The Best British Summer Sports Car?

This is the convertible 2005 Jaguar XKR sporting a beautiful sounding 4.2 Litre V8. This specific Jaaagggg (as Jeremy would appropriately call it) has every option imaginable selected. But this isn't the owner's doing. In fact, this was something that Jaguar themselves did for the last few XKR's that they had to shift before the new one came out. They would spec them with every option possible then drive them 450 miles before they could be classed as 'second hand'. Sneaky but not a bad idea!

Now, when I saw that this car has every option, I mean it! I mean for 2005 this car has some cool tech. It even has a Sat-nav which I thought was very high tech. I mean the list is endless but a few things are the full cream leather (or 'Ivory') Recaro seats, Auto-dimming mirrors, Brembo brakes, and of course..... a cup holder! I mean this car was really well specced and so it should be for a hefty price (at that time) for £57, 750 which even today isn't that cheap. But despite all the extras, the car comes as standard with a lot of features.

But step aside from the interior for a moment and just look at this paint! My very amatuer photography skills really don't do this paint justice. There is so much depth to this paint and the green flake you see in the sun is stunning. This us Jaguar's 'Jaguar Racing Green' paint and is a must have on this vehicle. The paint goes well with the silver wheels, however I am not much of a fan of them as to me they don't look as classy for the car... maybe that's just me!

In terms of the driving experience, quite frankly I was blown away. On start-up, the car was a admittedly a little quieter than I anticipated but once you put your foot down you get that lovely reassuring whine from the supercharger with the hint of that meaty V8 growl. I am 6 foot 3, and fitting in this car was a slight issue for me. The seat was all the way back (still with no hope for anyone AT ALL in the back seats!). If the roof wasn't down I would have been very squashed indeed! The drive only lasted about 10 minutes before we returned but it gave me a great sense of what it is like to own and drive a british made V8 convertible.

This Jag has done about 65k miles which shows it gets driven! The owner of this vehicle loves it and says it is perfect for road trips with his wife. He chose this car over the Mercedes 500SL simply down personal preference. A few years later they looked at the DB9 but were very disappointed with it's level of build quality. I don't know much about the DB9 so I cannot really comment but from what I saw in this Jag made me understand the advanced level of craftsmanship that went into this car.

The beast contained within!

The beast contained within!

One thing that got me was how the exhaust pipes were almost hidden in the back! Come on Jag! Show em!

One thing that got me was how the exhaust pipes were almost hidden in the back! Come on Jag! Show em!

Let me know in the comments what you think of the Jaguar XKR and is it better than a DB9? And is it the perfect British Summer sports car?