Skip advert
Advertisement
Long term tests

Jaguar XFR

A teeny fault with the Adaptive Dynamics doesn't tarnish the huge fun we get from Jaguar's XFR

There’s an orange screen between the Jag’s two dials. Well, it’s not actually, it’s black and white, but it glows orange whenever the car needs to tell me something that Just Can’t Wait. Of late this has been that the first service is due (in around 1100 miles), but there’s been another, less ignorable message: a warning that there’s a fault with the Adaptive Dynamics system. This one is less frequent, but it’s accompanied by the car jamming itself in the sportier of its two modes. This is my preferred setting anyway, so it’s not a huge problem, but I’ll get it looked at when the car goes for its service.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The screen also turns tangerine when fuel gets low. This doesn’t happen quite as often as you might expect – I tend to get about 300 miles from a tankful, averaging 22-23mpg on the trawl to work and back, although this drops dramatically if the Brackley roundabouts are quiet and I’ve remembered to press and h-o-l-d the DSC button.

The XFR drifts as effortlessly as snow; big lazy arcs, the car seemingly held at an angle by two-ton momentum alone and yet so controllable, so precise, so catchable. And so hard to resist nailing it all the way through second and third along the next straight. The XFR may find itself bathing in the soft orange glow of a petrol station forecourt sooner as a result, but it’s so worth it.

Running Costs

Date acquiredJune 2009
Total mileage13,917
Costs this month£0
Mileage this month3289
MPG this month21.3
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Jaguar F-Pace SVR long term test – more efficient than a diesel Discovery
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Long term tests

Jaguar F-Pace SVR long term test – more efficient than a diesel Discovery

A stint in a diesel-engined Discovery that resulted in only 30mpg has convinced me the F-Pace SVR is impressively frugal
8 Apr 2026
Best Japanese cars – performance icons from GR Yaris to NSX-R
Best Japanese cars
Best cars

Best Japanese cars – performance icons from GR Yaris to NSX-R

The Japanese have produced some of the most compelling performance cars we've ever tested, from hot hatches and rally cars to full-on supercars
7 Apr 2026
The Ariel Atom 4RR is the fastest Atom ever, but it comes at a price
Ariel Atom 4RR – front
News

The Ariel Atom 4RR is the fastest Atom ever, but it comes at a price

The Atom 4RR is Ariel’s quickest sports car yet, but you’d be parting with supercar money to own one
9 Apr 2026