The Ultimate Renaissance

BMW’s supersedan may be the most involving and rewarding of its kind, forging a link between car and driver like no other; but we must recognize that there’s a time and a place. Fat tires, big curb weights, and broad bodywork don’t encourage a press-on driving style on narrow, roller-coaster raods glistening damp in the dark, the temperature barely above freezing point. This is a night for using the cosseting, easy-going side of a supersedan’s nature. It should have been another time and place but twice already this rendezvous of M5 and XFR had been cancelled because of snowfalls. This is my last chance. So, while others get to drive the XFR in Spain, I get to measure it against M5 in arctic Warwickshire. And yet, this is set to be an enlightening encounter.

The M5 has been a favorite big sedan for a few years now, just hanging on to its top spot against a range of talented, big-horsepower rivals including the Mercedes CLS63 AMG and Maserati Quattroporte. Ask for big dollops of supercharged torque from the 400-hp SV8 engine of the XFR on cold, slick roads like these, and the stability control light semaphores “N-O W-A-Y” as the system gets busy backing off and reinstating power and dabbing individual brakes. The M5 doesn’t have this problem. It’s naturally aspirated 5l V10 delivers its big power high up the rev-range and it gains extra drive, thanks to its adaptive, limited-slip “M diff.”

And yet, sat what feels quite high in the M5’s plump and supporting driver’s seat, enjoying the direct link the SMG box provides between the throttle pedal and the rear wheels, you’ve still got to feel pretty darned confident to get the revs up and coax attitude from the M5.

It feels just like it looks – big and hefty. Smooth riding, and with a hint of agility – a hint of dynamic alacrity about its demeanor too – but mostly big and hefty. It certainly looks chunky alongside the XFR, which has been brought along by Jaguar’s dynamics guru, Mike Cross. My first thought was that the XFR has less attractive wheels than the 5-spoke twenties on our SV8. But that, it transpires, will be the last unfavorable comparison with the outgoing model. “We bought an M5 at the start of the XFR project,” said Cross, “but towards the end, it was the SV8 we were using as the benchmark.” We’re heading for some less busy roads that Cross knows, and from the passenger seat, the XFR feels much like the SV8. The differences are subtle, like the slightly firmer edge to the ride, the firmer bolsters of the seat and the fruitier V8 croon from the tailpipes.

I was quite unprepared for the first full-throttle moment, partly because my mind had told me that our SV8 wouldn’t find the traction to use all of its 400hp on the damp, narrow straight picked out in the headlamps. Cross nails the XFR’s throttle, the gearbox drops two cogs in an instant and we’re slammed forward, the shove uninterrupted and relentless. What you can’t appreciate from the passenger’s seat is how swiftly the gearbox responds to the flooring throttle, but it’s as astonishing as the grip the rear tires find. It’s a harder work at the same pace in the M5, firstly because to keep the XFR in range, you’ve got to be in the right gear with the revs poised on the threshold of maximum torque. Surprisingly, the M5’s steering feels less clean and direct and how you’re more aware of the car’s weight, no matter what setting the electronic dampers are on.

I have driven many miles in the M5s including a few laps of the Nürburgring and I know that when you’re absolutely on it, there’s no other sedan that rewards and involves to the same degree. I’d say that still true. But for the other 99% of the time, I reckon the XFR has the measure of it. This remarkable Jaguar does long-distance comfort and effortless everyday usability, yet there, just below the surface, on demand, is a direct, non-nonsense, steely-edged supersedan.

 Comparison, at a glance:

                                                                                                            *Electronically limited