RE: Jaguar XFR At The Nurburgring
Discussion
XFR will do 20mpg+ without too much hassle in general use, with mid 20's on longer runs. Below tests seem to confirm, follow Evo's LT car from next month.
If its mpg your worried about the 5L NA V8's are even more impressive, easily doing 25mpg, got 28mpg on a long run in a newish one, pretty good for a near 2ton 400bhp 5L V8 saloon :-)Nearly as fast and sound sweet too
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/grouptests...
However, once off the line the XFR’s acceleration was blistering. With an incredible 625Nm of torque from only 2,500rpm, the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 gives devastating mid-range performance. It propelled the super-saloon from 30-70mph in 3.9 seconds – that’s 1.2 seconds faster than the BMW M5.
Fortunately they left an XFR for us to try for the next six months, so, all in the name of comparison, Father Catchpole and I bundled our camping equipment, shorts, wet-weather gear, etc. into the boot and headed off for the Eurotunnel early on a Friday morning. Simples.
The carriages on Le Shuttle really do require some precision driving with a car as big as the Jag, but the XFR’s rims (ironically not as nice as the SV8’s) emerged unscathed. Then it was just a matter of sitting back, setting the cruise to 130kph, putting ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’ on the radio and waving at the gendarmes on the way to Le Mans.
To be honest, R seemed very similar to SV8 to begin with. On the péages it was just as blissful, which is obviously a good thing, although fuel sippage increased by a couple of notches, the R returning 22.4mpg
If its mpg your worried about the 5L NA V8's are even more impressive, easily doing 25mpg, got 28mpg on a long run in a newish one, pretty good for a near 2ton 400bhp 5L V8 saloon :-)Nearly as fast and sound sweet too
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/grouptests...
However, once off the line the XFR’s acceleration was blistering. With an incredible 625Nm of torque from only 2,500rpm, the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 gives devastating mid-range performance. It propelled the super-saloon from 30-70mph in 3.9 seconds – that’s 1.2 seconds faster than the BMW M5.
- AE economy: 17.3mpg
Fortunately they left an XFR for us to try for the next six months, so, all in the name of comparison, Father Catchpole and I bundled our camping equipment, shorts, wet-weather gear, etc. into the boot and headed off for the Eurotunnel early on a Friday morning. Simples.
The carriages on Le Shuttle really do require some precision driving with a car as big as the Jag, but the XFR’s rims (ironically not as nice as the SV8’s) emerged unscathed. Then it was just a matter of sitting back, setting the cruise to 130kph, putting ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’ on the radio and waving at the gendarmes on the way to Le Mans.
To be honest, R seemed very similar to SV8 to begin with. On the péages it was just as blissful, which is obviously a good thing, although fuel sippage increased by a couple of notches, the R returning 22.4mpg
pilchardthecat said:
Stuart said:
I wasn't really looking, but suffice to say that fuel economy isn't high up the list of reasons to buy it.
No, but i want to know whether it's a reason to not buy it. It would need to do 18-25mpg in lazy wafting conditions, it doesn't matter if it does 2mpg when beeing hoofed about!robm3 said:
I really like the looks of this jag, the 'R' bodykit improves the front end which in my eyes was a weak spot.
Just a shame the 5,000 miles of 'ring testing didn't sort out the Diff issue.
The diff issue wasn't a failure - it goes into 'self-protect' mode if the temperatures get too high.Just a shame the 5,000 miles of 'ring testing didn't sort out the Diff issue.
Once cooled, it reverts to the 'active' mode.
pilchardthecat said:
Stuart said:
I wasn't really looking, but suffice to say that fuel economy isn't high up the list of reasons to buy it.
No, but i want to know whether it's a reason to not buy it. It would need to do 18-25mpg in lazy wafting conditions, it doesn't matter if it does 2mpg when beeing hoofed about!18.5mpg urban 'wafting' for four miles from Teddington to the M25.
24.7mpg motorway 'wafting' for 53 miles to the South Coast at around the legal limit.
Can I turn the speed limiter off now..?
Chris-R said:
pilchardthecat said:
Stuart said:
I wasn't really looking, but suffice to say that fuel economy isn't high up the list of reasons to buy it.
No, but i want to know whether it's a reason to not buy it. It would need to do 18-25mpg in lazy wafting conditions, it doesn't matter if it does 2mpg when beeing hoofed about!18.5mpg urban 'wafting' for four miles from Teddington to the M25.
24.7mpg motorway 'wafting' for 53 miles to the South Coast at around the legal limit.
Can I turn the speed limiter off now..?
I love this car but this year's Best Driver's Car in the US didn't rate it so highly. In fact, it fell a short of the CTS-V and as the top 3 slots went to European cars, you can't even claim bias:
http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/112...
http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/112...
