Jaguar XJR review (2013 onwards)
What: Jaguar XJR
Where: Seattle
Date: August 2013
Price: £92,370
Available: now
Jaguar XJR: summary
Jaguar's biggest car now comes in a high-performance R version, just as earlier XJs did. The new XJR has a 550hp version of the supercharged, 5.0-litre V8, with a sharper chassis and an assertive look to match. Has the luxury saloon morphed into a full-bloded muscle car?
What: Jaguar XJR
Where: Seattle
Date: August 2013
Price: £92,370
Available: now
Jaguar XJR: first impressions
The past three Jaguar XJ generations have all had sporting, more powerful R versions, their name inspired by the XJR series of racing cars, including the 1988 Le Mans winner. The current XJ range, with its rounded glasshouse and Bentley-esque ambience, looked like it might be a hard car to make into a convincing XJR, but here it is – and it works.
It sits lower and rides more firmly on satin-grey or silver five-spoke wheels 20in across. These wear bespoke Pirelli P Zero tyres, which really fill the wheelarches. There's a deep front valance, a black front grille with matching side intakes below, aero-improving breakaway edges on the sills and rear spoiler and a pair of vents in the bonnet.
Powering this visual promise is a 550hp enhancement of Jaguar's 5.0-litre, all-aluminium V8, up from 510 thanks mainly to revised mapping. All this meets the road via a more responsive version of the usual eight-speed automatic transmission and an electronic limited-slip differential.
This is a big, hefty car, albeit slightly lighter than Jaguar's other new R-car, the XFR-S, thanks to its aluminium body construction. In long-wheelbase form (an extra 125mm), as tested here but not slated for the UK's price list, it looks even bigger. With the wheel-hugging stance and those visual changes it makes a menacing presence. The long-wheelbase XJ Supersport continues on sale.
It sits lower and rides more firmly on satin-grey or silver five-spoke wheels 20in across. These wear bespoke Pirelli P Zero tyres, which really fill the wheelarches. There's a deep front valance, a black front grille with matching side intakes below, aero-improving breakaway edges on the sills and rear spoiler and a pair of vents in the bonnet.
Powering this visual promise is a 550hp enhancement of Jaguar's 5.0-litre, all-aluminium V8, up from 510 thanks mainly to revised mapping. All this meets the road via a more responsive version of the usual eight-speed automatic transmission and an electronic limited-slip differential.
This is a big, hefty car, albeit slightly lighter than Jaguar's other new R-car, the XFR-S, thanks to its aluminium body construction. In long-wheelbase form (an extra 125mm), as tested here but not slated for the UK's price list, it looks even bigger. With the wheel-hugging stance and those visual changes it makes a menacing presence. The long-wheelbase XJ Supersport continues on sale.
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Jaguar XJR: performance
Superchargers on a big V8 are a recipe for serious pace, and the XJR obliges. The engine management's re-map simply allows the engine to produce the power (550hp) and torque (502lb ft, up by 41) it naturally wants to produce, without the artificial slicing-off of the torque curve's upper reaches normally found in this engine. Removing the intermediate exhaust silencers frees up the breathing a bit, too, and lets the V8 release a crackly burble which grows into a full muscle car beating bellow as the pace goes up.
Overtaking could hardly be easier
Driven gently, with the engine turning at just over 1,000rpm in eighth gear at the legal limit, the XJR is quiet enough, with just a deep, hollow woofle to mark its progress. Wake it up, though, and it will shift down a few gears and roar its approval as it devours another slice of road. From a standstill to 62mph takes 4.6 seconds, achieved is a single rush of energy and some agitation from rear tyres barely containing the forces, but yet more telling is the mere 2.46 seconds required to hit 75mph from 50. Overtaking could hardly be easier despite the 1,870kg the engine has to haul.
The top speed is limited to 174mph, but with modified aerodynamics the XJR could touch 200mph. Jaguar has no plans to make this happen, however.
Eight forward ratios reside inside the ZF automatic gearbox, but the programming always manages to select the best one. Shifts are quick but cushioned, with the Sport mode hanging on longer to the lower ratios and the Dynamic button further sharpening the act with a keener accelerator response and a firmer operating range for the adaptive suspension dampers. You can shift manually via steering-wheel paddles, but there's no point when the automatic mode does such a good job. Even on a track it always gets it right.
The top speed is limited to 174mph, but with modified aerodynamics the XJR could touch 200mph. Jaguar has no plans to make this happen, however.
