Key strengths: Very, very fast
Areas for improvement: Tiny interior space, transmission, poor dealer service
Our car was Dark blue with ivory leather and 18s, looked stunning, however, this car sums up style over substance..
1st off, this myth that Jags are comfortable is untrue in this case; I'm not a very big bloke, but the cabin is tiny and on the long journeys I did I found the seats very small, offering little support or comfort.
This car is however very very fast, but makes a horrible droning noise in the cabin, not at all how you would imagine it would sound, really weedy!
The brakes would fade very badly, despite new fluid and pads. This car is quick and needs better brakes to cope!!
Transmission, a Merc unit in this model, is very poor, taking ages to select reverse, and with a reluctant kickdown.
Interior poorly made, no rattles, but everything is pretty cheap, and the wood steering wheel didn't match the wood dash.
The dealer service at the dealer is very poor; they won't accept they sold a car with lots of problems, and were reluctant to mend it under their warranty.
Our previous car was a high mileage Cadillac STS (reviewed on here), and it was a far superior car, despite its much lower price tag. Miss that car like mad; however we changed the Jag for a much older 1997 BMW 750il and wow, how nice to be back in a proper car again.
To sum up, these Jags feel old... basically because they share things in common with the XJS, a British Leyland nightmare.
I would really not recommend this car, especially a higher mileage one, as they will not last the distance like a German car. At 100k they need all the timing chains etc replaced; our very old BMWs with over 200k on them have been originals!!
OK - the problems:
As shown this was a very low mileage Jaguar Approved used car, fastidiously maintained at the supplying dealer from now, however...
Rear dampers replaced 4 times!!!
Instruments went haywire in warm weather.
Suspension bushes 3 times, last time with Poly bushes at dealers cost that fixed the problem.
Leather seats wearing poorly after low miles and easy use.
Stereo issues galore.
Supercharger belt replaced twice due to clicking.
Charging issues showing on the voltmeter, lights went dimmer idling.
Very slow transmission, no fault found... yeah right. The running costs for Jaguar Xkr 4.0 V8 Supercharged Automatic are high
Safety: 73
Equipment: 57
Reliability: 55
Driving: 78
Comfort: 55
Design: 75