The 5.0L engine is direct injection so uses piezo electric high pressure injectors which make a distinctive ticking sound. This is most noticeable at idle and the engine sounds more like a clattery diesel in my opinion.

The older 4.2 litre engine sounded much better but does not have the efficiency of the newer design.

Jag chose to add a sound chamber and feed a noise to the cabin so that it sounded better. Me, I would prefer complete silence to a synthesized sound. The old V8 rumble and stumble has gone from these new engine designs and I would rather have silence than something that is made up to sound like the older engine designs.

The video of the XFR high speed test is impressive, I am just glad I do not have to spend all day listening to it in the cabin.....

 

Couldn't agree more on the sound. Its the only thing that I find takes from the refinement of the car....from the outside at idle, especially when near a wall or curb is quite diesel-ish. I have to remind myself that its injectors etc.

In the 5.0 SC I also don't like the abrupt transition in cabin sound when you get on it. It sounds a bit artificial...I still wonder if there is a damper opening somewhere for sound with throttle position. The transition is abrupt almost like a couple of extra barrels opening up on an old carb.

Just a nit on a car I love. I would rather more noise though in general. I find the sound with the back seats folded down more to my liking.

 

There is alleged to be an acoustic channel in the dash to funnel engine sound to the driver when you step on it. Irritating.

 

Easy solution. Just get an aftermarket exhaust.

 

On the XKR I have just traded in for an XFR, there was a fuse you could remove (fuse 19 in the rear seat fuse bay) which would leave te exhaust valves open all the time so you got the V8 rumble all te time not just under heavy throttle. I'll compare the fuse lists and see if there's anything similar for XFR.