Review
Jaguar XK coupe
Price: £65,430 - £77,380
/5
- Pros:
- Excellent performance
- Comfortable cabin and plentiful equipment
- Fantastic looks
- Cons:
- Requires regular refuelling
- Cramped rear seats
- Tyres are noisy at speed
reviewed by Carbuyer
"The Jaguar XK combines beauty, rapid pace, and an involving drive to create a fantastic sportscar."
At a glance
- The greenest
- XK 5.0L Artisan SE Coupe 3dr
£77,380 - The cheapest
- XK 5.0L Coupe 3dr
£65,430 - The fastest
- XK 5.0L Artisan SE Coupe 3dr
£77,380 - Top of the range
- XK 5.0L Artisan SE Coupe 3dr
£77,380
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The Jaguar XK is a beautifully styled sports car that also manages the rare trick of mixing an exciting drive with a quiet and comfortable interior. In the flesh, it remains the best looking GT money can buy - a characteristic that saw it voted Most Stylish new car, as part of the CarBuyer Car of the Year awards 2011 For that you can thank its superb suspension, the choice of two hugely powerful V8 engines and a slick automatic gearbox. The supercharged XKR version is a seriously rapid car, with its 5.0-litre engine producing 503bhp to allow it to reach 0-62mph in just 4.6 seconds. The convertible version shares all the performance of its coupe relative, but opens up the XK's interior to the sun.
Drive
It's got the pace to keep up with supercars
Powered by either a 5.0-litre V8 with 380bhp or a supercharged version of the same engine with 503bhp or 542bhp, any Jaguar XK is quick. The top-spec XKR-S is massively so, with pace to keep up with all but the most exotic supercars. Despite this, the XK is easy to drive, as the slick automatic gearbox and powerful engines allow it to trickle along in traffic or cruise at speed without fuss. The steering is positive, while the XK's lightweight aluminium construction and finely tuned suspension balances road-smoothing comfort and fine control in equal measure. Add a terrific V8 noise – which is better experienced in the convertible - and the XK is a very enjoyable drive indeed.
Comfort
Comfortable and spacious in the front
Comfort is relative in sports cars, but the XK is a remarkably nice place to be. While it's a comfortable car, there is some tyre noise at speed. Inside, the sumptuous leather seats move electrically and are heated, while dual-zone climate control keeps you cool. Front passengers will be comfortable, but if you’re squeezed in the back seats you won’t enjoy it. At best the rear seats have room for small children, although in reality they’re best considered as additional space for luggage.
Reliability
All cars get traction control
Jaguar has taken great pains to ensure its cars are reliable, and that's demonstrated in many ownership and reliability surveys. However, whilst Jaguar's XF saloon took the second spot in the 2010 Driver Power survey it only ranked 47th for reliability suggesting that trouble-free motoring isn't a given for the XK. The XK itself doesn't sell in great enough numbers to feature in the survey. All cars get traction control and driver, passenger and curtain airbags.
Practicality
Hatchback rear is practical
Coupé or cabriolet, the XK is strictly a 2+2, seater, which means rear seats are only really big enough for small kids. However, with large boot and that additional space in the back, the XK is surprisingly practical for such a sporting car. Jaguar knows its market well, which means there's space in the boot for a couple of full-sized golf bags. The large boot is accessed by a hatchback (on the coupe) giving great access to the load space. The convertible inevitably loses some practicality thanks to the space required for its folding roof, but even with it down the boot has enough space for a reasonable amount of luggage.
Value for money
Compared to direct rivals the XK is a bargain
It's difficult to rationalise a purchase between £60,000 and £80,000 as good value, but look at the XK's qualities, and it does begin to look that way. Certainly its performance is right up there with more expensive competition - the XKR in particular competing with several cars in Aston Martin's range, the Ferrari California, the Mercedes-Benz SL and Porsche's 911. Against such rivals it looks relatively inexpensive - even more so when you look at the long standard equipment list.
Running costs
Very expensive to tax and insure.
Any car with a 5.0-litre V8 engine is going to need a lot of fuel and be in the higher tax bands. The XK is in the highest tax band meaning you'll pay £950 road tax in the first year and £435 each year after that, so the XK is never going to be cheap to run. Servicing costs shouldn’t be too bad, though - especially when compared to more exotic rivals.
