2005 Jaguar XK-Series Sports Car Reviews & Ratings

Maybe the best thing about the interior is that everything thing is operated by old-fashioned and clearly marked buttons; and not only that, but they're good buttons. No menus, no touch-screens, no confusion, no doubt about function, just a panel full of buttons on the center stack. Even the DVD navigation, on a tidy small screen, uses buttons.

Overall, maybe ironically but maybe not, the XK interior feels more luxury-oriented than the flagship XJ sedan. It's all the burl walnut, and especially the seats. The XJ seats are both lusher and sportier, with more bolstering; the XK seats, as often criticized since 1996, are too hard and especially too flat. The driver slides around in them during hard cornering. This is a case where springing for the optional Recaro seats makes sense, even for two grand. Maybe you can buy just one seat, for one grand.

The big walnut-and-leather steering wheel has four thick spokes, and the cruise control and sound system buttons are half-tucked behind the hub. It feels like a luxury car steering wheel, so we'd love to see the optional performance steering wheel and Momo shift knob, for $300. We'd probably go for it. Anything to get the XK8 feeling more like a sports car than a luxury car. In that mood, we'd also like to wipe out the vast expanse of dark walnut on the dash, and replace it with brushed aluminum. We'd also make sure the leather upholstery was black, not the light gray of our test car.

There are two pop-up cupholders in the center console, which isn't very deep; but the glovebox is good, and the owner's manual that may be stored in there isn't thick, unlike those for most German cars.

There's tons of leg room. The driver's left knee can't even touch the door, while his right knee comes in comfortable contact with the tunnel that's padded by the leather. There are soft spots under each elbow, too.

As for the rear seat, we tested it for five hours of errands with two boys back there, seven and nine years old. The 5-foot, 10-inch driver only had to slide his seat forward a couple inches, so he wasn't too cramped, and the kids found room for their knees and feet. They managed. And there was plenty of room for groceries in the trunk. Child seat tethers are standard.

We tested the XK8 Coupe for one week, after spending one good day in the new long-wheelbase Jaguar XJ sedan. It's weird and ironic that the XJ corners more nimbly than the XK8, although maybe not surprising because the XJ's remarkable aluminum monocoque chassis is eight years newer.

When you try to play with the XK8 like a sports car in the curves, it transforms from a luxury car to a big ol' stock car. You have to be firm with it, but not too firm. You mostly want to let the big Jag do what it feels like doing, because it's going to do it anyhow. Let it be boss, and don't try to argue with it. It's a likable beast. It's fun to drive fast, even if it's not terribly precise. The XK8 doesn't have a very long wheelbase despite its overall length.

It even sounds like a stock car. The 4.2-liter V8 is remarkable in the way its voice changes; its silky silence around town turns into an animal growl when you hammer the throttle. The difference is really extreme, a Clark Kent/Superman kind of thing, and it's nice. Almost the best of both worlds maybe, if total silence around town is what you want and assuming your idea of an animal growl isn't quite an older Chevy 454 pickup truck with glasspacks. The 4.2-liter engine and ZF six-speed automatic were introduced for the 2003 model year.

We found the speed-sensitive power steering to be too light at speed. The XK8 doesn't like to be tossed, pitched, or to abruptly change directions in switchback corners. But you can still love it, as long as you accept it and know what not to expect. What it really loves is to squirt out of traffic and pass other cars.

We've also driven a 2005 XKR convertible. It loves blasting past traffic even more than the XK8. So much so, that you want to do it over and over again. With its sensational whining supercharger, it takes off like a bullet when you mash the gas. You may not even anger other drivers, because the sight of the gorgeous XK flying past them has to be awesome, and a treat.

The suspension is by no means soft during such spirited driving and cornering, as one might expect given the car's luxury slant. Nor is it stiff at other times, although we were once rudely jolted by a modest pothole at 10 miles per hour. But it doesn't match the BMW level of precision, and tends to bob and weave a bit. The track is not so wide for a car this size. You can live with it, but on roads with ripples and undulations you need to keep both hands on the wheel.

The XK convertibles lack the structural rigidity of a Porsche 911 cabriolet, so they don't have that same feeling of being carved from a single block of hard material and you can feel the chassis flex over bumps. Still, the convertible is probably the one to have. If you're going to ride in style, you may as well have the wind in your hair.

