Big lairy rear wheel drive saloons like Jaguar's new XFR-S might not be everyone's cup of tea
but I personally happen to think they are 'the business'. This is one of the reasons
why.
Okay the Jaguar XFR-S is not all about shredding rear tyres in third gear at 65 miles an hour
but because you can it really makes it a special kind of car. What are we talking about here?
£80,000 the XFR-S costs. It does have 542bhp from its five litre supercharged
V8. That's enough to send it to 60 miles an hour in 4.4 seconds and to a top speed limited
to 186 miles an hour.
So it's quick. Very, very quick.
What's it like other than in a straight line? If you want to explore what a car like this
can do you really do need to come to a track. I have to say that despite the slightly disturbing
two ton kerb weight the XFR-S is an absolute hoot on the track. It does feel a bit big.
The brakes do feel like they're being a bit taxed when you really lean on the car into
a corner and ask it to stop in a big way.
But do you know what? It's fantastically well sorted this thing. The steering is great.
They've made all sorts of modifications to the chassis, to the steering just to crispen
everything up. They say it's 30% stiffer than the standard
XFR.
On a track you can feel that because the way it manages its weight is just great. It really
is. This one also has a new eight speed quick shift gear box. The same gearbox that you
get in an F type. That makes a big difference because there is a ratio for every occasion,
and the speed of the shift, is very good. Very, very good indeed.
One thing I'm not quite sure about is the noise that the XFR-S doesn't make. I mean
you look at it and you look at the French Racing Blue paintwork.
You look at the huge spoiler that there is at the back, and you think, 'Well when I fire
it up my ears are going to start bleeding'.
It doesn't really make that much noise. I wish it made quite a lot more noise. I mean
they're only going to make a hundred of these things so you're talking about a tiny audience
of real hard core enthusiasts.
I'm sure that those enthusiasts would want this car to make more noise than it does.
The ride on the road is at best firm going on too stiff, I think. And when you press
the dynamic button, it gets really stiff. Too stiff I think for a Jaguar. I tell you
what though, as a road car, the XFR-S so long as you can live with the ride, it's a pretty
wonderful thing I'll tell you. I lean it's so quick.
On the motorway is fine, it's okay. The steering is a lot crisper than the normal XFR. Everything
is just that much more focused. I don't think the compromise is that bad.
There is one very big question that the XFR-S has to answer and that comes in the form of
the E63 AMG. Let's have a go in that now.
Straight away from the moment you climb into it the E63 feels like a slightly more expensive,
quite a lot more serious piece of kit. The whole cabin just has this focus.
There are all sorts of toys to play with down here. Possibly too many toys for some people.
For those people you just press one very simple button, the AMG button and that just makes
everything go bonkers. Or you press the AMG button in the other direction and it just
calms everything down.
There are whole load of things settings within those two extremes to change to the personality
of the E63 to whatever mood you're in. If you really want it to be a proper track weapon
then you put it in all its most aggressive settings and then it is magnificent.
I don't know if you can hear this but I'm just going to put my foot down. Oh, I mean
that, that's a proper noise. Why doesn't the Jag make that noise? That sounds like there's
something really incredible going on beneath the bonnet. You never quite get that with
Jag. I want that from a 542 horsepower rear wheel drive saloon, please.
The steering, is that a little bit crisper than the Jag's. It's not. It's not as heavy.
Jaguar put a lot of weight into the power steering and, it gives it a slightly artificial
feel. Whereas the Mercedes just feels lovely and accurate and precise.
There's a little bit more torque in the Mercedes than there is in the Jaguar, and amazingly
the Mercedes weighs about 100 kilogrammes less than the Jaguar. As a result the E63
definitely feels that little bit sharper, that little bit more potent in a straight
line.
The E63 does many things fantastically but I think this is its best party trick. The
chassis in this car is just brilliant. It's got this amazing combination of proper agility,
it definitely feels more agile than the Jag and yet it's got this nimble lightness on
its feet and it rides better if you put it into comfort.
The fact that its £7,000 cheaper completely seals it for Mercedes in the end. The Jag's
a lovely car, it really is. I think they've got a little bit further to go yet before
they can put one over a car as brilliant as the E63 AMG.
I don't know. This is some kind of a benchmark. If you want a car with four doors and a thumping
great V8 engine under its bonnet, and monster performance, this is the one to have. Game
over.