Took my XKR to a high-end body shop this morning to fix a silver-dollar sized bird dropping that etched itself into the paint. Plus, buff out a small section on the rear bumper that I mistakenly used rubbing compound on. They did a wonderful job, washed the car and charged $82. I figured that the hand wash alone was worth more :-).

In the process my car was lined up next to a F-type S for visual comparison. After that we stopped at a Jaguar dealer where once again parked the XKR next to an F-type Coupe for more visual comparison. For my wife and I the XKR wins visually, hand down. To put our monies with our mouth, we walked back into the dealership and purchased their longest (7yrs, 55K miles) super-duper warranty to indicate our intention to hold onto this incredible, instant classic XKR.

 

Albert,

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Graham

 

I too think the XK's lines are better than the F-Type's, but Jaguar did not do anything really with XK once they put the 5.0L engine in it. They could've evolved it more, but decided to put all their eggs in one basket.

This XK along with the previous XK8 will age gracefully. XJS perhaps too, but it's getting darn near impossible to find one that is in great shape.

 

Since I owned both an '08XK and a 5L XKR, I can say that there are subtle but, important changes in the XKR. I never liked the XK's steering, found it too vague for precise work. They did put a new steering rack in the XKR that steers considerably more precisely. Also, the suspension is recalibrated in the XKR for more neutral handling. My only wish for the XKR is to have softer springs and couple that with larger sway bars to make it more compliant on less than perfect road surfaces. The car is a handful on bumpy roads where my softer sprung RX-7 can put down the same 500HP power much harder. But, I guess, since I can not have it all, I'll just enjoy the XKR as it is. Life can be a beach...:-)

 

I find my XK to have a fairly compromising ride. I would guess that the 19s help as well.

 

Noticed this big time and was re-affirmed by moving into the Lotus which is quite comfy over bumps. Tires for the Evora are much less expensive as well.

 

What happened to your leaper? I could've swore you had one on the hood!

 

The leaper is on the hood of my XJL only. Was done by the dealer prior to the purchase.

 

Glad you're enjoying it so much Albert...I knew you would be one to appreciate the XKR's performance. I think you'd find the shock valving is the compliance culprit instead of stiff springs. I wonder if there are damper options?

 

Thanks, Bruce. You certainly did your best to convince me that the XKR was a different animal from the 4.2 XK. You were right. Yes, the damper valving could have the same effects as stiff springs, difficult to tell which is the culprit. Just know that on my RX-7 the 275 lbs/inch rear springs work wonders while the XKR has rates over 500 lbs/inch on the back. That stands out as suspect.

 

The F-Type is a neat car but is trendy fad at the moment. It's a skinny cut, short jacket length suit.

The XK is a 2 button, conservatively tailored, navy blue suit. It has always and will always look good. So many new cars only look relevant untill the body style changes - then they just look dated. Jaguar is so unique that I would proudly pilot any 2 door jag of any generation - nobody looks at an old jag and thinks "dated" they think things like "timeless," "classic" etc. The XK is no exeption. The F-Type may be the first.

 

Why on earth did you waste money on an extended warranty? They wouldn't sell'm if they didn't make a big profit on them!!

 

The F-Type coupe is just a shorter XKR in my opinion. Both have short wide hips flowing into a tapered midsection which melds right into a long sleek bonnet. I prefer the J blade headlights of the F-Type but other than that both these cars have more in common than not.

 

I would gladly give up the dollars in my mattress for the F-Type tranny though....

 

Because I can afford it :-). Same answer if someone asked me why I would purchase a $100K Jaguar instead of a $15K Chevy.

Seriously, I think it is a good deal, allowing for a long-term, worry-free ownership. The warranty is pro-rated, meaning that you get back the unused portions if you sell the car before the warranty period expires. I had a similar warranty on my '08 and when I sold it I got much of my original monies back. In this respect the true cost of the warranty comes to about $46/month; peanuts for expenses and well worth my peace of mind.

 

Yep, I did too. About $4K for 2 years which was steep, but I didn't know the car and the warranty was about to run out when I bought it, so it is good for peace of mind. For someone mechanically illiterate like me, any problem is going to be an expensive one.

 

Bruce

I paid $3799 total (no tax and no haggling) for the 7yrs/55K miles warranty and it was the top warranty that the Jaguar dealership offered. Almost like the original factory warranty with a very limited wear-items exceptions. I wanted to be sure I had a warranty where the work would be done by the Jaguar factory dealerships.

 

Yep, I am in Australia, we pay more for pretty much everything car related. The XKR itself was $250K new, I paid about $110K for it just under 3 years old and that was great buying. So $4K for 2 years warranty hurt a little, but probably not as much as the $60K plus that I heard that an insurer had to pay to replace an engine in an XJ where petrol was put in instead of diesel!

 

500# is nothing, and the common aftermarket rear spring rate for coilovers for the Supra for instance, along with 800# on the front. And the Supra is hundreds of pounds lighter than the XKR. The differnce in handling and ride quality between the various 800f/500r coilovers is known to be dramatic though, and the difference is completely in the damper valving. The ones I chose based on their superior valving (as seen on a shock dyno) made the car ride smoother despite the spring rates being significantly stiffer than stock.

I think Jaguar got the spring and bar rates right based on high-speed handling that still permits minor body roll and balanced handling, and found the damper valving acceptable for its sporting intentions, and given the low profile tires, but different valving could smooth out the edges on rougher surfaces. My Viper's ride quality feels very similar, and also shares the Bilstein dampers. I thought it would ride much rougher...so I'm actually delighted with the ride quality!

Sold the Supra TT about a month ago, and while I agonized with that decision over a couple of years, I'm glad to say I don't miss it at all and bet you wouldn't either if you finally sold the RX7. When you're excited about the new toy you forget a little bit more about the old ones. I know now I could sell my beloved MR2T also and not miss it either...something to think about!

 

Bruce

While I do not wish to argue AGAINST my XKR, which IMO is a fantastic GT, I do disagree that they got the springs and bar rates correct. My 2600 lbs RX-7 uses much stiffer bar rates than the 4100 lbs XKR. The difference in cornering is very significant; the RX-7 corners without any lean, like a race car. It changes direction without any suspension softness and delay. "Razor sharp" or "go-kart-like" - is how I describe that handling. But, the biggest difference is that the RX-7 allows me to get on the accelerator far earlier and far harder coming out of corners than the XKR does. There is just a lot more traction available.

Again, this is not a complaint because the XKR is a GT car, primarily focused on occupant comfort, decent power and decent handling. It meets that criteria quite nicely and I am quite happy with it now that my racing years are behind me. Softer springs or damper valving would be nice but, not a deal breaker. BTW - I do have adjustable dampers on my RX-7 which is set to near full soft for the street, while it used to be set nearly full stiff for the track.

Always feel bad seeing someone selling a once-loved car, like your Supra. But, you are correct, we need to move on. I actually hardly driven my RX-7 since I smogged it over a year ago. I just returned it to the full power setup a couple of days ago and finally took it for a ride; which reminded he how incredibly good the car was. Still, I should probably sell it but, realistically I could not get anywhere the monies that car is worth. So, I am holding onto it as a gorgeous display item :-). It costs very little for upkeep, licence and insurance so, it is not a drain on my finances.