2007 Model Jaguar XKR
Well Its an early Sunday morning folks and for a change I didn't go out with the boys last night having decided that I would make most of the forcasted sunny October Sabeth to road test an XKR convertible just sourced for a friend in Spain.
Its not a car that I had on my personal list of desired vehicles I have to say but never the less I came back completely surprised and Impressed by the all-round abilities of this Jag. With a 0-62 time of 5 seconds the XKR is no Tortoise and its handling and feedback, while not in the same league as a Porsche 997S, it is still great fun and very predictable. If faced with a long journey I would take the Jag over Stuttgart's best any day of the week. The Brakes are also well up to dealing with the XKR's 420 bhp too.
The supercharger gives the XKR a very distinct and purposeful sound when on full throttle, the noise being akin to a Gatling Gun on a Blackhawk Helicopter! The power delivery is effortless and the superb gearbox matches the power delivery perfectly. Its not a car you would want to go for a lap time in round the Ring but as a Sports Tourer its definitely amongst the best.
The standard specification is Immense and all the toys are at hand, It was top down motoring in complete luxury and I even managed to squeeze my 4 year old daughter in the back too which is an Impossibility in the XKR's main rival the Mercedes SL 55 AMG.
There is little that I didn't enjoy about the XKR, handling is much better than the DB9 Volante and it doesn't have the dreaded scuttle shake or the squeaks or rattles that come standard equipmment on the Aston the Jag is very well screwed together a fact which is backed up by all the JD Power awards Jaguar now have.
We will certainly be on the look out for more quality XKR's to sell, its refreshing to find this Jaguar is so good, I've really struggled to find something I don't like about it and apart from the fact its a little larger than the size of car I prefer and luggage space is limited I cant think of anything else at the moment, indeed its been one of my biggest motoring surprises of the year!
As a used near 3 year old example with 30,000 miles everything operated as it should, the hood was up and down in seconds, in fact everything hss a real quality feel. A match for Germanys finest for sure.
Before the road test I would have guessed the Jaguar XKR rating as a 6 or 7 but I had such a good time driving it that its getting a 9!
I cant wait to try the new five litre version!
|
