JAGUAR XJR575
It’ll never sell in big numbers and its looks still divide opinion, but the most powerful XJ to date is an absolute riot to drive
JAGUAR HAS UPDATED THE XJ FOR the 2018 model year. I know, that’s probably not the most exciting thing you’ve read this week, today, or even in the past hour – unless you run a limo firm or, typically, you’re of advancing age and have owned big Jags for years. Sadly, big saloons just aren’t big business in Europe, apart from the Mercedes S-class, and the current, ageing X351-generation Jaguar hasn’t been able to reverse that declining market trend. Nevertheless, these reworked XJS gain the latest infotainment systems (much improved in 10-inch ‘Touch Pro’ form) and other minor updates to keep them fresh.
And then there’s this car, the new range-topping XJR575, which is equipped with a 567bhp (575 PS, hence the name) supercharged V8 and a subtly more muscled body with a lower front air dam, revised rear spoiler, new side sills and either gloss black or dark grey 20-inch wheels. Inside, 575s gain diamond stitching and adjustable bolsters once you’ve shut the 575’s driver’s door behind you, that’s all but forgotten. The wonderfully cosy but contemporary cabin remains easily Jaguar’s finest interior to date, not just in terms of perceived quality – okay, so it should at £93,710 – but also in terms of design, which eight years on is still pleasingly like nothing else in both its architecture and detailing. With an excellent driving position and a fabulous dished and thin-rimmed leather steering wheel, the right tone is set even before the start button is pressed.
Ahead of the driver lies one of the best installations of Jaguar’s venerable 5-litre V8, its 516lb ft of torque dismissing with disdain the 575’s considerable heft. In its Normal setting the V8 is as demure as the rest of the car, whirring creamily as it no more than suggests with quiet but sinister persuasion that the car’s bulk gets a move on. Select Sport and it discovers a gloriously metallic bent-eight
‘If you harbour loutish inclinations, you won’t get many miles from a set of rears’
baritone, but without the naff, Ecu-induced burbles and overwrought exhaust blare of an F-type. It’s properly fast, too, with 0-62mph dispatched in 4.4sec and an ultimate velocity of 186mph. The usual eight-speed torque converter auto is finely calibrated: reserved in Normal, energetic in Sport, but most of all crisp in paddle-activated manual mode, which is where I find myself most of the time. The brakes deserve a mention, too, for their heroic stamina in the face of serious provocation and mass momentum.
Thankfully, that’s about as far as selecting driving modes goes in the relatively straightforward 575. Although the ‘traction off’ button, too, is well worth a press. And yes, I know, that seems ludicrous in a car such as this, but then the 575 just doesn’t drive like a 5130mm-long limousine.
Certainly, the cabin’s isolation from engine, road and wind noise are all superb, which means it eats motorway miles with aplomb. And granted, while modern XJS don’t ride with the same elasticity as those from previous decades, it’s still a very comfortable way to travel – and, of course, the trade-off is a dynamic sharpness that is virtually unmatched in this class.
The main weapon in the 575’s armoury is the ability to comprehensively shrink around the driver. Although XJS received an electromechanical steering rack instead of the previous hydraulic one back in 2015, it still feels very precise, natural and well-weighted. Rather than pile on the tech to make a big car do things it really shouldn’t be able to do, the 575 relies on a more traditional recipe of feedback, chassis balance and depth of character to not only entertain, but to draw you relentlessly into the experience. It’s relatively easy to get to the stage where you’ve such confidence in the car that you’re starting to purposely exceed the limits of the rear tyres: if you harbour any loutish inclinations at all, you won’t get many miles from a set of rears in an XJR575. Absurd, yes, but true.
As you can probably tell, I pretty much loved every minute behind the wheel: silken and luxurious one moment; rumbly, riotous and amusingly broadside the next, it’s a car of real warmth and genuine sporting spirit. It’s just a shame it’s delivered in a package that’s out of fashion and not terribly practical, certainly for the well-heeled 40-somethings with a family who presumably buy high-performance SUVS instead. If only Jaguar could distil everything that’s right about the 575 into a more practical Panamera Sport Turismo-style wagon, or a glamorous 2+2 coupe. We can but dream.