its still probably worth £30K

Seems to be different here. Paid 28k and now the ones with black interior and black bodycolor start somewhere between 30 and 32k. Even the small 3.5l goes now for slightly below up to 30k.

Edited by resonic on Tuesday 31st January 14:18

[cib24]

This one looks ideal. Nice colour and lovely ivory/black interior.

If I could justify another car specifically to be used for Continental Europe road trips this might suit the bill.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...

Edited by cib24 on Tuesday 31st January 14:34

Edited by cib24 on Tuesday 31st January 14:34

[alpha channel]

:sigh: My perfect colour combination... and about £20k above my budget.