Thursday 29th November 2012

You Know You Want To: Jaguar XKR

A supercharged V8 for sensible money. It will improve your life

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The rising excitement around the Jaguar F-Type launch has left Jaguar's flagship sports car the XK in the shadows. More so now the lairy XKR-S is hogging the stage.

But the GT coupes have their owned starring role in the secondhand market, where the earlier 4.2 XK and XKRs are beginning to look like incredible value.

Full Jag service history is welcome

The 2007 car featured here is being sold at £22,990. For under £25k, a handful of dealer-backed XKRs are available and for a fraction less than £16,000 an XK 4.2 could be on your drive. That doesn't disappoint with 300hp, but we're focusing on the supercharged, 425hp XKR instead.

The XKR is undeniably attractive. The proportions are classic GT, and the features are good, although the front light clusters look a little cheap with the orange indicator lenses. This was only rectified with the 2011 facelift that also introduced the R-S models.

But the very fact that the XK has only been subjected to minor cosmetic tweaks since its 2006 launch is testament to the inherent appeal and success of the original design.

The XKR has also been mechanically updated regularly to keep it competitve in a crowded segment. The 2009 facelift saw the introduction of the 5.0-litre V8 for both models, and the swivelling gear selector from the XF. Around £35,000 gets you an early 510hp facelifted XKR.

425hp means 60mph in just 4.9secs

Of course, the 4.2-litre supercharged car doesn't suffer a surfeit of performance. With 425hp and 413lb ft, 0-60mph takes just 4.9 seconds. Despite aluminium construction, the XKR was never truly lithe, but its 1,732kg kerbweight remains significantly less than rivals such as the Maserati GranTurismo and Bentley Continental GT.

This XKR, in Metallic Lunar Grey with Ivory leather, is fairly typical of what's on offer. Dark exterior shades are prevalent, often with contrasting interior leather. Every piece of equipment that could move electrically does, and a full Jaguar service history is a nice bonus.

One last thing; Jaguar regularly heads customer satisfaction surveys, reflecting the faith buyers have in both the products and dealers. So if you can support a 20mpg fuel habit and the inevitable decline into four-figure values, an XKR appears a solid choice.

Jaguar XKR (2007)

Price: £22,990

Why you should: It's the car that began Jaguar's recent renaissance, and an exceptionally good one at that.

Why you shouldn't: Any XKR still has some years depreciation left, so perhaps wait for a 5.0-litre car.

[g7jhp]

Lovely looking cars but I took one round a track (Bedford) and the weight was very noticeable! I opted the the 996 turbo route instead.

[g7jhp]

DJRC said:

g7jhp said:

Lovely looking cars but I took one round a track (Bedford) and the weight was very noticeable! I opted the the 996 turbo route instead.

ITS NOT A fkING TRACK CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First fking post. THE FIRST fkING POST FFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I assume supreme dictatorship every single goddam bd ed mother fker who mentions "round a track" when talking about a road car...Im going to fking shoot in the dick. Its not enough you Goddam morons have tried your best to ruin every single damn car in the last decade, but you EXPRESSLY AND OBJECTIVELY SET OUT TO RUIN CARS WHICH ARE THE fkING OPPOSITE OF TRACK CARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And you ruin them for the rest of us!! So please, for the love of fking God, the next time you feel you might like something vaguely GT'ish DONT take it on the fking track and dont fking whinge about it. That way, maybe, just maybe those of us who actually do require a GT to do the GT job of crossing the Continent to get home can actually buy a car that hasnt had its ride ruined in search of some mythical time around the fking 'Ring!

Seem to have upset someone.

At no point did I say it was a track car (I have owned a Caterham so I know the difference).

All I pointed out was the weight was very noticeable. To expand it rolls alot incorners and it was heavy under braking due to the sheer weight of the car (the weight was pointed out in the original article). This may be OK for the US but in the UK you still encounter roundabouts, twisty A/B roads and long sweeping bends on the road.

The 996 turbo isn't a track car, it's a great GT (some may require a little more comfort), but it also does the twisty stuff pretty well.

Hope that calms you down

[g7jhp]

DJRC said:

Thats all well and good, but it then shouldnt be criticised for being rolly and heavy and not sharp. Its actually amusing that the gibbon in that first post states because of this he went to buy a 996TT instead, which the GT3 girls all diss because its too soft.

The 996 turbo (Audi does the TT) is razor sharp compared to a XKR it's also a very good road car in all traffic conditions. It maybe soft compared to a GT3 , but a 996 turbo is a usable on adaily basis - GT3 owners often state they couldn't use it in traffic due to the heavy clutch.