Driven: Jaguar XFR-S

Recently, Jaguar Land Rover kindly invited us to try out a range of their cars. Once we got there, we were absolutely overwhelmed with the amount of cars they had to offer, almost every car from Range Rover and Jaguar was there, however, there was a lack of XKR-S GT, but then again, there was plenty of other cars to keep you occupied, such as the brand-spankin’ new and rare XFR-S.

Even though the Jaguar XFR-S is based on the XF, it feels capable of anything. You sit low down, the driving position is spot on, you have a great view of the road ahead, and the pedals are very nicely placed giving you an element of confidence whilst driving.

The XFR-S boasts a 5.0-litre supercharged V8, which produces 550 PS and 680 Nm torque. With this much performance, it’s no wonder it can hit 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds. However, it still seems to feel much more powerful than it actually is, infact, this car is absolutely brutal in its performance delivery.

All of this brute force is connected to an 8-speed transmission derived from the F-Type, giving the XFR-S seamless and quick shifts.

We are very much impressed with the XFR-S, it handles very well, in-fact, probably better than we expected. The steering is tight and precise with lots of feedback, and the car feels somewhat agile. The brakes are sharp, precise and responsive, great for when you’re on the track.

The Jaguar XFR-S definitely looks the part in terms of cosmetics. It’s more aggressive and focused than it’s counterpart (XFR). Some may say the rear spoiler is too big, fortunately, Jaguar can replace the spoiler for a smaller boot lid spoiler found on the XFR. Then again, the whole point of buying a R-S product is for it’s outright hooliganism isn’t it?

It’s default colour is a very bright and vibrant French Racing Blue, which stands out from any other car on the road. It’ll easily turn heads.

Overall, it’s what we expected, a more hardcore and exclusive look has given the XFR-S what the XFR was missing.

The car rides well too, some say it’s too harsh on the road, we think it’s just about fine on country roads. Maybe we’ll have an opportunity to test it on some London streets soon!

Over all the interior is fine, it’s a very nice place to be. Whatever you touch is lovely stitched leather and the XF in general really does feel quite upmarket inside. Although it is a little outdated now, and that round gear shifter looks great but isn’t very intuitive to use.

Overall, it’s a successful attempt by Jaguar to compete with the germans (M5, E63 and RS6). It really does get close.

It handles very well, drives like a dream, goes like a rocket and looks unique. Did we mention there will only be 120 made? Which of course adds exclusivity.

8.5/10 from us, great car Jaguar!