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Sports Car Review:
Jaguar has not had the smoothest road in recent years. As part of Ford,
the division has eradicated the reliability issues that plagued the
company’s products in past years. But other facets of being part of the
blue oval have been less rosy.
The S-Type, while
pretty and traditional looking, did not sell in the volume that was
planned, and the X-Type, well, that car, based on Ford’s compact Mondeo,
never really gained traction in the U.S. Profitability has been
elusive.
The new XK, introduced
in 2007, shows a new, better way. It replaced a ten-year-old model which
itself restored some of the smooth style associated with the historic
British marque. Available in coupe or convertible form, it is a worthy
successor to the iconic XK-E, or E-Type, Jaguar. Just look at that oval
grille on the softly rounded front. There’s even the hood bulge of the
E-Type, connoting sensuousness and power.
The rest of the car,
including contemporary lighting and bumpers, reads 21st century, which
is a good thing. “Power vents” behind the front wheels are part of the
new design scheme of chief designer Ian Callum. Handsome 18-inch “Venus”
design wheels support the package.
The XK’s interior is
refreshingly plush and carefully wrought. The leather seats hold you
tight but comfortably. My Emerald Fire test vehicle featured a tasty
Caramel interior with genuine Burl Walnut trim. This wood is carefully
prepared by Jaguar’s craftspeople in the traditional way. The new model
is significantly roomier than its predecessor, so driver and passenger
can stretch out a bit more.
I especially enjoyed
using the intuitive seven-inch central touch screen with its large,
colorful control areas. I was surprised to see the seat heater controls
on the panel. They had no physical dash buttons, a first in my
experience.
The XK offers thrilling
performance with its naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V8. The
300-horsepower all-aluminum engine pushes the 3,700-pound XK from zero
to 60 mph in just 5.9 seconds. Jaguar’s engineers have carefully tuned
the exhaust system to give the XK the “right” sound, sporty but not too
noisy.
The V8 engine, with 303
lb.-ft. of torque usable in a wide RPM range, sends power to the rear
wheels through a six-speed ZF automatic transmission. You can shift
manually using Jaguar Sequential Shift through 2 steering wheel paddles,
a first for the XK. Drive-by-wire electronic throttle control adds to
the driver’s tactile sense of mastery of the car.
The EPA gives the XK
ratings of 16 City, 25 Highway. Of course, the real world numbers are
always lower and I averaged 14.9 mpg, but the environmental scores
aren’t bad. The XK gets a praiseworthy 7 for the Air Pollution score and
an average 5 for the Greenhouse Gases score.
Despite its two-person,
cozy personality, the XK offers significant cargo hauling capacity.
Credit its secret hatchback configuration. The entire “trunklid” and
window area lifts up and exposes a finely carpeted space with metal and
rubber strips ready for your stuff. You lift the hatch the first 20
percent of the way and gas struts do the rest, making it nearly
effortless.
Naturally, a car like
this comes with every luxury and comfort you’d want. Beyond the usual
power windows, mirrors, seats, and so on, a satellite navigation system
is standard. There’s a no-touch smart key and start system, reverse park
control (it beeps out a warning), and a tiny electric emergency brake
you flick with your finger.
If you want more,
Jaguar proudly offers the turbocharged XKR, with 420 horsepower. Turbo
boost cuts the zero-to 60 times to just 4.9 seconds. A new Portfolio
Coupe model debuts for 2008 with even more goodies, such as 20-inch
Cremona wheels, high-performance brakes, a 525-watt audio system, and
leather-edged floor mats. At nearly $100,000, the Portfolio Coupe is one
very special Jaguar indeed.
For the XK Coupe like
my tester, the sticker price is $75,550, including shipping. Plan to pay
a $6,000 premium for the cloth drop-top model. My tester came with the
$3,300 Luxury Package, which includes 16-way power seats with memory
(instead of the standard 10-way), upgraded soft leather (nice), a heated
steering wheel (don’t laugh), leather shift knob (isn’t this standard?),
power folding mirrors (they fold automatically when you turn off the
car), and an upgrade to stunning 19-inch wheels.
If you have the cash,
the new Jaguar XK gives you a rare combination of luxury and performance
in a very nice looking package.
By Steve Schaefer © AutoWire.Net - San
Francisco
Byline: Sports Car
Review provided by Tony Leopardo © AutoWire.Net
Jaguar Home Page
Column Name: The Jaguar
XK gives you luxury and performance
Topic: The 2008 Jaguar
XK coupe
Word Count: 815
Photo Caption: The 2008
Jaguar XK coupe
Photo Credits: Jaguar
XK Internet Media
Series #: 2008 - 55
Download
the Microsoft Word version here:
2008 Jaguar XK
Download the Original Image File here:
2008 Jaguar XK
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