Test drive: Jaguar XKR-S

Fifth Gear's Tiff Needell is won over by a luxurious high performer

While many people claim the new Jaguar XKR-S is the most powerful car the manufacturer has ever made they're only actually half right because there was a Jaguar launched 20 years ago that had exactly the same 550 horsepower. It was the stunning XJ220, which was not just the most powerful car the company ever produced but also the fastest – and the widest.

Nearly five metres long and just over two metres wide, the XJ220 was a big car that was thrust forwards by Jaguar's first-ever forced induction engine – a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 developed from the Austin Metro 6R4 rally car. Back then it would reach 60mph in just 3.8 seconds and go on to be the fastest road car on the planet, with a top speed of 220mph.

The latest Jaguar has a 5.0-litre supercharged V8, isn't quite as big and stands a fair bit taller but crucially it weighs an extra 280 kilograms so it does well to be only 0.4 seconds slower to 60mph as it heads for a top speed of 186mph. It's not the straight-line statistics that interest me, though – what I really want to know is how it performs in the corners.

There has been a great Jaguar motorsport heritage since the iconic early E-Types but the company's road cars have always been a bit on the, well, soft side. Luxury saloons and grand tourers that waft their passengers round town in comfort and style have always turned out to be sheep in wolves' clothing.

The latest version of the XKR has been out for a couple of years now, boasting 510 horsepower and promising to bring back the glory days of the E-Type but if you press hard into a corner it lifts up its wheels and spins away all grip in great plumes of tyre smoke. It may well have what they call "computer active technology suspension" but it still pampers those wanting a comfy ride rather than the sporty cornering its German rivals offer in abundance.

So now all my hopes are pinned on the promise of the XKR-S. You don't seem to get much for the extra £20,000 that pushes the price close to the £100,000 mark. Yes, there's a carbon-fibre spoiler front and rear to add to your extra 40 horsepower. And they've lowered the whole car and had a play with the computer-controlled suspension – but have they done enough?

Oh yes. For the first time in many years there's a Jaguar for me. It's still full of life's little luxuries and perhaps has a slightly firmer ride but now there's the handling to justify the badge. The excessive roll and the inevitable loss of traction have gone and I can caress the car into a 100mph corner and it follows exactly the line I want.

It might not be quite as quick around a track as its supercar uncle but it got awfully close despite carrying the handicap of the equivalent of three fourteen-and-a-half stone passengers.