Jaguar XFR Review: The Styling

The Jaguar XFR doesn’t shout it’s credentials from the rooftops. It’s subtle; refined; understated. But the signs are all there if you look. Big 20″ alloys with ‘Supercharged’ engraved round the centre. Bonnet louvres with more ‘Supercharged’ script. Gaping air intakes in the front to gulp in the oxygen the 503bhp Supercharged engine needs. A more aggressive bottom half, but retaining the delicacy of design above. It’s a connoisseurs make-over. No ‘Halfords’ bolt-on go-faster bits. Just subtle modifications that actually shout louder than all the garish add-ons you could conceive of.

And the interior is as much of a delight as the exterior. More bolstered seats (a necessity in the XFR), seemingly infinitely adjustable that can both cool and warm. A clean, uncluttered dash with dark oak and aluminium, with red-stitching on its leather-clad top. A simple but effective touch-screen information centre (simple but effective – take note, BMW). The theatre of the revolving air vents when you press the pulsating starter button to fire up the Supercharged V8; the soft blue light that bathes the interior at night; the rising, rotary gear selector. As a piece of theatre it is a delight. As an interior, it’s a resounding success.

But the aesthetics are subjective. For me they work wonderfully well. Rarely have I been more comfortable in a car. Rarely have I felt so at ease with a car – particularly such a powerful car – so quickly. And rarely have I driven a powerful – and potentially ostentatious – car that evoked such a benign response from other road users. Drift through traffic in a BMW M5 or a Mercedes E63 and you’ll be waiting at every junction for the road to clear. No one will let you out. Do it in a Jaguar – even this £60,000 Supercharged Jaguar XFR – and you get let out. With a smile and a wave. Astonishing.

There’s something in the psyche of drivers that is kindly disposed to the aesthetics of the Jaguar XFR. It’s admired and coveted, but not resented. That has to be a big plus on its own.

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