Considering both of these unicorns, and both thrilled and disappointed by each. I had the Jaguar for a 24 hour test drive in early January, noted some mechanical and cosmetic issues, and almost a month later they offered it again (allegedly after fixes) for another 24 hour test drive. I did pay $99 to have it transferred from Newark so it was sort of reserved for me until I didn’t want it, although it wouldn’t be the first car CarMax “lost”. I have not driven this SL550 but a few months ago I drove a similar one and was quite surprised at how fast it was. Let’s get to the cars.
2012 Jaguar XKR. $36,998. 47,000 miles. Supercharged 5.0 liter V-8 with 510 hp.
2013 Mercedes SL550. $45,998 41,000 miles. Twin-turbo 4.6 liter V-8 with 429 hp.
The interior of the Jaguar seems spartan compared to the Mercedes. The seats aren’t uncomfortable for short rides, although the seat back seemed to have little to no cushioning. It wasn’t very adjustable and when the seat back bumps against the rear “seat” it automatically moves an inch forward. Wasn’t a fan. The infotainment system is painfully archaic. Jaguars of this era also have a problem with tacky steering wheel controls – actually sticky and gummy, not unfashionable. Googled it and a known problem with lots of home made attempts at fixing, none reliable. Liked the heated seats and heated steering wheel.
The SL550 inside was….S-class. Big comfy massaging seats. Lots of leg room. Infotainment better but not great. Loaded with features like auto cruise control, heated and cooled and massaging seats, heated steering wheel, and of course, a retractable hard top. Love the wind through my graying hair, and the SL550 remains a favorite for the AARP crowd – me.
The Jaguar motor under the bonnet is a plus. It roars. My wife heard me parking it in the driveway – a thumbs up for me, not so much for her. That said, it was quiet and smooth on the highway driving like a normal guy and not a hooligan. The motor is the #2 reason to buy this car. Will get to #1 shortly.
The Mercedes SL550 motor is quiet but powerful. Less horsepower by 81. BUT – the Mercedes has 55 more feet-pounds of torque. The Mercedes beats the Jaguar to 60 mph by a half-second – 4.1 to 4.6 seconds! Who knew? Someday I promise to learn (and remember) the difference between horsepower and torque. Today is not that day.
Let’s talk PRNDL’s, for no other reason than to say my wife despises anything without a lever and a thumb button allowing the driver to kachunk from park to drive. My theory is the more modern, upscale, and enthusiast-oriented a car gets, the less likely it is to have a traditional PRNDL. So she’s probably going to hate anything I buy on the PRNDL front, so this one’s irrelevant.
Why I can’t pull the trigger on the SL550. The seat bolster (and floor mat) shows an awful lot of wear and tear for a car with such low miles. Was the owner as large as me? The car’s in Austin, Texas – is this normal when mounting a car there wearing spurs and a six-gun? Can this be fixed inexpensively? Second, the car does have one accident. That’s why it’s priced lower than similar SL550’s, in addition to the tired interior. Last, as I mentioned above, it’s really an old guy car. I’m an old guy that doesn’t want to admit it. Mercedes would just as soon terminate the SL class but the following is loyal, and affluent. So they’ll keep making them. I do love the hard top convertible and with the Fiat gone (maybe tomorrow’s post) I am without a drop top and spring is right around the corner despite that rodent from Puxatawney’s prediction. But I could see me using this as a daily driver, and with auto cruise control and seat massagers even a road trip car. It’s no 911 or S65, but it wouldn’t be awful. Hate the idea of paying for another transfer.
Back to the Jaguar. One plus of the 24 hour test drive is the chance to bring a car home and see if it fits normal life. A deal breaker for me would be the inability to haul my gear to my music gigs. (If you want some real background on this crazy blogger, check out our country music duo “Doin’ Time” here.) Lucky for me the amp fits neatly in the boot. Guitar would go in the front seat. A twelve pack in the back seat. I could live with this.
