DAVID DONDE
REVIEW
the
by David Donde
S SPECS
ideways in a Jaguar may seem cause for alarm to
many. In the XFR it is mere cause for delight. Both for
the demanding driver and for everyone in the rear tyre
food chain.
• Displacement (cc):
• Power (kW) at RPM:
• Torque (Nm) at RPM:
• Fuel Consumption:
• Top Speed:
5000cc 375kW @ 6000pm
625nm@ 2500pm
10.4 L / 100km
250km/h Let's get the numbers out of the way shall we? 375kW
and 625 Nm from a supercharged V8 will get you to the
ton in a smidgen under 5 seconds. Enough haste to
scare off almost any boy racers. It does this while
capable of gulping a mere combined claimed of
12.5l/100km but nobody who buys this car will come
close. That requires restraint. And this wolf in sheep's
attire was not built nor will it be bought for restraint.
The almost perfect Q-car. About the only clues for
those not in the know are the colourful R on the tail
and the handsomely and tastefully engraved
"supercharged" on the equally handsome and
tasteful twenty inch wheels, and a similar treatment
to the tasty bonnet louvres. It has all the go without
any racer-type pretentious looks. The adaptive
dynamics and other trickery make this thing corner,
brake and ride as it should. Sporty when called for, and
allowing a degree of yaw when wanted. For a car just
under two tons it does hustle along rather nicely thank
you. With all of the interior niceties of a well specced XF,
the test model I had was further embellished with
lovely details like its "jet" sueded cloth headlining. It is
a pleasant enough place to waft along at illegal speeds
in. The AV system works and Bluetooth integration is a
peach. The touch screen system even makes
navigation almost as pleasant as an app on your
phone. Unusually, switches for things like the heated
seats and heated steering wheel are imbedded in the
touch screen system, but it all works easily enough.
The novelty of the interior vents and gear knob
appearing on ignition switch on and disappearing
when you switch off are always fun when you first get
in or demonstrate to a passenger, but become
