Effortless power in any situation is the strength of the Jaguar S-Type R, Jaguar’s sporty sedan which is powered by a supercharged 4.2 liter V-8 developing 400 bhp. It has massive torque through the speed range so at any speed you tickle the throttle and off she goes; floor it and you’ve got rocket power on your side, despite the weight of the sedan.
A very practical alternative to the BMW M5. What it loses in performance it gains in other areas.
Not only that, the handling is as good as the engine. True, the steering could be a bit more highly geared for twisty roads, but this a very nimble car. There is a whole range of S-Types, including a 300 bhp V-8, but it is only the S-Type R that gets the supercharged engine with uprated suspension, brakes and steering to match.
Limited to 155 mph, but 0-60 in 5.3 seconds
Top speed is limited to 155 mph, but the S Type R races to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds – and this is an automatic, as they don’t offer a manual box. In truth, with that amount of torque you don’t need a manual, but you do want a good manual hold and sport mode. There is a good sport mode.
Although the S-Type R is meant to be quick, it is not meant to be a sports car – Jaguar has its XK models for that. The aim is to provide exceptional performance in a high-speed carriage suitable for four people but offering really sporty handling. And that’s what you get, together with an excellent ride on almost all surfaces. You also get a decent-sized trunk, and this in a compact sedan.
Supercharged V-8 a winner
Jaguar’s current 4.2 liter V-8 engine is a winner, especially with the addition of a supercharger which increases the power all through the range from about 2,000 rpm. The all-alloy, quad-cam V-8 is produced in Jaguar’s own plant, and is a modern unit with four valves per cylinder. It produces 400 bhp at 6,100 rpm, with maximum torque of 408 lb ft (553 Nm) at the low speed of 3,500 rpm.
In practice, you put your foot down at any speed, and off you go like a rocket – supercar performance in a sedan. You don’t spend much time in each gear, but as the speed builds up to 6,000 rpm, the whine of the supercharger increases – this is the only sign that you’ve got all that power under the hood. The car is so well insulated that the exhaust is just a muffled vroom, which may be a disappointment, but Jaguar owners are used to a lack of noise. It is completely silent when cruising.
You get a luxurious interior, with electric adjusters for the seat and steering column – including the headrest – and the usual mod cons such as ABS, traction control and emergency brake assist. Not quite so usual are:
Continuously adjustable dampers
Satellite navigation system
Adaptive cruise control – keeps your distance!
Stability control (DSC)
Automatically dimming mirrors
Sensors to tell you if you’re getting too close to something when parking – at the front and rear corners too
Settings for a memory which holds two different settings for the seat and steering wheel position
When you open the door, the seat looks neat and inviting, and you slide into a comfortable seat – still comfortable hours later. I found a good driving position straight away and never adjusted it – in some cars, I seem to spend quite a bit of time getting comfortable. As you’d expect, the instruments are easy to see.
The speedometer is rather large compared with the rev-counter, but with the slushbox – a very good six-speeder – it is less important than with a manual box. Minor controls are less good; the display for the automatic air conditioning settings are too low, dim and at the wrong angle to be seen easily.
Effortless cruiser on any roads
Jaguars are all about driving, and on the road, you immediately forget any shortcomings. The masses of power, the precise accelerator, which allows you to cruise at any speed you like easily, the quiet refined cabin, and the relaxed driving all seduce you, particularly at normal speeds on normal roads and motorways.
The precise accelerator may not seem important, but too many high-performance cars are either doing 70 or 80 mph, for example, and you can’t find anything between.
Great on long bends
The S-Type R a real joy to drive round the long sweeping bends you get at some motorway entrances and exits and on main country roads. The car just tracks around the curves able to go faster than you might expect, thanks to the unequal length double wishbone suspension that Jaguar has been refining for years. To save weight, the wishbones are aluminum forgings, and they are mounted on sub-frames. The front suspension was redesigned completely for 2004, and the rear suspension modified.
The steering is good, if a little on the light side, and is very precise. The S-Type R might be quite a big car, but you can place it so accurately it doesn’t seem big. The suspension gives a softish ride in most conditions, and the variable damping stiffens up as you go faster.
Floats over switchbacks
On our test route, which includes some motorways, and mostly country roads with switchbacks, a lot of ups and downs, tight bends and long curves, the big cat was graceful and quick, tracking well, and overtaking anything that was in the way in a flash.
Most of the time, she felt like a sports car. That was until we hit the section of road which is a series of switchbacks. The Big Cat didn’t really like that – nor did my passenger. The suspension is just too soft for these conditions. As the car reaches the hump, it floats up and then floats back down. Get five or six in a row, and your stomach can be floating too.
For normal cornering on twisty roads, it’s a very different matter. Braking is excellent, then you turn the wheel, you go around; if it’s a long bend you accelerate because you realise that you could have gone faster, and you still just go around without any effort.
If you get near the limit cornering on a fast bend, you can feel the understeer build up through the steering – steering feel is pretty good when it matters. Go even faster, and the stability control starts to act, preventing the understeer going further.
Set up to understeer
Accelerate gradually through a long slow bend, and, the understeer gets very strong, not least because the rear tires are quite a bit wider than those at the front: lift off, press the accelerator, and usually she tucks in and goes straight off – fast. Go into a slow corner with a more neutral stance, and the handling is neutral, but when you hit the apex and floor the throttle the back end will slide out a little – especially if you switch off the stability control. All the time, the car gives you great confidence that you’ll get round safely and smoothly.
This is a very capable car on twisty roads, the powerful brakes pulling you up fast and progressively for the bends, which the car sails around with hardly any roll. Great fun to drive, but coupled with effortless cruising for those long journeys.
Odd gate for gear lever doesn’t help
One feature which isn’t helpful is the odd U-shape gate of the gear lever – Jaguar calls it a J-gate, not surprisingly. The usual automatic options of P,R,N and D are on the right, and the left side of the U is the manual override. To select a gear you need to slide the lever across the gate from D and it goes into fifth. Then you move it forwards to choose 4th, 3rd or 2nd. Good in theory.
The lever will go straight through from fifth to second with virtually no resistance, so if you want third for example you find yourself looking down to make sure you put the lever in the right place. This lets the car down.
You do have a sport setting on the six-speed auto, which lets you rev the engine right up to 6,000 rpm, and this is good for overtaking and sporty roads. Most of the time, though the automatic does everything for you pretty well.
Overall, the S-Type R performed very well on our test route, and was fun to drive. The ride was good most of the time, but the suspension doesn’t like ripply roads, and has the harshness close to what you’d expect from a sports car at low speeds on poor surfaces.
Very smart cruise control--
On motorways, the Jag is very relaxing to drive. I rarely switch on cruise controls because the traffic is usually too dense, but I did so with the Jag and was most impressed. First, you can set it to exactly the speed you want – to 1 mph - and then adjust it up or down till you’re doing precisely what you want or feel is safe. The control is excellent, and far superior to those of most competitors.
--Really works well
When you hit traffic, the adaptive cruise control gets even smarter. If someone pulls out in front of you, the car brakes automatically back the speed of the car in front, and holds that speed until the car disappears, then it resumes cruising speed. Should the car in front accelerate, the Jag accelerates with it; should it brake, the Jag brakes with it, always maintaining the distance. Very impressive.
But where do you put your right foot? With traffic around, I found my foot hovering in distrust, ready to brake, which would be tiring on along journey. In due course, no doubt you wouldn’t bother. Hardly a criticism! Overall, this is a remarkable car providing supercar performance with the comfort of the best – and it is amazing value in the USA.
