Sport or grand touring?
Smoothly purring at idle, the beast that lies under the hood unleashes its fury with a muted growl as soon as the driver dips the throttle. Add to that an ultra-precise steering and outstanding handling and you got yourself a true sports car. The XKR offers a driving experience that's up to its character. Accelerations are as linear as one could wish and power is delivered to the rear wheels with great energy and no effect whatsoever on driving dynamics. Meanwhile, braking power is almost surprising given the size and the weight of this machine.
The low-profile tires and the well-calibrated suspension help maintain a precise trajectory, but they compromise passenger comfort when the road gets a bit rough.
Despite all this amazing power, though, you can sense that Jaguar's real goal was not to create an F1-caliber performance car. True, the XKR is very lively and spirited; the driver can manipulate the steering wheel with his or her fingertips and the feeling is unique. But this Jaguar is more of a comfortable grand tourer than a blazing performance rocket.
An interior that meets expectations
While the exterior styling of the XKR is faultless, the same can't be said inside. The rear seats are microscopic, the controls are sometimes difficult to manipulate and the color scheme won't appeal to everyone. Fortunately, the front seats are nicely supportive and the materials are worthy of a king. We should expect no less from such an ultra premium coupe.
Interestingly, the long wheelbase of the XKR benefits the trunk, which offers seemingly unparalleled cargo room for this type of sports car. The trunk's height is limited, but the length easily makes up for it.
Not all things are perfect with this Jaguar. The design is exceptional, but the metallic, telescoping antenna is too archaic for such a modern car. This negative detail and similar ones are not enough, however, to compromise the remarkable driving pleasure provided by the XKR's well-designed chassis and highly entertaining drivetrain. I, for one, forgive Jaguar for the little imperfections, even with a starting price of over $120,000.
photo:Patrick Roger
Smoothly purring at idle, the beast that lies under the hood unleashes its fury with a muted growl as soon as the driver dips the throttle. Add to that an ultra-precise steering and outstanding handling and you got yourself a true sports car. The XKR offers a driving experience that's up to its character. Accelerations are as linear as one could wish and power is delivered to the rear wheels with great energy and no effect whatsoever on driving dynamics. Meanwhile, braking power is almost surprising given the size and the weight of this machine.
The low-profile tires and the well-calibrated suspension help maintain a precise trajectory, but they compromise passenger comfort when the road gets a bit rough.
Despite all this amazing power, though, you can sense that Jaguar's real goal was not to create an F1-caliber performance car. True, the XKR is very lively and spirited; the driver can manipulate the steering wheel with his or her fingertips and the feeling is unique. But this Jaguar is more of a comfortable grand tourer than a blazing performance rocket.
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| The interior is characterized by material opulence and subpar control ergonomics. |
An interior that meets expectations
While the exterior styling of the XKR is faultless, the same can't be said inside. The rear seats are microscopic, the controls are sometimes difficult to manipulate and the color scheme won't appeal to everyone. Fortunately, the front seats are nicely supportive and the materials are worthy of a king. We should expect no less from such an ultra premium coupe.
Interestingly, the long wheelbase of the XKR benefits the trunk, which offers seemingly unparalleled cargo room for this type of sports car. The trunk's height is limited, but the length easily makes up for it.
Not all things are perfect with this Jaguar. The design is exceptional, but the metallic, telescoping antenna is too archaic for such a modern car. This negative detail and similar ones are not enough, however, to compromise the remarkable driving pleasure provided by the XKR's well-designed chassis and highly entertaining drivetrain. I, for one, forgive Jaguar for the little imperfections, even with a starting price of over $120,000.
 |
| Trunk space is surprisingly generous for this type of car. |
photo:Patrick Roger
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