Test Drive XK/XKR Corrected Text
05-29-2011, 11:55 PM
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Test Drive XK/XKR Corrected Text
Posted this on the w212 forum under the vented seat thread but wanted to share it here since we are 2 door kinda guys.
Test drove an 11 XK and XKR Jag today. First off they really do have cooling mechanisms in the seats and the leather actually does get chilled. Most everything in these cars is standard including a full leather covered dash, the smell of the English leather was intoxicating. First we drove the NA version which sounded throaty due to it's active exhaust system and was plenty powerful with it's 5.0 385 HP V8. Fit and finish of the cabin was quite good. I did not like the rotary gear selector as I prefer the more traditional lever design, the brakes were strong and pedal feel was excellent. The transmission was both quick to up and downshift plus very smooth. The 4 layer soft top was very well insulated and well finished. Scheduled maintenance was included at n/c and the warranty is now a full 5 years, wow! The ride on 19's was actually very smooth around town and on the highway, there was almost no wind noise at all at 80+ mph, but I did notice around town there was a whistle coming from the drivers side mirror at certain speeds heard with the window down. The choices of woods, metals, colors of leathers and paints was impressive.
Then came the XK-R, it was most everything above but with neck snapping power. The nice thing was the car did not behave coarsely as my E55's engine would do especially during cold start up cycle. This engine was reserved around town and had a nice growl without bring too obtrusive, yet when you put your foot into it the car just launched like an E55. The difference in fuel economy was only 1mpg less and only in city mode as highway was the same 22mpg. The ride in the R was a bit stiffer than the n/a version and there is no adjustable suspension which was odd.
The sales manager showed us more pics of the facelifted version which is a very nice improvement looking more and more like it's close Aston Martin cousin. There are strong lease specials on the 11's right now but IMO the 12 is the way to go. These cars all suffer from terrible resale value similar to an SL but it's really hard to find such a stylish well made fully optioned 510hp convertible for just a hair over $100k; if Porsche sold this car it would have an extra $20k tacked on as non standard optional equipment or it would be an AMG for MB also with an extra $40k, not to mention paying dearly for 5 years worth of maintenance. I do relaize the beloved SL's have a folding hard top which bests the Jags. Today's experience gave me something to think about. I also took another look at the new XJ, the interior was quite nice but I couldn't warm up to most exterior angles; there's also strong leases on these as well. There were a few XF's around and seemed to be a good value along with great leases.
Here's a link to the facelifted 12's with pics:
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/jaguar/...-ar108354.html
Test drove an 11 XK and XKR Jag today. First off they really do have cooling mechanisms in the seats and the leather actually does get chilled. Most everything in these cars is standard including a full leather covered dash, the smell of the English leather was intoxicating. First we drove the NA version which sounded throaty due to it's active exhaust system and was plenty powerful with it's 5.0 385 HP V8. Fit and finish of the cabin was quite good. I did not like the rotary gear selector as I prefer the more traditional lever design, the brakes were strong and pedal feel was excellent. The transmission was both quick to up and downshift plus very smooth. The 4 layer soft top was very well insulated and well finished. Scheduled maintenance was included at n/c and the warranty is now a full 5 years, wow! The ride on 19's was actually very smooth around town and on the highway, there was almost no wind noise at all at 80+ mph, but I did notice around town there was a whistle coming from the drivers side mirror at certain speeds heard with the window down. The choices of woods, metals, colors of leathers and paints was impressive.
Then came the XK-R, it was most everything above but with neck snapping power. The nice thing was the car did not behave coarsely as my E55's engine would do especially during cold start up cycle. This engine was reserved around town and had a nice growl without bring too obtrusive, yet when you put your foot into it the car just launched like an E55. The difference in fuel economy was only 1mpg less and only in city mode as highway was the same 22mpg. The ride in the R was a bit stiffer than the n/a version and there is no adjustable suspension which was odd.
The sales manager showed us more pics of the facelifted version which is a very nice improvement looking more and more like it's close Aston Martin cousin. There are strong lease specials on the 11's right now but IMO the 12 is the way to go. These cars all suffer from terrible resale value similar to an SL but it's really hard to find such a stylish well made fully optioned 510hp convertible for just a hair over $100k; if Porsche sold this car it would have an extra $20k tacked on as non standard optional equipment or it would be an AMG for MB also with an extra $40k, not to mention paying dearly for 5 years worth of maintenance. I do relaize the beloved SL's have a folding hard top which bests the Jags. Today's experience gave me something to think about. I also took another look at the new XJ, the interior was quite nice but I couldn't warm up to most exterior angles; there's also strong leases on these as well. There were a few XF's around and seemed to be a good value along with great leases.
Here's a link to the facelifted 12's with pics:
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/jaguar/...-ar108354.html
Last edited by RJC; 05-29-2011 at 11:57 PM.
