Hi XK'ers,

I posted a newbie hello in the welcome area, but hope it is alright to post my question here, in the similar theme of many others - that is comparing different specs of similar cars...

Having had a terrible parts and repairs experience with a Lexus ISF, I am back on the path and keen to get an XKR for myself very soon. I have narrowed it down to two cars, both Polaris white with 20" gloss black wheels, both just over 60k km's on the clock and brake upgrades from factory.
Car One has the black, speed and dynamic packs (MY15), and is about 10 grand more than Car Two
Car Two has a more genuine-seeming owner who has had the car since new (MY14). He has also provided me with an official Jaguar Dealer MPI report, but it has a few anomalies in the checks, like "Exterior temperature display" and "Heated windshields" -> NA

I can take or leave the black pack (although it looks awesome) and speed pack (although it looks awesome, 174mph in Australia is unlikely at best). ...but has anyone driven the dynamic pack vs "normal knuckle" XKR suspension cars and can say that the dynamic pack goes around a corner that much better?

Really looking forward to having one of these in my garage soon and joining the fun with all of you. Thanks for any advice and feedback on the Dynamic suspension vs normal.

Cheers, Jon

 

Welcome Jon!

Sorry, can't help you with the dynamic comparison. However, the Jaguar build list database seems flaky at best. Many cars have more kit than is noted in their published records. If the build says that something is missing but it appears to be there, then obviously it is there It is very rare for it to overstate options though.

Exterior temp display is available on all XK/XKR afaik.
The heated screen and steering wheel, etc were generally options.

The XK Dynamic R was a run out model where Jaguar threw in almost all the options, dropped the price by 10k pounds and got rid of the last of the stock of parts. If priced acceptably, they should be good value.

 

Hi Neil what sort of driving do you enjoy with your 2011? (I assume it has the "standard" (bad word) XKR 5.0 suspension)

I have the VIN for the lower spec car, so have found the build list which states "Standard Knuckles" which I understand to be the normal suspension, vs the XKRS with the uprated ones...

I feel confident that with 40k miles on the clock, these are still relatively young cats and shouldn't run into too many issues.

 

Hi Jon, I would describe myself as generally fast but smooth with the occasional flashes of silliness. I don't like to waste fuel but I can't potter about for long

We have fairly good road surfaces in Germany and the "std" 5.0 XKR feels stiff enough to me. Too stiff at Autobahn speeds in Dynamic mode. Maybe the more tied down versions are sharper but the standard setup suites me well enough not to need to look further. Mine only has about 28k kms on it so it still drives as near as new as I could imagine. Shame is I get to use it too infrequently but it is getting a little more regular as the kids are more and more often doing their own things. The cars labelled as having the uprated knuckles have the XKR-S suspension (stiffer and lower). I think they will all be the MY2014 cars.

These cars don't seem to be too worrying but some have had water pump problems - small leaks, so a pain but not dramatic. Evidently the older 5.0 (before 2013?) have timing chain tensioners that can wear faster than expected and but only a few engines to date have failed. The jury is still out on whether it will eventually happen to them all or if there has been some other common contributing factor. There are a few threads about it on here and others know more about it than me. The electric LS diff seems to be something that can be abused into failure! The rest is the usual used car stuff. Suspension bushes wear out, batteries need to be in good condition to avoid false errors. Earth points corrode and cause electrical problems. On the whole, the terror list is much shorter than the German competition. I would have betted on Lexus being bulletproof though

 

Welcome to the forum. This is a great place for cat owners. I've owned both. One thing you never mentioned is the Dynamic R also should have the performance exhaust. The Dynamic R was a good valued optioned XKR. Is there a difference? Yes. The difference is noticeable, but not huge. The dynamic pack with performance exhaust gives you the performance of the top cat, the XKR-S without the aggressive body appearance. The dynamic pack lowers the car about 1/2 inch, has wider tires and higher end rims, the dynamic mode tunes the transmission shifts quicker and more aggressively, the suspension is tighter, the performance exhaust sounds different and comes with the speed pack body kit (side sills, larger rear spoiler, and increased speed limiter 174). Both cars will put a smile on your face.

 

Buy whichever car is in better condition and has a more complete service history. For about $200, you can have the center resonator removed and an X-pipe installed which will essentially give you the same exhaust as the upgraded model. I've done it as have many others on this forum. Unless you're a track junkie and want your XKR to have every single upgrade possible, you'll not notice a lot of difference between models. And if more performance is what you want, about $700 will get you a tune and pulley that will bring your specs higher than anything the factory produced. (I did that as well) The XKR is too big and heavy to be a true track machine, however, you can certainly have a lot of fun, and it will perform quite admirably even in comparison to cars that are more suited for track use. I've had my car at the track dozens of times in the past (haven't gone in the last couple of years, just too busy), and it's always served me well. The first time you stomp on the happy pedal on a long straightaway and engage that supercharger, a) you'll be shocked at the response, b) you'll have an ear to ear grin on your face, all while sitting in a luxurious, comfortable, beautiful automobile. As others have noted, the most frequent problem is the water pump (I've had four), and you must be religious about checking oil level, and without a dipstick it needs to be checked electronically (which is just a pain in the ***). I would also recommend changing oil more often than the manual says. I have it changed at 3-5000 mile intervals. As for all the little add-ons of the black pack, if you really want them and they're not on the car you choose, Chris at Mina Galleries has the molds and can still make them. I added them to my car many years ago, So, anything's possible.

