Category: Jaguar

Three random thoughts before getting to the Jaguar below.

1) Remember when dealerships neared the end of the month and salesmen pleaded with us, that to meet their monthly quota they were going to offer us ridiculous discounts? Monthly stats seemed to drive everything. Well, here we are near the end of July and I realize I’ve only blogged a pitiful two times. My excuse is that preparing to sell my 2010 Mercedes S600 and replace it with another unicorn has made me weary. Believe it or not, this last week a 2015 Mercedes S65 sedan surfaced that a blog reader snagged and bought before I could (I had a BMW M5 being transferred and couldn’t move the S65), and a 2011 BMW Alpina B7 at a ridiculously low price of $32,998 was located and bought by another blog reader who saw the car before me. Great cars that I should have written about, but snoozed and lost. In August I may experiment with very, very brief pieces on unusual cars to just get them out there to you with little to no witty commentary.

2) CarMax’s 24 hour test drive now has limitations. I transferred a loaded BMW M5 from a Maryland dealership to my Dulles, Virginia location and went in for a 24 hour test drive, only to be told there’s a new policy. Cars over $60,000, and a whole bunch of muscle cars, are no longer eligible for 24 hour test drives. That’s what my sales rep told me when I showed up to take the M5 home. I noted that’s not what’s on the web and the rep apologized, but I couldn’t take the car home. So I said forget it – not buying a $90,000 car after a drive around the block, and left in a huff. Looked up the latest web policy, and it says “Please note, not all cars qualify for a 24-hour test drive, and customers may only take two 24-hour test drives within a 30-day period.” I guess they can make the rules. That said, I have learned so much more about a car with a 24 hour test drive rather than the loop around the dealership, that this will give me pause. Also, one reader tells me his dealer still lets him take care home for a 24 hour ride. Guess it’s negotiable.

3) CarMax inventory levels are ballooning to the 60,000 car level, up significantly over the last few months. Starting to see a more interesting mix of unicorns – high end cars, older European sports cars, low mileage muscle cars – than I’ve seen in a while (even if I didn’t get around to blogging about them!). I’m going to be more vigilant in August and post twice a week come hell or high water! Hang in there with me, please.

My unicorn to close out the month is a 2014 Jaguar XFR. It’s a handsome sedan with the same drive train and interior as the svelte XKR, but you get four doors and a decent trunk. If you’re a regular reader you know I’ve toyed with more than one XKR purchase as the supercharged motor is just barrels of British fun.

The interior is neat and tidy, with heated and cooled seats, Bluetooth, Meridian audio, navigation and a sunroof (you cannot get a sunroof in an XKR).

Decent sized trunk – I think that’s a ski/passthrough access point in the back?

The heart and soul of the Jaguar XFR is the supercharged 5.0 liter aluminum V-8 powerplant. The last Jaguar XFR I covered I said, “the 5.0 liter supercharged V-8 runs through a six-speed automatic transmission. Depending on the review, the car sprints from 0-60 mph in the low to high four second range. Wish I could be more precise, but web info says the sedan tops out at 155 (limited), 174, and 186 mph. If you own one and hit top speed let me know. We’ll keep it between us.” No need to reinvent the heated steering wheel – all still applies to this car!

This 2014 Jaguar XFR is available here in Laurel, Maryland – not far from me! (And not far from you, Scott. This will fit in your garage?) It’s a one owner, accident free Virginia car with MaxCare good until 125,000 miles and five years.

Stock # 23093302  VIN # SAJWA0JH4EMU18378

The Jaguar XF sedan was designed while Ford owned Jaguar, on the Ford DEW platform that debuted on the Lincoln LS. This Jaguar sold in the US from 2009 until 2015, and the XF R is maybe the second or third best XF after the XF R-S and the XF R Sportbrake. The XF R has a 510 hp supercharged V-8 engine and an eight-speed automatic that cranks 4.3 second 0-60 mph runs. Damned fast. The 2015 Jaguar XF R above sold new for perhaps $85,000 when new and like all good unicorns is deeply depreciated at CarMax for $35,998. (Just for fun, check out this 2013 Jaguar XF Supercharged – same powertrain but less features – that was selling for $10,000 less than this XF R just last year. )

Amazing to me how similar the Jaguar XF R is to the Australian Holden Commodore, otherwise known to us as the Chevrolet SS and imported from 2014 to 2017. The SS has a naturally aspirated 6.2 liter V-8 that makes 415 hp – significantly less than the XF R. But in wheelbase, length, and width the cars are within an inch or two of being twins – although the SS is maybe 200 pounds lighter. Interestingly, the Chevy SS sold in the low $40’s new at best and had to be deeply discounted to move them off the lots. Now, as I wrote about here these five to eight year old cars are selling for thousands more than MSRP used! If interested, CarMax has this 2017 model with only 6,000 miles selling for a wild $55,000.

But back to the Jaguar XF R. This car has heated and air conditioned seats and the normal range of luxury features found on 2015 cars. CarMax indicates this car has the “Special Edition” package but I can find nothing on the net about what that is. Nor can I find how many Jaguar XF R’s were sold in the US. Been looking for an hour plus and this is how I get sidetracked when blogging – more than a few unicorns vanish while I’m trying to research if they are rare breeds. Not today. I did learn there are only 11 of these on Autotrader today, and this car, at this mileage, seems to be a decent enough deal. And only here can you get MaxCare! And I would certainly get MaxCare. Find this single-owner, accident free 2015 Jaguar XF R here in Riverside, California.