| A Week at the Wheel | Rockingham, England | Jaguar XKR Convertible |
When we drove the new
Jaguar XK last year it delighted us with its brilliance and the signalling of a huge step in the right direction for the brand. A year on and things haven't got any brighter for the manufacturer if the news is anything to go by. In a sad irony the marque appears to be becoming as endangered as the animal of the same name and may well be sold on again as Ford attempts to safeguard the future of the parent company. Such matters are complicated, saddening and hard to fathom so let's not dwell on them now.
Instead, marvel at the car you see here - the stunning Convertible version of the XK, with the added bonus that it's the XKR version, the range topping, near £80,000 car that is to all intents and purposes the best Jaguar on sale today, and possibly one of the best the company has ever made. To state this at such an early stage may spoil the ending, but we'd merely be delaying the inevitable.
The conversion from Coupe to Convertible is a fantastic one. The looks are perhaps even better than those of the Coupe and the roof mechanism itself works quickly and effortlessly offering an interior almost as cosseting as that of the hard-top. Besides the badging, the quad pipes give away the XKR's identity, along with silver mesh grilles and branded brake calipers. The R version also brings with it larger brakes, some interior of added sportiness and the R also signifies a noticeable gain in performance.
The naturally aspirated XK is in danger of being shown up by the latest rash of pumped up hot hatch upstarts. The supercharged car eliminates that possibility. The surge of power delivered throughout the rev range is as instantaneous as it is large. The headline figures of 420bhp peak power and 413lb.ft of torque tell part of the story; suffice to say that oft quoted statement of power quotient, "sufficient" applies. Only the excessively greedy would wish for more propulsion than is available.
Performance figures of 0-60mph in five seconds, 100mph around seven seconds later and onto a limited maximum of 155mph are more than enough to entertain most drivers and incur the wrath of the authorities if applied with ill judgement. The in-gear surge is fantastic and the gearbox does a fine job of reacting quickly to the driver's requests in auto mode, equally happy to seamlessly short shift through the 'box at part throttle as it is to meld acceleration into one long unbroken surge with upshifts at the red line.
The steering wheel paddles allow one to select ratios as required - assuming the requested gear doesn't cause an excess or paucity of revs - and gives an extra degree of control and enjoyment. Jaguar's powertrain engineers have added in a generous blip of the throttle into the software on a downshift - a small but oh-so-welcome touch that draws giggles of amusement from any petrolhead, as well as the added degree of control and balance of a perfectly matched heel and toe shift.
The driveline is fantastic then, an echo of the excellence we enjoyed in the Coupe. Where convertibles usually fall short of their Coupé donors is in terms of structural integrity and dynamic capability. Quivering steering columns and twitching rear view mirrors usually indicate that all is not well, but here in the XK such signs are not obviously evident. Only deliberately traversing the worst surfaces and mid-corner bumps we know of on our test routes betray anything other than a very stiff body.
It's quite clear that the Jaguar XK was designed as both a Coupe and Convertible early in the development program. Because of this, very little is lost in terms of ride and handling and the topless car mirrors the excellence of the fixed head version in these respects. The XKR is appropriately stiffened over the standard car and feels that bit sharper as a result.
The handling remains neutral and only clumsy inputs unsettle the car in anything other than the hardest use when it tends towards a safe understeer to warn of the approaching limits. The chassis aids work unobtrusively, but can be disengaged to work around that tendency to push the nose wide and use the throttle to overcome it, and indulge in some sideways naughtiness should the mood take you.
Sitting and thinking of negative aspects of the removal of the roof in the case of the XK is something of a long and drawn out process. There is a tiny deficit in absolute dynamic ability, but I think you'd need to drive the two cars back to back over the same piece of road to notice. Cabin noise is increased due to the poorer sound insulation offered by the soft top, but this isn't excessive by any means. There is also a significant £8,000 additional cost, though this is actually decent value in our opinion.
The positives, however, flow thick and fast. It's a delight to drive with the top down. Such an activity is always a pleasure, but the removal of the hard barrier between occupants' ears and the exhausts is an added bonus. It sounds utterly brilliant. It looks beautiful and absolutely everyone who saw it thought so; it's a hard pick between this and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage for the most gorgeous drop top on sale today.
In summary then, the XKR is a truly fabulous car. No, it isn't going to outstrip a
BMW M6 in a no holds barred battle to the death of dynamics, but those concerned with the ultimate outer reaches of the dynamic envelope most likely wouldn't be buying a convertible. Other, softer aspects are their priority.
Where the Jaguar really scores heavily is in several of the really key areas in this market sector. As we've already said it looks sensational and the roof down driving experience is second to none in terms of refinement and noise. I didn't think it would be possible to love this car more than the XK Coupe. I was wrong; I genuinely felt some emotional pain when they took her away from me. I hope I get to feel that pain with other Jaguars in the near future.
2007 Jaguar XK range overview
| Model | UK (£ on-the-road) | Ireland: (€ on-the-road) |
| Jaguar XK Coupe | £60,085 | €121,870 |
| Jaguar XK Convertible | £66,085 | €134,160 |
| Jaguar XKR Coupe | £67,585 | €137,300 |
| Jaguar XKR Convertible | £73,585 | €149,585 |
