You Can Buy A 420-Horsepower Supercharged Jaguar XKR For The Price Of A New Kia Soul

We’ve all heard of lemons from automakers normally known for making reliable cars, but it’s so much more interesting when an automaker that doesn’t have the greatest reputation for reliability cranks out a low-key gem. Take Jaguar, for example. We’ve all heard the jokes about electrical gremlins from when the brand was under British ownership, but during part of the 2000s, reliability on some models took a serious upswing. Take the 2007 to 2009 Jaguar XKR, for example. It isn’t just a powerful grand tourer, it’s also less problematic than you’d think.

We’ve all heard the horror stories of later models with the five-liter V8 before the timing chain setup on that engine was updated, but the earlier, pre-2010 XKRs are still soldiering on, a luxurious and glamorous chariot for those who are very much in the know. They sound great, they’re still quick by modern standards, and they don’t sacrifice much comfort in the name of performance, making them great for pockmarked highway slogs.

Perhaps best of all, thanks to heroic depreciation, these 2007 to 2009 Jaguar XKR coupes probably won’t break the bank. In fact, you can pick one up for new Kia Soul money, which sounds awfully tempting.

What Are We Looking At?

Picture this: It’s the mid-2000s, you’re a luxury car maker and you’re looking to replace your aging GT car with a fresh iteration. You start with a bonded and riveted aluminum monocoque, add a sophisticated control arm suspension, drape it in a mixture of classic curves and modern cues, and presto — the X150 Jaguar XK is born. With a choice of sensible three-door liftback or decadent convertible body styles, it was the right car for the times. Nearly 20 years later, the one you really want is the 2007 to 2009 XKR.

That little R badge indicates the presence of a 4.2-liter supercharged V8 making 420 horsepower and 413 lb.-ft. of torque. Those are still some serious numbers today, and paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, this potent engine helped the XKR dash from zero-to-60 mph in 4.5 seconds and run the quarter-mile in 13 seconds flat at 109 mph in Car And Driver testing. Not shabby at all. However, the bigger story here is the ride and handling balance. In addition to well-tuned hydraulic power steering, the XKR gained 38 percent stiffer front springs and 24 percent stiffer rear springs that, paired with adaptive dampers, kept body control in check without letting the ride get brittle. I’ve been lucky enough to experience the second-generation XKR and found it to be a particularly adept GT car, but if you want to know what reviewers thought when the car was new, here’s what Car And Driver had to say:

When it’s time to drop the English-gentleman shtick, the Jag gives the driver the freedom of switching off the stability and traction controls. Begin to push the Jag hard, and the wide Dunlop SP Sport Maxx performance tires show off more skidpad grip than an M6 (0.89 g), but at the limit, the XKR’s body moves around more than the M6’s or 911’s. The motions aren’t too distracting, and in less extreme driving the compliance gives the XKR a deft, lively, and nimble feel, a stark contrast to the M6’s supremely confident but almost unnatural chassis that borders on artificial. Adding to the delicate feel of the XKR is the accurate and lightly weighted steering that marshals chassis movements instantly.

Sure, if you’re really pressing on, you can feel the XKR’s 3,870-pound curb weight, but for real on-road driving, it doesn’t sacrifice too much comfort to give you a little extra performance edge. Exactly how a grand tourer should be. However, you don’t have to be part of the one percent to pick one of these cars up today. In fact, they’ve depreciated quite nicely.

How Much Are We Talking?

Believe it or not, you can bring home a 2007 to 2009 XKR for less than the cost of a new Kia Soul. For context, a brand new Kia Soul S, the cheapest trim with alloy wheels, retails for $24,385 including freight. Can we do better than that? Absolutely. Take this red 2007 model, for example. Looking radiant in red over tan, it recently sold on Cars & Bids for a reasonable $21,600 and if you’re going by mileage, it’s basically new. Just 20,100 miles grace the odometer of this grand tourer, and you can really tell from the visual condition. Aside from a handful of tiny chips on the rear bumper and a tiny bit of curb rash on the wheels, this thing looks showroom-fresh. No surprise it’s got a clean Carfax to boot.

What if red’s not your color? Well, this black 2009 example hammered on Bring A Trailer in December for $20,000 even. Sure, the 40,000 miles on the dash of this one may be virtually double that of the red one, but it’s still incredibly low mileage for a car of this age, and a clean Carfax likely helps resale value too. Alright, so the dashboard leather in this one has started to lift a touch and there’s a scratch or two on the outer bolster of the driver’s seat, but still. This is a ton of car for the money.

Looking for a more daily driver-spec example? Check out this green 2007 XKR up for sale at a dealership in Georgia. Sure, it might have 113,190 miles on the clock and two older damage entries in its Carfax, but it’s also cheap. The asking price for this green-over-tan machine is just $11,990. Now that’s a car you could put some guilt-free mileage on.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong On A 2007 To 2009 Jaguar XKR?

Since the 2007 to 2009 XKR came with the 4.2-liter supercharged V8, it doesn’t suffer from the same timing chain issues as the later five-liter models. There have been occasional reports of variable valve timing solenoids growing tired at high mileage, but replacing those is a far less invasive procedure than a full timing job. As far as leaks go, the hose in the valley of the engine can crack. Parts are cheap, and although it requires 4.6 hours of labor to pull the supercharger to get to the hose, bundling this repair preventatively with a supercharger oil change is a way to save some coin. There’s more good news when it comes to the powertrain — the ZF 6HP automatic transmission is generally a fairly stout unit, and even if you end up with a neglected example and experience an issue, parts are quite plentiful.

In fact, the biggest common issue is the A/C drain ducting. It can get clogged and cause water to enter the cabin, and although de-clogging it is a pain, many owners have been able to reach it by opening the hood, removing the engine cover, sticking their hand down the firewall to find it, and giving it a flick.

Other issues reported by owners are quite minor. The sun visors have a habit of getting floppy, and the headliners XKR coupes can sag. In addition, the push-to-start button can get a bit sticky if human slime intrudes on the housing, but it’s usually fixable with just simple cleaning and lubrication. It seems that these 2007 to 2009 cars are among the most reliable big grand tourers you can buy, which you wouldn’t expect given Jaguar’s reputation in America.

Should You Buy A 2007 To 2009 Jaguar XKR For Kia Soul Money?

Normally, when it comes to heavily depreciated European luxury cars, this is the part of the article where I tell you off. I’m not going to this time. The 2007 to 2009 Jaguar XKR seems to come from an unexpected high point in reliability for the brand, it won’t rot quite like a steel-bodied car would (aluminum still can corrode, just in a different way), and although it only has two doors for occupants, hatchback practicality means you could genuinely use one of these GTs every day of the year. Sure, it’ll cost more to run, but its long-term reliability doesn’t seem much worse than that of a Kia Soul. How beautifully bizarre.

(Photo credits: Cars & Bids, Bring A Trailer, Autotrader seller)

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