Jaguar XKR Coupe - Pictures

Despite its aluminium body, the XKR is the heaviest car here. It lacks the instant responses of its rivals, and while the adaptive dampers offer tremendous body control, the Jag is more suited to long-distance cruising.

On the whole, the cabin has a neat design, but the chequered metal trim is an acquired taste. And although the seats have plenty of bolstering, the bases and backrests are relatively flat, so they don’t lock you in place.

With a large tailgate and floor rails, the Jaguar has the best proportioned and most useful boot. As a car to use and drive every day, it rivals the Porsche – not least because it has a much more cosseting ride.

It’s also significantly quieter than all its rivals. A reading of 66 decibels at 70mph puts it on a par with many luxury models, but since the XKR is meant to be a sports car, we’d like to hear more engine sound at full thr

The excellent keyless system is one of the few gadgets that isn’t included as standard on the XKR. You have to pay an extra £430 for it – a reasonable amount considering the price of some of the other cars’ opti