Eight forward ratios reside inside the ZF automatic gearbox, but the programming always manages to select the best one. Shifts are quick but cushioned, with the Sport mode hanging on longer to the lower ratios and the Dynamic button further sharpening the act with a keener accelerator response and a firmer operating range for the adaptive suspension dampers. You can shift manually via steering-wheel paddles, but there's no point when the automatic mode does such a good job. Even on a track it always gets it right.
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Jaguar XJR: ride and handling
A regular XJ offers a smooth, luxurious ride for the most part, but the XJR's new role puts that attribute in danger. Or so you'd think – but apart from a touch more road roar and a more tactile interaction with lumps and bumps, the comfort survives fairly intact despite spring rates 35% stiffer than standard.
The XJR still has a relaxed, reassuring feel
The steering's hydraulic assistance is altered for the XJR to give a sharper response and the sort of weighting you can lean in confidently when cracking on, but the XJR still has a relaxed, reassuring feel even when asked to perform tricks on track not normally becoming of something so commodious. If you're patient with it, and accept that a car this size won't respond like a Lotus, you'll discover an amazing ability to devour twists and turns. Get the tail out of shape, which the stability control's Track mode lets you do, and the XJR seems to wait politely while you sort it out. It's a truly friendly, confidence-inspiring machine.
That electronic differential ensures the ample torque finds its way tidily onto the road, and soon you'll be convinced you're devouring twists and turns in a car two-thirds the size. It's all about natural flow, and the XJR has a lot of that. Plenty of natural grip, too, with 265/35 tyres on the front and 295/30s on the back, and ample brakes to rein the whole express train in.
One other thing. The gearbox senses when you're in a corner and makes sure it doesn't perform a destabilising upshift as you position the XJR's nose for the apex. You can trust it to do what you want, which certainly isn't the case with some automatics when driven hard.
That electronic differential ensures the ample torque finds its way tidily onto the road, and soon you'll be convinced you're devouring twists and turns in a car two-thirds the size. It's all about natural flow, and the XJR has a lot of that. Plenty of natural grip, too, with 265/35 tyres on the front and 295/30s on the back, and ample brakes to rein the whole express train in.
One other thing. The gearbox senses when you're in a corner and makes sure it doesn't perform a destabilising upshift as you position the XJR's nose for the apex. You can trust it to do what you want, which certainly isn't the case with some automatics when driven hard.
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Jaguar XJR: interior
The voluptuously-curved dashboard, with its chrome-plated vents, illuminated blue highlights around those vents and a lush-looking analogue clock, is broadly the same as the regular XJ's. However, wood gives way to carbonfibre and piano black in the XJR and the trim materials, including the headlining, are mostly dark grey. This sombreness is relieved by red, cream or tan panels in the R-branded leather seats, making for a dramatic cabin.
It's hard to imagine a better four-door luxury supercar
It's all very well put-together, and pleasing touches include a leather steering-wheel rim that's particularly good to hold, the usual Jaguar rotating gear selector which rises out of the centre console as you start the engine, and a glovebox button with a proximity sensor so you never actually need to touch it. The front seats have a multitude of features, including cooling air flow and an electrically extendable cushion for long thighs.
Not so good are the narrow view through the rear window and the dated-looking sat-nav graphics on our US-spec test car. Those TFT-display instruments, resembling photographs of slightly retro-looking round dials, don't seem as clever as they once did, either, although their displays are clear enough.
Not so good are the narrow view through the rear window and the dated-looking sat-nav graphics on our US-spec test car. Those TFT-display instruments, resembling photographs of slightly retro-looking round dials, don't seem as clever as they once did, either, although their displays are clear enough.
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Jaguar XJR: economy and safety
Economy and a Jaguar XJR have never co-existed happily, and little has changed here. Our test car's fuel reserve seemed to dissipate at an alarming rate even when ambling on Washington state's severely speed-limited roads, making the official combined-cycle average of 24.4mpg seem a forlorn hope. That equates to 270g/km of CO2, so the XJR is firmly ensconced in the max-tax bracket. At least there's an effective stop-start system, disabled when the XJR is in Dynamic mode.
The safety equipment is as you would expect, with a sophisticated traction and stability system to help you avoid an accident and a multitude of airbags if you have one. Blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control are also on the menu.
The safety equipment is as you would expect, with a sophisticated traction and stability system to help you avoid an accident and a multitude of airbags if you have one. Blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control are also on the menu.
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