Jaguar XFR review 2011
By Bob Hume, 30th September 2010
The high-powered version of Jaguar‘s medium luxury saloon is designed to compete with cars like the BMW M5, Mercedes E63 AMG, Maserati Quattroporte GT S and Audi RS6.
I‘ve driven all of these cars and I‘ve no major complaints about any of them. As far as I was concerned, the BMW was always the best driver's car of this segment and had been for a very long time.
The thing about the XFR‘s rivals (apart from the Maserati) is that virtually all of them look a bit crude in comparison, with their splitters, bulges, scoops and vents.
The XFR presents itself a little less blantanly. It’s handsome, just like the standard XF but none of the graceful lines are broken or distorted. It does possess a certain air of menace however.
The differences are subtle - green ‘R’ (for racing) badges adorn the front wings and tailgate, it sits low on 20-inch wheels, there’s an understated spoiler on the boot lid, four tailpipes and two cooling-vents on bonnet.
In comparison with its competitors, the fast Jag looks decidedly civilised and that’s the way it behaves too - until you provoke it.
The XFR was handed over to me at Silverstone International Circuit and I’d quite a bit of time to road-test it before taking it onto the sectioned track. I installed myself behind the wheel, pushed the pulsating start button and everything happened just the way I expected. The dials lit up blue, the air-vents opened like aluminium eyelids and the gear-selector rose soundlessly from the centre console.
The XFR doesn't look that different from a standard XF from the inside either. There's some subtle aluminium trim, red needles on the dials instead of the regular white ones and 'R' logos on sill-plates.
For such a powerful car, it behaved impeccably on the road. Either at speed or pottering through traffic it was well mannered, comfortable, even subdued. You're always aware that the potential is in the background but it doesn't feel like the car is 'straining at the leash'.
Lurking beneath the bonnet of the XFR is a supercharged 5-litre, 503 bhp V8 engine that produces 461 lb/ft2 of torque. This will propel the car from rest to 62 in 4.9 seconds. All of these facts and figures are tremendous but what's more interesting is the way in which this huge amount of power is delivered.
Later, back at Silverstone and with Adaptive Dynamics mode armed and traction control in the background, I was waved out onto the track.
Power was instant and immense and the bellow of the big V8, just amazing as I accelerated up the first straight.
The first long left-hander approached a lot earlier than I expected and I was on the brakes - hard. The massive tyres gripped without a hint of ABS through the pedal and I pointed the nose in towards the kerb. The car obeyed instantly, following the arc of the long corner. As I reached the apex, I gave it a lot of throttle and it just gripped; cornering flat all the way round.
The tyres were singing a bit but otherwise I could tell that it was going to take some effort to unsettle the enormous grip and after a few more laps, I got used to the corners and applied more bravery. There was neglibile body-roll thanks to the continuously variable damping.
On the last few laps, I switched off the DSC altogether and got a feel for just how much the driver's aids were looking after me. As it turned out, the electronics are so intuitive that you can barely feel the system in operation. When the tyres lose grip, you've suddenly got an awful lot of Jag to keep out of the landscape and you begin to appreciate just how non-intrusive and cutting-edge all the anti-crash gizmos are. I also got a taste of how finely balanced the XFR was, holding exquisitely long drifts on its own power better than most cars I've driven.
To further illustrate this, I spent some time on a skid-pan with the DSC and Adaptive Dynamics in both 'on' and 'off' postitions. With eveything in 'on', it's almost impossible to lose control of the car and that's on a surface that you almost couldn't walk on. When it's off, the car is spinning around in hilarious doughnuts.
The Jaguar XFR assumes the role of two cars better than most of its rivals; it has attained a juxtaposition between 'graceful cruiser' and 'sports saloon'. This is something that the BMW M5 has been doing very well for years and I'm not about to say that the XFR does it better.
However, it is very close...
> Vehicle data > Jaguar XFR
> Acceleration 0-62mph (seconds): 4.9
> Max power output (bhp): 503
> Engine: 5-litre Supercharged v8
> Maximum torque (lb/ft2): 461
> Fuel consumption (mpg): 25.4 (combined)
