Supercharged Jaguar has roar power

IT IS easy to forget Jaguar's XK sports car these days, with all the clamour for the highly desirable and practical XF saloon and the new buzz about the XJ. Then you see an XK and are plunged into its beauty pool. It has been with us since 2006. Back then it had a 4.2-litre V8, giving 300bhp in the XK, and 416bhp with a supercharger in the XKR.
The 2009 XK engine is a five-litre V8, as used in the XF, giving 380bhp and, supercharged, 503bhp, each with a rapid-shifting six-speed automatic gearbox. The 0-60mph times are 5.2 seconds for the XK and 4.6 seconds for the XKR.

That latter figur ADVERTISEMENT e puts the XKR neck to neck with the Aston Martin Vantage. The cars share visual similarities because the designer, Ian Callum, left Aston to join Jaguar. The XK was his first Jaguar. He has since followed with the XF saloon and the XJ large saloon.

My test car was the XKR Coupé. The list price is £72,400. It is a beautifully made car, fitted with a pair of delightful rear seats which I didn't even flatter by trying to use them. They will take small children or dogs or bags and are an asset worth having in a grand touring car. Luggage goes under the lift-up tailgate, with a floor truncated by the hump over the rear axle. The seatbacks do not fold forward.

I took it to the Lake District and parked it outside a popular cafe in Ambleside. It was like a magnet and iron filings in the breeze. Diners in the window kept looking away then looking back. Pavement strollers were equally gripped by the presence of the Ultimate Black Car. Men would explain the significance of what they were seeing to their wives, or to other men who had escaped the thrall of fast cars. Lucky blighters.

I was away from it all in Oxfam, shopping frugally and conscious of the 20 miles a gallon hole in my wallet. If you buy these sorts of cars you are, presumably, undeterred by cost per mile.

On the move it really is a privilege to drive. In fact, a softly spoken Irish gent gazing at the Jaguar, later parked at Sizergh Farm's shop near Kendal, used the phrase "it's a privilege to see it".

On the road the XKR can either be a pussycat or a cheetah. Even on a medium throttle the acceleration is immense. Flatten the pedal from low speed and it will give a little shake at the back, before being reined in by the anti-chaos electronics, and then how it goes. The V8 noise is wonderful. Truly stirring.

However, a quick word here for the unblown XK, which sounds just as good (even better I think) and will save £12,500. You have the money? You get the faster one, if only for the cachet of ownership. I'd get the XK. It is fast enough.

The XKR has longitudinal bonnet vents, subtle against that ultimate black paint, with the word "Supercharged" imprinted. It also appeared in the hubs of the special road wheels on the test car, which boosted the price by £2,447.

Other options were a DAB radio and dark oak veneers (each at £343), tyre pressure monitors (£391 but they should be standard fit), cornering front lights (£421), adaptive cruise control to keep you a set distance from the vehicle in front (£974). Otherwise the XKR is well equipped.

Its interior is leather, with contrast stitching along the instrument housing.

On test, the economy ranged from 20 to 23 miles a gallon. That is a range of about 300 miles from a full tank. It is a low sports coupé and so you accept that the roof pillars obstruct clear visibility when reversing, while the combination of the nearside door mirror and adjacent screen pillar are a sight blocker you need to be aware of at junctions.

Operation is easy enough. Pressing the starter button activates the rotary gear selector, which rises out of the central console. There is power adjustment for the steering and seats. The electric parking brake is auto on and off. There are surprisingly few switches and controls, with a touch-screen panel coping with things like the climate control and navigation. There are some buttons which adjust or deactivate the traction aids but I left them well alone.

The face of a jaguar, in silver relief, snarls out of the steering wheel boss. Maybe it's a smile. Hard to tell with a jaguar.