I am trying to determine if I should move on to an XKR-S. Has anyone driven the two enough to draw a contrast between the two?

I understand there are some mechanical/systems differences between the two, although I have not researched those completely. I know there are exhaust differences, suspension differences, and of course the 40HP difference.

I drove an XKR-S about a year ago at a Jaguar Alive driving event. At the time I remember thinking that I just did not sense that much difference between my 5L and that car. Granted I probably did not get to exercise it enough to "feel" the difference(s).

If you have first hand knowledge between the two I'd appreciate your feedback. And a general discussion would be fine as well (it's a message board after all).

 

I think Lothar will have to chime in since he has both cars.

I imagine the steering and overall feel in the XKR-S will be that little bit tighter and more precise. My car feels nicely stiff but not enough to beat you up...its a great balance actually. I will say that getting a good alignment and better tires made a noticeable difference in the feel of my car.

Driving an XKR-S is also going to be a bit more of a special experience, I think. I've had my car for almost a year now and have still never seen another one on the road but I have seen XKR's almost weekly. If you don't care for exclusivity or the more aggressive looks, you could try to find an XKR with dynamic pack....but that won't include the increased stock hp/tq and the upgraded torque converter. Now if you want to tune the car, I would definitely lean to the XKR-S. It will be an absolute animal and you have the assurance of an up-rated TQ converter.

I say go for it, but I am a bit biased...

 

Unless you have the Dynamic Pack for the XKR its the handling and steering. The HP difference can be fixed with a quick tune.

At the prices I'm seeing for the XKR-S if I hadn't spent the money I have on my car, I would get one just for the rarity, but I'm super happy with mine with all the mods.

If you want an XKR-S get one now, there are some great deals!

 

IMHO, 95%+ of your driving time you will not "feel" a difference, I may go as far as to say that probably none of us are skilled enough on the track to "feel" a difference. I may even further speculate that even a tune and pulley with some 80-90HP advantage over the stock XKR-S will not be really felt by me.

It is more about how the car "makes" you feel when you drive it.

It is knowing what you drive, (or in case of the tune, knowing that you have almost a 100HP more). The XKR-S cannot put its power down, you have to feather the gas. I am sure it is the same with the XKR.
Personally I am not too keen on the looks of the XKR-S, especially the rear wing. The reason I have one is knowing how rare they are, the almost certainty that I will never encounter another one. The look on peope's faces when they see it pull up. It is an exotic in most people's eyes yet I have a very comfortable ride and do not rumble down the road with a jaw jarring harsh ride and get jolted by a jerky dual clutch in city driving as it would be in most exotics you have as an option available right now.

My experience with XKRs' is limited to test drives. So just the opposite to your experience. I was set to buy an XKR but when I started to look for one I saw that I could get an XKR-S for almost the same price. Yes, it needs some TLC.

From my most recent test drive of an XKR in November of last year I would claim you will not feel a difference in ride.

The person to give you first hand side-by-side comparison is Ryan/Lothar52 as he currently owns both.

 

So I'm guessing none of you would consider an F Type R over an XKR-S?

 

I have not driven the F-Type R although I've sat in it and it seems a bit tight for me. It just seems much narrower inside. If the F-Type weighed less maybe I'd be more inclined to vote for it but somehow it weighs as much as an XKR.

From a performance standpoint on paper it looks great especially with the carbon/ceramic brakes and the brake line pre-pressurising(once you let off the gas) but other then that I'd have to drive one hard to make up my mind. Some people in the F-type forum have switched and love it. Which I would to but is it because its a new car or just that much better..

Next week I'm taking the Advanced R Performance class in Las vegas and they are supposed to have a couple F-type coupes there. So I'll report back after I've driven one back to back with the XKR on the track.

Since I'm also hearing reports of an R-S variant I'm a bit more inclined to wait and replace my XKR in a few years, if its the beast that its reported to be.

 

hmm, you will pay over $100k for an R and you can get an XKR-S for under $100K. I guess it comes down to what you are going to use the car for as the storage room in the R is certainly much less than the XKR-S. I will take my XKR-S on a week long trip with my wife, not sure that can be done in an R.

Then again these cars are about how they make you feel. I have not seen an R in person, so I can only go from an F Type stand point ... next to each other the XKR-S will trump the F type .. in the eye of the beholder of course ...

don't get me wrong the F type looks great but just not that special - Z350 comes to mind ....

 

If both would suit me and my use, and if both were similarly priced, and I liked both similarly, I'd choose the F-Type because it's newer, a current model, full warranty, and will retain it's value better in the short term. If you keep it for a long time you'll have less concern about discontinued parts, servicing issues, etc. Newer is better.

If however it just doesn't turn your crank than stick with the model you like and the other stuff likely won't matter.

 

I have to say the XKR/S is stunning while the F-type is ok.. Its a proper GT car and I absolutely love TRUE GT cars.

