Jaguar XKR - The Almost-Perfect Ride

I’LL TELL YOU WHERE the door locks are if you give me a kiss,” says Kyle Mussman, an avid automobile collector and this columnist’s co-driver. He’s sitting in the passenger seat of the 2004 Jaguar XKR Portfolio Edition we’ve been driving all week, the owner’s manual open in his lap and a gleeful grin on his face. We’ve spent four days trying to figure out how to lock and unlock the doors. Ten minutes of reading solves the dilemma, but typical of an automotive journalist, I’d insisted the lock design had to be “intuitive” and for days steadfastly refused to check the manual.

One kiss later, the ingenious doorlock design is revealed. The same chrome levers we’ve been pulling on to open and close the doors also conveniently lock them. It’s just a half-pull out or a half-push in. Okay, not only simple but smart.

Which makes me wonder: Who designed the silly cupholders? Our first test of the XKR’s 5.3-second 0-to-60 acceleration sends a hot chai tea flying from the center console into Kyle’s lap. Hinged to collapse backward, the holder can’t withstand the head-snapping power of a stomp on the accelerator of the supercharged 390-horsepower, 4.2-liter V-8. An impressive engine boasting 399 foot-pounds of torque at 3,500 RPM, it begs to be unleashed. Throw in a six-speed automatic transmission with Bosch Mechatronic, Dynamic Stability Control and Computer Active Technology Suspension, and you’re going to have that latte in your lap every time.

Driving performance is where the XKR dazzles. Aggressive, smooth and silken on the freeway, it passes effortlessly at any speed, with no discernible shifts. Changing lanes and high-speed turns produce no body roll, just a thrilling hold of the road that inspires the less disciplined to cut loose and head for a triple digit on the speedometer. That power and grace is coupled with an elegant but assertive body style that inspires the feeling that the entire experience of the XKR is special.

But there are some problems that shouldn’t exist on a luxury convertible with a base price of $86,995, because they don’t exist on the competition. The highly desirable Mercedes SL500 (base price $88,800) features an electric hardtop that retracts in 16 seconds and raises a roll bar that doubles as a wind baffle. The XKR has an electric ragtop that also retracts with the touch of a button but doesn’t raise the rear windows or a rear wind baffle. As a result, wind action in the cabin is intense. I feel like a wind-blown version of Cousin It at any speed over 45 mph. Along with being inordinately windy, the top doesn’t retract fully flush to the vehicle, and creates a blind spot on the right rear side for shorter drivers.

A blind spot in a convertible?

That, coupled with a “throw-away” backseat that features absolutely no legroom (you can, however, throw your Nordstrom sacks there instead of in the trunk), makes me wonder if Jaguar has some tweaks coming in the 2005 model. Right now, the XKR is a sexy but sophisticated-looking design with the heart of a performance car. And the Portfolio Edition—one of only 200 produced for ’04—has added panache with its massive 20-inch alloy rims, high-performance tires and Recaro seats.

We cruise through Coronado at 25 mph holding our Starbucks between our knees, and reach a consensus. It’s almost perfect —if it would just mess up our hair and spill our coffee a little less.

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