2007 Jaguar XKR

Jaguar is a car company which has fought a long, hard battle back to respectability after decades of reliability issues tarnished the once proud leaping Jaguar emblem. Purchased by Ford in the early 90’s, quality control processes were introduced over the course of several years which brought Jaguar back from the brink and once again positioned them as one of the world’s premier automakers. A decade or so of excellent vehicles has done much to convince buyers that their new Jaguar will spend more time on the road than at the garage.

At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Jaguar unveiled the latest in a long line of potent sports coupes. The 2007 Jaguar XKR is a refinement of the standard XK coupe, itself no slouch in the performance department. The XKR is powered by a 420 horsepower, supercharged V8 engine, which is enough to motivate the coupe to reach sixty miles per hour in just 4.5 seconds. A very fast quarter-mile run of 13.0 seconds at 109 miles per hour might almost be enough to make you forget that you are turning these blistering times while seated in the lap of luxury. Jaguar provides a six-speed automatic transmission as the only option for shifting gears; however drivers can take a more active role in things by using steering wheel-mounted paddles to shift up and down while the engine automatically blips the throttle to match the correct rpm. Jaguar has employed variable-valve timing to boost output of the 2007 XKR 30 horsepower greater than the previous model year. Electronic stability and traction controls are also standard, and Jaguar allows drivers to turn off these electronic nannies in order to ride the car to the edge of its performance envelope.

The interior of the coupe is surprisingly roomy, and engineers have done their best to increase the feelings of spaciousness by downsizing intrusions into the cockpit from the transmission and frame. Despite these efforts, the XKR remains a true two-seater, as the rear seats are essentially ornamental for all but the smallest of children. The dashboard bears an almost aviation-inspired cleanliness, with a center information screen positioned above the traditional J-gate shifter. Ornamentation is minimal, restricted to aluminum accents on the dash in front of the passenger and inset into the steering wheel. Wood paneling is of course also present, as it just wouldn’t be a Jaguar without that styling link to the past. Seats are upholstered in fine two tone leather.

The Jaguar XKR comes with the usual assortment of toys typically associated with high end coupes. For the driver who is tired of making constant cruise-control adjustments in order to keep up with the flow of traffic, adaptive cruise-control will automatically change vehicle speed in order to keep the coupe a certain distance away from the car in front of you. The exhaust system also does its part to keep the hard-working engine almost invisible to the driver during normal cruising, with a special system that hushes the mufflers until it the throttle hits the floor for more spirited driving.

While the XKR is marketed as a sports coupe, it has much more in common with a grand touring car – the kind of vehicle which one could spend hour upon hour driving up and down the motorways of the world without ever growing tired or bored. Weighing in at almost 3900 lbs, the Jaguar’s mass unfortunately keeps it from being as nimble as it could be, despite the much stiffer suspension when compared to the base XK. Perfect for brisk drives through twisty mountain passes while on the way to high tea or perhaps a game of golf in the Scottish highlands, the XKR is one of the finest coupes on the market today.






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May 15, 2008, 8:43 am