 

Hi Neil or I could say Servus as I lived near Augsburg for a long time!)

You sound like me, Sir Jackie Stewart is an inspiration!

That was my question in essence - does the dynamic suspension make that much difference. I know what the packs have and what they are supposed to do, but if someone had driven a dynamic suspension XKR and a "normal" suspension XKR and said they are chalk and cheese in performance I would be more inclined toward the dearer car. As it is I am leaning towards tbergs comments, that the better history is worth more than being better cornering than the car.

As to the Lexus, if I had fixed everything, coolant leaks and uprated the exhaust headers it would have been done, but still had cabin rattles and so on that annoyed me. So basically the Lexus cost 10k less than when things that have to be done are and would still not be perfect.

 

Hi tberg,

Thanks, I think these are the answers I am looking for - validation that I don't need the dynamic suspension pack and can buy a car with better history. Yours looks absolutely amazing - it appears that I will be able to buy the one I'm looking at around new years which is exciting.

Cheers,
Jon

 

Servus Jon, or is it Guten Abend with you now?

The base 5.0 XKR isn't exactly sloppy It is a very quick and comfortable GT that can pretend to be a sports car up to a point. If in your dreams, you are a cross between Jackie Stewart and Walther Rörhl, you probably won't miss the extra accuracy of the "Dynamic" cars. Might even be an advantage on the relaxation point. As DGL says, there is a difference and only you can say if you need it. Try them both if you can. However, like tberg says, I would want the one that is nearer new condition as I hate tatty or abused cars!

The biggest shame is that there is almost nowhere left to really open these cars up. Some Autobahns are still derestricted but they are so full of traffic most of the time, it is rarely worth trying to do anything but go with the flow. The rest of the roads are littered with speed cameras

 

Good advice here. Buy the car that's going to make you smile. Condition and history trumps everything. The difference is not substantial between the standard and dynamic R. A dirty, abused, neglected XKR can be a nightmare and you will always be looking at it and driving a damaged car wishing it were in better condition. A standard optioned XKR in good condition would be my preference over an abused loaded XKR. When I bought my current XKR I literally searched for 4 years after selling my 2013, which was absolutely mint. The XKR I bought will never be the mint car I sold, but is close enough and has all of the options I desired. It was a very hard find to be had at the price I wanted to pay. Always be a patient buyer and go into looking at a car with the mind set to walk away if you don't get what you want.

 

jon-izumi,
When looking at the service history of whichever car you decide on, be very mindful of the frequency and timing of oil changes. When I bought my car back in 2013, upon my first test drive of it, I was completely underwhelmed and was not going to purchase it. The previous owner kept calling me and I finally relented to have my mechanic look at it. Within the first 30 seconds of hearing the engine, my mechanic said, this car needs a new engine! The previous owner (after nearly fainting) realized he had an after market warranty that would be required to pay for a new engine. Sure enough, they paid my mechanic to find a "new" engine and install it. We found a 5900 mile engine from a wrecked car, put it in mine, and then I bought the car. When the old engine was removed, there was no oil in it, and the previous owner didn't bother to check it, and I can verify that there were no low oil warnings on the dash when I drove it or when he brought it to my mechanic. So, I would implore you to make sure the oil changes were done regularly. And by the way, after the new engine was installed, the car was a completely different beast, stunningly quick! I added the side skirts, front splitter, and rear bumper/diffuser as well as a pulley and tune, and an X-pipe. I wanted it to be customized to my specs. I have now driven it about 100,000 miles since I've owned it, and still love it.

 

 

Thanks to all of you for your advice and feedback :-)

Neil, Australia is even worse, we now even have speed cameras nick-named Wall-E's like the movie robot which are cameras mounted on mobile trailers like the night lights for roadworks, plus speed cameras inside red light cameras - floor it to go through yellow and bam, two fines

The more performance oriented steering and suspension do sound like things I would enjoy, but the extra $10k seems a lot. The challenge of course being Australia's size - one car is 1200km away, the other 2000km and nothing similar in the city where I am to benchmark.
FWIW, here is the build sheet and service history for the one that is closer, with the standard suspension and original owner. He has advised he has near new tyres and brakes on the car, but I can't verify the measurements from the full inspection details myself.

Build List

Service History