Project Shaguar XFR

[Jake]

Edit: Oh and how was the FTR??? Please tell me it is all I have heard it is and more

So I rolled up in the M3, which I guess made the guy believe I had half a clue about driving. Regardless, I still didn't want to be entirely wild 'n' crazy since it had been raining off and on, and 550 hp is... substantial.

At 30% throttle, it pulls pretty hard. At 70% throttle, the back end got squiggly until I got to 3rd gear. We just did a few miles up and down the one street, no chance to really feel out the handling. Interior is a really nice place to spend time. The ZF 8-speed auto is good and can click off fast shifts in Sport mode, whether you use the paddles or let it do things automagically. My opinion of the ZF 'box depends entirely on how it's been tuned by whichever OEM. I loved it in the M235i and only liked it in the FTR. Jaguar hasn't tuned it to rev-match as aggressively or shift as crisply as BMW has.

That said, there was a button with a checkered flag on it near the shifter that I never pressed. So, although I had the gearbox in Sport, part of me wonders if there is an additional "win the race" mode that would change the shift behavior even further, or what all that button really re-maps. Suspension, maybe?

If I were seriously in the market for a car of that price and caliber, I'd go give it a more serious look. It's gorgeous (the one I drove was silver on black) and seems to be a good performer.