Jaguar XK Coupe review
Jaguar XK 4.2 XK Road Test
Test date 10 May 2006
Price as tested £59,718
For Presence, refinement, value
Against Steering lacks comuunication, disappointing performance, poor rear space
For Jaguar enthusiasts, the pairing of the letters ‘X’ and ‘K’ has long equalled excitement. Although the mainstay of the Coventry marque’s business is rooted in saloons, it is sports cars and coupés that have put Jags on people’s most-wanted lists for decades. Almost 60 years ago, Jaguar redefined sports cars with the 1948 XK, clothing a big engine and big performance in bodywork svelte to the point of sensual.
Jaguar has been offering much the same formula ever since, if with the occasional change of emphasis. The XK was succeeded by the legendary E-type, known as the XKE in America. Jaguar’s most famous car, it was a sensational looker whose existence has almost become a millstone for the company’s designers.
The E-type eventually turned fatter and softer, before being succeeded by the fixed-head XJS in 1975. The XJS’s combination of coupé bodywork and effortlessly refined power directed Jaguar’s sports models towards the grand tourer and away from raw sports cars, a trend continued with the XK8 of 1996.
Now we have the XK. It replaces the XK8 and comes at a critical time for a Jaguar battling to escape red ink, falling sales and uncomfortable questions about its future. The XK is not the car to save the company – it will be produced in too few numbers for that – but if it succeeds it will go some way to restore Ford’s much-tested faith in the marque.
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