Jaguar XFR-S vs Jaguar XFR video track battle

21 Jan, 2014 3:45pm

We race the Jaguar XFR-S against the standard XFR to see if it's worth the extra money

Let's say you want a Jaguar XFR, but you'd like to turn its performance all the way up to eleven. Well, that's why you can get a Jaguar XFR-S - but is it worth the extra cash? To find out, we compared it on track with the standard version.

The standard Jaguar XFR has a 5 litre supercharged engine with 503bhp and 625Nm of torque. It can do 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds before reaching an electronically limited top speed of 155mph. It costs £65,380.

• Jaguar XFR review

The XFR-S costs an extra £14,615, but for that you get an extra 39bhp and 55Nm torque. 0-62 falls to 4.6 seconds and you can reach a top speed of 186mph. It also gets a louder exhaust, tweaked gearbox, stiffer chassis and firmer suspension.

But does all this make the standard XFR feel lacking when you get out on track?

• Jaguar XFR-S review

Both cars have a lovely V8 noise, and the gearbox has a relatively smooth shift. The standard car is relatively soft for a performance car but it changes direction well - but the XFR-S is definitely stiffer and more composed.

There are a lot of physical changes to this car, you can really feel it - it's so much tauter than the standard car. When it transitions into oversteer the diff is so much better - it's smooth rather than spinning the unloaded wheel. There's more feel in the steering too.

The first thing you notice in the XFR-S is that you can feel the extra power, but it's not a night-and-day difference.

When it oversteers it's really smooth and it's a much tauter car than the standard XFR. It's still quite a twitchy muscle car, don't get me wrong, but it has a different feel to the standard car. Everything's honed, tight and sharper - it makes the standard XFR feel like a stocky executive saloon.

The Jaguar XFR-S was 1.6 seconds quicker around our track than the standard XFR - but is it worth the extra money?

Well, if you rate driving pleasure above all else, then the answer is yes. With its completely re-worked suspension and unique diff, the XFR-S feels like a completely different car.

• See the next track battle: VW Golf GTI vs Performance Pack

Disqus - noscript

Submitted by BigTig on Tue, 2014-01-21 21:14.

"if you rate driving pleasure above all else....." then get a different car, not a big saloon. Both of these look out of place being caned round a track. Wonderful cars, both but neither is a track car.

Submitted by mb on Wed, 2014-01-22 20:28.

in all honesty whether its this jag or Merc, audi if you're only going to drive these cars on a motorway then the best joy is either 0-60mph (if you can notice the 0.3sec quicker time) or 40-70mph and when the speed limit is 70mph there not much point in knowing the top speed.

Submitted by Jim Bray on Thu, 2014-01-23 16:22.

Don't know who filmed this, but they need to be shot. Two fantastic cars being compared but at no time did you see both in one shot. Nothing of the interior differences, side shots or even both going round the corner together. Good review but rubbish editing.