LuS1fer said:
I love this car but this year's Best Driver's Car in the US didn't rate it so highly. In fact, it fell a short of the CTS-V and as the top 3 slots went to European cars, you can't even claim bias:
http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/112...
I've not driven the Caddy, so can't comment on it. However reading to the end of the Motor Trend verdict on the XFR, I'm left with the distinct impression that in a 'real world' test the Jag might have come through stronger.http://www.motortrend.com/features/performance/112...
The lumpy old Nurburgring - and British roads - are very different to US roads, and certainly different to typical track surfaces. That's where a bit of extra suppleness pays dividends.
Anyway, a Caddy's always going to have to try a bit harder in this sort of contest. I mean, would you buy one..?
Great article Chris. I am lucky enough to have known Dirk since the R32 GT-R days and I first had a p-ride with him in my Skyline back in 1995.
He is one of the world's nicest racing drivers and still retains the same enthusiasm for driving the Ring as he did 14 years ago.
I remember letting him drive my F355 Spider there and he was blown away as it was the first Ferrari he had driven.
I even have on tape somewhere, some epic footage of him actually spinning (in Tim Milne's Calsonic blue R32 GT-R), a very rare event indeed! (He kept it on the tarmac, thankfully...)
Having been originally deeply unimpressed by the XF, I must say the XFR seems to be a very enjoyable driver's car. Now if I could only get over the "double monocle" (copyright John Barker) headlights...
He is one of the world's nicest racing drivers and still retains the same enthusiasm for driving the Ring as he did 14 years ago.
I remember letting him drive my F355 Spider there and he was blown away as it was the first Ferrari he had driven.
I even have on tape somewhere, some epic footage of him actually spinning (in Tim Milne's Calsonic blue R32 GT-R), a very rare event indeed! (He kept it on the tarmac, thankfully...)
Having been originally deeply unimpressed by the XF, I must say the XFR seems to be a very enjoyable driver's car. Now if I could only get over the "double monocle" (copyright John Barker) headlights...
Chris-R said:
pilchardthecat said:
Stuart said:
I wasn't really looking, but suffice to say that fuel economy isn't high up the list of reasons to buy it.
No, but i want to know whether it's a reason to not buy it. It would need to do 18-25mpg in lazy wafting conditions, it doesn't matter if it does 2mpg when beeing hoofed about!18.5mpg urban 'wafting' for four miles from Teddington to the M25.
24.7mpg motorway 'wafting' for 53 miles to the South Coast at around the legal limit.
Can I turn the speed limiter off now..?
A (very) small part of me wishes that you'd given much lower numbers, as now i'm just going to have to have one....
Stuart said:
Godzilla said:
Now if I could only get over the "double monocle" (copyright John Barker) headlights...
Damn! Hadn't seen that before. You've ruined it for me now David!
It always was the most controversial aspect of the XF's styling, especialy compared with the gorgeous lights the concept sported.
But the more muscular looks of the XFR carries it off better I think.
Certainly the XJ makes the XF look good in comparison! (Dons flame suit...)
Beefmeister said:
This is a great shot of a fantastic car and setting:
Nicely done Steve...
Thanks a lot mate! We rushed like mad to get to the spot before the sun disappeared completely, quite a frantic shoot and I had ChrisR acting as a mobile lightstand to save time, he's standing just out of frame on the left pointing a flashgun at the grille Nicely done Steve...
The car, incidentally, is marvellous - seriously impressive that such a big car is so competent on track; the brakes are very good, the steering nicely weighted and very accurate, the chassis very stable but still nicely adjustable. And the cabin is great too....
{edit} Oh, & Dirk is a stunning driver! Jolly nice chap too
Edited by trackdemon on Wednesday 23 September 14:47
You can keep the Jag and the M5...give me an E63 please...
I had an E60 M5 and it was a lovely car but had a horrendous appetitie for oil and petrol as well as a couple of clutches and flywheels(all in 10k miles)
The Jaguar...had a nice look around it the other day at the PH event at brands hatch,from the side it looks just like a Lexus GS(we used to laugh at the Japs copying others..new 7 looks just like a new LS from the rear)but i just dont feel confident to put my monet into a jaguar as a long term proposition.
Now the new E63 seems to be able to pull off the total all in one car tag for me.
I had an E60 M5 and it was a lovely car but had a horrendous appetitie for oil and petrol as well as a couple of clutches and flywheels(all in 10k miles)
The Jaguar...had a nice look around it the other day at the PH event at brands hatch,from the side it looks just like a Lexus GS(we used to laugh at the Japs copying others..new 7 looks just like a new LS from the rear)but i just dont feel confident to put my monet into a jaguar as a long term proposition.
Now the new E63 seems to be able to pull off the total all in one car tag for me.
Edited by nav p on Tuesday 6th October 09:57
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