The Directional Stability Control is not intrusive, which is nice. We probably got the XK8 in situations where it would have activated, if it had been programmed to do so early, but it didn't.

The engine produces a very healthy 303 pound-feet of torque, which peaks at a relatively high 4100 rpm, meaning it's not always there when you need it. Like any automatic transmission, it kicks down when you floor it, and this one kicks down from third gear a lot, partly to find more torque from higher rpm, and partly because the gap between second and third gears is wide; there may be six gears, but fifth is a solid overdrive and sixth is a super overdrive, so it's not really a close-ratio transmission. You sometimes find yourself at high rpm in second gear or low rpm in third, which is why it kicks down a lot. These would be the gears you most use on winding roads.

Jaguar's J-gate allows the transmission to be manually shifted (although ultimate control is up to the computer sensors); there are slots for gears 2, 3, 4 and 5, with 1st gear combined into 2nd and 6th combined into 5th. The lever glided forward and back far too easily; we would have liked a more solid notch at each gear, as well as a digital display on the dash to reveal the selected gear. There's a Sport button, which raises the shifting point to a higher rpm, and we used it out on the highway. But the electronic program curiously appears to change both the shifting points and shifting speed based on how you drove the car in the previous couple minutes. When we were driving it hard out on the back roads, manual shifting by using the J-gate, one time it upshifted at redline 6500 with our foot on the floor; another time it upshifted at 5000 with our foot on the floor. We believe this happened because it shifted at the same place we had manually shifted it, previously.

In everyday driving, you just keep it in Drive and forget about it, of course. We found the shifts to be more relaxed than they needed to be; sharper and quicker would not have been aggressive or uncomfortable.

The brake pedal provided a substantial feel, neither firm nor soft, but giving. When they were applied lightly, the pedal bounced back as if it had a strong return spring. We did a panic stop at 70, a test, and the ABS system was silent and true, with effective anti-drive geometry.

You can get the Jaguar XK8 either as a coupe ($69,830) or convertible ($74,830). The supercharged XKR is also available as coupe ($81,330) or convertible ($86,330).

They all come with a 4.2-liter, 32-valve, 90-degree V8 with aluminum block, heads and pistons, and a six-speed automatic transmission; both engine and transmission were introduced for 2003. The XK8's engine is rated at 294 horsepower and 303 pound-feet of torque.

The XKR seems like a bargain here, when you consider that the Super V8 version of the XJ sedan adds nearly $27,000 to the price, not merely $12,000 (though the XKR gets slapped with a $1,000 federal gas-guzzler tax. The XKR, which Jaguar also likes to call the Super V8 4.2, adds an Eaton Roots type supercharger which boosts horsepower to 390 and torque to a tire-smoking 399. The XKR also uses more deluxe 18-inch alloy wheels, and bigger ventilated brake rotors (14 inches vs. 12.8 inches); not only bigger, but they're the famous Italian Brembos, with floating aluminum calipers. Also standard on the XKR are a computer-controlled active suspension that's unavailable for the XK8, and a DVD navigation system and Xenon headlamps, which are $2400 and $675 options on the XK8. For the XKR Coupe only, there is a special-order Handling Package ($3000) which consists of firmer shocks, springs and antiroll bars, a retuned speed-sensitive power steering, and cross-drilled brake rotors.

Standard equipment for all XK Jags includes Dynamic Stability Control, ABS with Electronic Brake Assist, front and side airbags, an anti-theft engine immobilizer, Alpine audio system with 6CD changer, rain-sensing wipers, leather seats, plus all the luxury equipment you would expect from a $70,000 car, including burl walnut galore.

Adaptive cruise control, which maintains a programmable distance between your XK and the car in front, costs $2200. For the XK8 only, there are 19-inch alloy wheels ($1200). XKR offers optional 20-inch BBS wheels, of which three sets are available, each for a stunning $6000. For the XKR you can also get a performance steering wheel with Momo shift knob ($300), cross-drilled rotors with red calipers ($500) and Recaro seats ($2000). If only you could get a six-speed gearbox, you'd be ready for the track, where a car like this belongs.

Finally, special paint is available for your XK, ranging from $1000 to $7000.