A reason not to buy? I’ll give you several. After almost a month CarMax never attempted to fix this piece of loose trim that interferes with putting on a seat belt. Not a big deal, but I also reported the front brakes are squishy and need attention. Nothing was done to them, I think. ( I found a receipt from the previous owner showing the rear brakes were done about 10,000 miles ago.) The car also had a “low coolant light ” on. That’s now off. For a month the nice young sales rep would tell me there were no updates on the car, and I suspected CarMax really didn’t want to sink a nickel into this 10 year old XKR and I waited to be told they wouldn’t sell it to me and refund my $99 transfer fee. That didn’t happen, but neither did the fixes. Maybe they will be. But here’s the goofiest reason I turned it back in. During the second 24 hour test drive I just could not get comfortable and felt cramped as hell. Odd, in that I did not remember being squeezed in for the first 24 hour test drive. Texted Jaguar aficionado Scott to whine and we agreed unfortunate but would be a tough daily driver if uncomfortable. So the combination of not fitting well and the unfixed issues made me return the car. As I went through the back seat before return to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind (like a radar detector, if I had one, and I’m not saying I did) I found the CarMax lock box had been JAMMED BEHIND THE DRIVER’S SEAT! I had a good four or five less inches to work with the whole time. Just disappointed me.
The biggest reason I want this Jaguar XKR is I find the lines absolutely beautiful. From my first blog in 2017 until today I’ve pondered owning one of these and thought the time might be now. When I was outside this XKR approaching it in a parking lot I loved it. Inside not so much. But then I saw a troubling resemblance to a car I sort of owned decades ago and wondered at the significance. Is this a reason to buy the Jaguar, or run from it?
Check out the 1978 Chevrolet Camaro above I drove from 1981 to 1984. I married into it. It was a present from my first wife’s parents when she graduated from college before I met her. Straight six (250 cubic inch – they didn’t have liters back then. 🙂 – 110 hp, and a three-speed on the floor manual transmission. We took it to Germany with us when we were both in the Army. This is how the car looked upon arrival. Fortunately, I have no photos from when we left. I so cheesed up the car with everything I could order from JC Penney’s and would fit in the APO mail system. Most of the things became sought after standards on enthusiast cars over the years. Added to this Camaro not so much. I installed an air dam with a rubber lip. Enkei mag wheels and fat tires – the car at first had a 115 mph top speed on the autobahn (and would run at that pace reliably all day) that dropped to 100 mph when I added fat tires. I added a cool first generation trip computer. Of course a high end stereo from the PX. A pair of rear brake lights in the rear window (decades before third brake lights!). Sport mirrors with blind spot panels built in. Sheepskin seat covers. The Germans loved it. My adult sons told me a few years ago their mom was so agitated that I messed up her car. I always thought the improvements were awesome! Oh yeah, a Thrush muffler that partially fell off and I had to remove on the Brenner pass into Italy – then drive for a week with no muffler to Venice and back to Germany. No wonder we split.
On the plus side, the German-American auto club had a slalom at the German-American military airport where we lived in Heidelberg and I entered the Camaro on a whim. My first race. The car handled like a pig. Accelerated worse. But I drove the hell out of it and took first place for my division. There were no other cars in my division. Afterwards the club had me on the podium while the Star Spangled Banner played. I was sure they were mocking me. But they kept trying to apologize for something in German and I never could understand what it was. A few days later there was a knock on my apartment door, and there was the club rep with a giant victory wreath. They did not have one for me at the slalom and felt terrible about it. I was amazed at their sincerity and interest in the Camaro.
The Jaguar is off the net (for now) but the link to the car is here. I have not ruled it out as a daily driver. It meets a lot of needs, and while the last XKR I reviewed was a better deal, used car prices remain nuts and this is maybe the most unicorn-like thing I can find for $36,998. MaxCare though was astronomical – over $6,000 for 100,000 miles and $8,000 for 125,000 miles.
Stock # 21739590 VIN # SAJWA4DC4CMB48303
The Mercedes SL550 also went off the next while I was writing this, but it has been on and off for some time. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t back. If I got over myself on uniqueness and the shredded seat this might be a civilized daily around town. But I don’t want to transfer and don’t want to fly to Texas to see it. Will keep watching. It’s here in Austin, Texas.
Stock # 22037040 VIN # WDDJK7DA8DF013646
So let the comments begin. The Jaguar, the Mercedes, or neither?