Press logo above for more pictures
If you want highly amusing amounts of power but don’t want something with a German badge sitting on your driveway, then there is another option.
With a 5.0-litre supercharged V8, Jaguar’s XFR is just such a car. It develops 510 horsepower, which is enough to sprint to 60mph in 4.7 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph. For the record, that’s half the time the entry-level 2.2D XF takes to reach the benchmark acceleration figure, and 25mph faster at the top end.
Unfortunately, on the road it feels sluggish… No, of course it doesn’t. It rips up the road in exactly the manner you’d hope, and emits a noise like God’s rock band. There’s a hint of supercharger whine but the exhaust note dominates and eggs you on to ever greater speeds, before you see sense and use the powerful brakes to haul yourself and your licence into safer territory.
It handles well too, with ample grip, talkative steering and a surprisingly comfortable ride, even if it’s not as smooth as the more sanely-tyred XF models. You’ll be glad of the extra grip when prodding the throttle though, and the traction control is welcome reassurance for most, too.
The interior is little different from regular XF models. That’s no bad thing, as the regular XF is a well-built, nicely-attired living space. The driving position is ideal and the seats comfortable. Only taller rear passengers may complain, but you’ll be able to drown out their tiresome murmurings with that V8.
Still not sold? Then just take a look at our images. It might be Italian Racing Red rather than British Racing Green, but to our eyes it’s one of the best-looking vehicles on the road. There’s beauty, aggression and perfect proportions - do you really still want that BMW M5?...
Price as tested: £65,380 (approx.)
Combined mpg: 22.5
CO2: 292 g/km
Conclusion
It’s hard to be objective with cars like the XFR, but other than a lack of rear space and a thirst for unleaded (the official combined consumption might be 22.5mpg, but we saw significantly less than that during our drive…), there’s genuinely not a lot wrong with it.
In fact, the only thing that should stop you buying one is the knowledge that there’s an even more potent XFR-S on the horizon. With an extra 40bhp courtesy of the XKR-S’s engine, the XFR’s qualities are unlikely to diminish.
For more information check out our full summary of the Jaguar XFR alongside reviews, photos, stats and videos!