 

This is where my sticking point is, newer technology. For example look at the XKR GT, it used a lot of F-type suspension components. Even my coilovers use F-type derived dampers. Then add in the technology of the infotainment system launch control etc... That makes me want the Ftype not the looks.

 

I'd like to say I don't care about technology, but it does improve actual driving performance and so much more. As far as appearance, I never say never when it comes to car design and my own preferences. I'm usually slow to embrace new designs and then it happens...the new style seems right and the old looks, well, old. We have a bit of an unexpected dilema now though because there isn't going to be a next generation tech savy XK offered right away for us to embrace, and the F-Type eliminated the little extra interior space that many found so useful, so often. I find it odd that Jaguar seems to have delayed the XK replacement, and suspect it may be their plan to encourage us to embrace the F-Type rather than a new XK.

Since you also need a helmet for the track, you can appreciate the ridiculousness of an interior design that doesn't provide enough room for a helmet in the model that is heralded as the track model in the line-up, never mind room for an overnight bag. One of my first track events in the new car will be two days at Virginia International with my wife and another couple in their new C7. That's 10 hours from home, and we're going to take two days down and three back to do some touring. The XKR vert would have been perfect, the F-Type vert not a chance. Perhaps the coupe, but I'm guessing even it has a lot less cargo space than an XKR vert.

Bruce

 

I drove the Xkr at r academy in Vegas, so I was able to compare the RS and R back to back (I drove my RS the day before). The big difference I noticed is the RS has a much stiffer suspension (stiffer springs) and you can feel that on the track or road. Also, to me the RS feels like it has more than a 40 hp difference, especially at lower and mid rpm's - probably due to flatter rpm-hp and rpm-tq curves. The steering feels a little more communicative in the RS, but not a big difference. The brakes feel similar. The exhaust sound is much better in the RS compared to the standard R exhaust
I personally love the front fascia, splitter, rear spoiler and diffuser on the RS, but everyone doesn't feel that way. I felt that the price difference between the a new r and RS was justified, especially given the exclusivity of the RS. Now that used rs prices have dropped, it's probably the best value on the used sports/GT market.
Just a side note- I went to a cars and coffee event in so cal last weekend with 100's of cars and my car had one of the biggest crowds around it all morning with the exception of a Bugatti veyron! I had the only Jag amongst boatloads of ferrari, lambo's, Porsches, vettes, etc

 

I have a 2013 xkr ragtop and have tried to rip the ballz off a 2013xkrs in Vegas.

There is a world of difference between the two cars. You can push the xkr to its limits and not further. You wont be able to push the xkrs to its limits, unless you are a professional driver.

I have only experience in one other car in the xkrs caliber and that is my fiance's 911 4s cabrio. I would put the xkrs up against his porsche any day of the week.

The xkrs is an unforgiving maniac that can deal a load of punishment if not put of a short leash. I would have bought the xkrs, but it was just too fugley for me

 

When I drove the XKR-S at the Jaguar Alive driving event I was expecting a much stiffer ride but did not experience that. The ride was about the same as my XKR. I wasn't able to do any aggressive cornering. I am wondering how much difference there will be driving it on the street.

I am thinking the ride will not be that harsh.

I am not looking for a soft ride - I understand what kind of vehicle it is. But I don't want the rock hard ride of a 'Vette either.

 

Spend a day with it and you will hit its limits they are a bit more controlled than the stock XKR. Its an XKR with the Dynamic Pack plus 40HP, which is what all the Jag R Performance schools use. I honestly couldn't tell a big difference between a XKR with dynamic pack and XKR-S on the track. My lap times were within a .01 between the two cars and I was .25 off from the instructors. The Aero bits I'm sure will help at higher speeds but we hit max of ~130 out of NASCAR turn 4.

I'll see what my lap times look like next week, but I'm not familiar with the Vegas track as I am Homestead.

IMHO if I had the choice at this moment with the XKR and XKR-S at these prices, I'd buy the S add coilovers, tune, exhaust and call it a day. It already has it has all the goodies you want, and is RARE.

 

Xkr-s is a good bit quicker than the Xkr on a road coarse. For example, VIR lightning lap RS 3:02 vs 3:06 for Xkr.

 

Xkr-s is definately not too harsh a ride. The stiffness I was referring was in high speed Cornering- there is less body roll in RS

 

This would be a better comparison...

 

I think you have to ask yourself is it worth the extra money to you for the extra power and I imagine the ride would suffer also as a result of stiffer suspension.

You could easily modify your exhaust and get another 40bhp out of your motor for a lot less than getting the XKRS.

 

4 100ths is a lot in spec racing but I'd expect a few seconds for 32k. Did the XKR have the dynamic pack? VIR also has some really fast straights where 40HP makes a difference. If it was only .04 quicker with 40 extra HP and a better suspension I'm not impressed at all for 32 large, a good wheel alignment and difference in tires would give you that improvement.

I think I've seen better times then that for other tracks.