503bhp Jag for £14k, anyone?

The 503bhp XFR, designed and developed at Jaguar’s Coventry HQ, is a refreshing used alternative to an AMG or M car. John Evans says they now start at just £14k

So you’ve a performance car on your shopping list, a family to lug around and about £20,000 to spend. What’s it going to be? How about a default German, something like a 60,000-mile 2009-reg Mercedes E63 AMG? Or a BMW M5; specifically, the late and great E60generation one with 493bhp when you press the M button? A 2008-reg, again with 60,000 miles, should do it.

However, brilliant though they are, they’re a little obvious, which is where the Jaguar XFR has the edge. It dates from a time – 2009 – when people were just beginning to take notice of the once-beleaguered British car maker. Just two years before, the underwhelming S-type had given way to the acclaimed XF. A performance version, the supercharged 404bhp 4.2-litre XF SV8, followed in 2008. This is a rare and genuine Q-car and a cherished one will set you back around £11,000.

Twelve months later, Jaguar felt sufficiently pumped to replace the SV8 with the XFR, powered by the new supercharged 503bhp 5.0-litre V8. The saloon could do 0-62mph in 4.7sec, and to keep it on the straight and narrow, the company gave it a stiffer, continuously variable damping system and GKN’S new, so-called Active Differential Control system, essentially an electrically powered locking rear diff. Power was sent to the rear wheels via ZF’S trusty six-speed automatic gearbox.

Thankfully, the go-faster bits that Jaguar added to the XFR – bodykit, 20in wheels, quad pipes – didn’t spoil the standard model’s good looks. In fact, it was impressively understated, a quality that extended to the cabin, where the traditional but sporty look was a welcome antidote to the more austere interiors of German rivals.

As the first major facelift beckoned, Jaguar drummed up business in 2011 with the launch of the XFR 100 special edition, featuring Draco alloy wheels with red brake calipers, and kit that included a 440W B&W surround-sound audio system. It was nice, but the facelifted XFR that followed soon after (look for slimmer headlights, LED rear lights and aggressive bonnet vents) is the smarter buy.

Better still are versions from 2012 fitted with the optional Speed Pack, which meant a raised, 174mph speed limiter and a restyled rear wing. In a bid to tame fuel consumption, the six-speed gearbox became an eight-speeder and stop/start was introduced in 2012.

We’re not forgetting the XFR-S that arrived the same year, brandishing 542bhp for 0-62mph in 4.4sec and a sharpened chassis that is stiffer than the XFR’S but still comfortable. Expect to pay from £37,000 for one.

And then, but for the 2015 runout XFR Sport Black that had every option as standard, it was model over, at least for new car buyers. But for buyers of used ones today, the fun’s just starting as prices for early XFRS are now falling to about £14,000 (see right). High performance has rarely been so accessible.