It depends. Do you want the excitement of dating a supermodel who puts out or do you want to date a plain girl with chunky thighs and fingers like sausages? Each has their benefits. In a 2015 interview the CEO of Maserati said the following about German cars “Good for us they have no soul. They’re ****ing boring.”.




The XKR is fun and exciting. The BMW has a big backseat.

 

I have been driving Jaguars for almost 45 years with two side trips one to a BMW Alpine in 76 and the other to a 928 82-85. In addition my two spouses during this time period have had Benz, Lexi, Audi and an SHO. The conclusion I have come to over the years is that there is nothing like a Jaguar.

Further, the design and engineering of the XKR is to me the finest jaguar GT design to date.
It is powerful, comfortable, strikingly modern for a 13+ year old design, fun to drive, and is a high quality well made vehicle that will not disappoint you. The BMW is also a well made well engineered vehicle ---- but it is not a Jaguar nor is it as agile. But, then again, I'm biased.

 

wait- who is the chunky fingers one? Ha! I am kinda confused here. And how chunky are those fingers- asking for a friend

 

so seeing that you have put your butt though a few cars- which one do you prefer in the canyons?( honest unbiased opinion) the nimble but low torque porsche or the brutal kick to the head but ( probably) not as nimble jag?

 

Canyons? What are those? I live in North Texas now, so I only vaguely remember canyons.

Kidding aside, if I still lived in the Texas Hill Country (Austin/Central TX) or anywhere with easy access to big sweepers or winding back roads, it would be a harder decision. But for the type of daily driving I do now (short commute, traffic, occasional stretches of straight freeway), a purer sports car like a Cayman or even an F-type would be frustrating because you only very rarely get to experience their fortes. But in the Jag, even a quick run to the store gives you multiple opportunities to tap into big V8's torque and you get to listen to that growl the whole way

 

This is only because the criteria is not aligned. When I look at Cars.com the 2013 regular XK model has a 16,000 mile car for $39k or so, that is the lowest for a low mileage car. On the 2013 650 GC there are a ton of units much lower pricing but they have a TON of miles. You get to one that is similar, 25k miles, and it is $38k.

Comparing like base vehicle Jag to BMW with the same year and similar miles you will end up in a close price range. You are comparing 650 GC to a XKR whereas you should really be comparing the M6 GC to the XKR. Hopped up car vs hopped up car.

 

I recently came out of a wonderful 2006 650 vert. I bought it in August 2012 with 28,000 miles on it. Put about 70,000 miles in that time period. Car was great, drove great, great power too, and looked damn good.

But then I got car fever and found this car, a 2013 XKR vert. What a car! Yes the electronics suck as such, but what a car! Hands down the Jag gets some serious looks from people.

It is a treat each and everytime I get in it to go anywhere. I even still like going out into the garage just to look at it.

 

My mechanic has a 650. It looks like one of those cars that people just write-off and never pick up from the mechanic.

Ironically he too has let it rot in the back of the shop, saying it feels like driving a limousine.

If you have to ask what is the difference between an XKR and 650- you should buy the 650

 

Well i do have the 650 right now, so i am just comparing with information i know, hence throwing it out on a forum, where people may have an opinion on both.pretty fair i would think.

The one feature which i love about the 650 is the Automatic handbrake pull( when at lights) and then just drive away. This is a very good feature in LA start stop traffic esp on the 405.

But as i dont drive a lot ( 15-20 miles a day) i think i can do without that- and diversify my car ownership experience with a Jag.

 

Jaguar has the electronic hand brake (for better or worse). I think it works fine, but certainly not the type of hand brake for a rally experience. Jaguar also offers adaptive cruise control which would ease your stop and go traffic driving.

 

If I've read correctly, you've test driven one twice. At this point if it hasn't talked to you, it's not the correct car. Keep the beamer, and enjoy it. I knew within 1/4 mile that the XKR was for me. Heck, I knew within 15 minutes of seeing an XK 150 coupe many years ago and talking to the owner for ten minutes that some day I would own one. I'm not a compulsive person and feel that the car should sell itself by enticing your desire to own it. If it doesn't, then it's not the right one for you.

My suggestion is to test drive another, in sport mode and use the paddles to shift it. Nothing racy, 4k or so between shifts and just let it surround you with it's experience. Then plop it back in drive and around 30 mph whack the throttle fast to about 3/4 or a little more for a second or two. If that experience doesn't sell the car, walk away.

 

Sport Mode AND Dynamic. More fun that way.

 

Same here. I drove 2. the first one had some issues (apparently) and I was very disappointed assuming they were all like that. My wife said let's drive another just to see and holy crap, I couldn't stop smiling. We ended up buying it.

NOTHING against BMW as I have never had one, but there are at least 10 of different models in my work parking lot and they all look the same to me.

 

I'm reminded of a Top Gear episode where Clarkson was about to review an R10. He started by saying "Audis are mainly built for German cement salesmen."

 

I've owned a couple of 928's in the past ('86.5 & '89) and I found them to be very soulfull maintenance headaches. That said I loved 'em both. I find the XK/XKR to be the spiritual successor to the Porsche 928, without the maintenance issues. The Jag is so much more beautiful though!

 

Oh I cringe....
Jaguar had been making a name for itself for decades with wideband tourqe and hp v8, before Porche's first and ultimately failed attempt at a V8

And frankly- no one puts more 'spirit' in a car than Jaguar...in fact if you recall the Jag that won the race was with a drunk driver. Yes.

 

I also had a disappointing first "test" drive on the XKR I ultimately ended up buying. I had responded to an ad from a private party, was really anticipating the drive, and when I completed the ten minute drive, I was thoroughly underwhelmed. In fact, so much so, that I didn't really reach back out to the owner afterwards. I was busy at work, but really had decided not to go forward even though the price (at the time) was the lowest I had seen in the whole country. About six weeks later, the owner called me wondering if I was still interested, and in my mind I had decided against it, but to humor him I asked him to bring it to my mechanic so we could read any codes that were stored. There was a cam sensor code which didn't worry me too much because I had just replaced one on my 2002 XKR so I knew what to expect. But, my mechanic said he could tell by the sound of the engine that it was going to soon fail. After the p.o. regained his composure, he called his aftermarket warranty insurance company, and to make a long story short, they paid my mechanic to put a "new" engine into the car. They got an engine with 5000 miles on it, I took it for a ride, and was blown away. It was soon thereafter residing in my driveway.

 

Great!
Opposite situation for me. My first test drive XK was from a private seller using a selling service that had a small lot. They said the engine was replaced 2k miles ago by Jag because of overheating. It had a lag from launch that felt like a 2 Liter turbo. Disappointing since the engine was new. Also the brakes were wonky. I didn't pay much attention to anything else because I was turned off by the start and stop issues. It was also the lowest price around.

 

You should buy a plug in prius with adaptive cruise control, wear socks&sandals and grow a ponytail.

 

there is nothing wrong w/ the 850 if you like that sort of car. to me it is quite uninspiring but a nice drive.

the xkr is a seriously lovely looking car and I can not think of many that are prettier. the r power is hot rod like and much more brutal than that of the 850. the zf 6 speed is actually a fantastic and engaging gear box when driven in the manual mode. take off the full traction control and you are driving a car that comes virtually unhinged/unleashed and you have a car that is as good on rodeo drive as it is at the drag strip!

I put the xkr in a unique class and the value proposition is hard to best.

just my two cents. good luck in your hunt!!!