New cars: Jaguar XFR

Automobile

Jaguar’s new owner, India’s Tata Motors, is determined to make every Jaguar a Jaguar again. So the XFR doesn’t “behave like an English car that’s trying to ape a German car.” Translation: no stiff ride, no inscrutable technology, and plenty of luxury. The thrill is back, with a supercharged powertrain and a perfectly tuned chassis that are world-class.

Motor Trend

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We yawned when we heard that the supercharged 5.0-liter direct-injection V8 in the new Jag flagship delivers a mere 510 hp—less than the 556 hp in the Cadillac CTS-V or “Audi’s head-banging 572-horse RS6.” The vented hood, 20-inch alloy wheels, and quad taillights are also “entirely predictable.” On the road, however, the XFR out-sashays its rivals like a “big cat running down a fast-moving gazelle.”

Car and Driver

The XFR is “tantalizingly close” to perfect. Test-runs notched 4.3 seconds to 60 mph. The six-speed transmission “ticks off nearly instant upshifts with barely a stutter.” Electronically varying shocks and larger anti-roll bars provide the chassis with a “rigid horizontalness,” though stability control is still a bit nervous. “Does Jaguar suddenly best BMW’s best?”