RE: Jaguar XK/XKR (X150): PH Buying Guide
Discussion
Don't normally post much in forums but this topic moved me to. I bought a nearly new XKR a year ago and absolutely love it. A selection of reasons
- looks and feels lovely and special
- engine - terrific noise & character
- inside is a nice place to be on a boring drive - which most of mine are in reality
- it attracts real praise and goodwill from all sorts - it generates an affection in people which few other cars do
- its not seen as a show off car which for some might be a negative but suits me well
- amazing value to buy, as long as you are looking to keep for a while
Someone asked about running costs - on a 70 mile round trip motorways/busy A roads, I can get 25 MPG driven sensibly but not at a snail's pace. But obviously if you indulge the right foot it'll guzzle fuel. But you won't care.
Done 10k miles in mine and nothing wrong. Local dealer service excellent (Wakefield).
Rear seats - forget it - small kiddies only, its really a 2 seater.
Infotainment set up is old & clunky but for me that's a tiny criticism which pales into insignificance as everything else so good. One tip - if you use a USB memory stick for music, delete any album art files, as on mine, it made the system freeze. Deleted JPEG files and now no problem.
- looks and feels lovely and special
- engine - terrific noise & character
- inside is a nice place to be on a boring drive - which most of mine are in reality
- it attracts real praise and goodwill from all sorts - it generates an affection in people which few other cars do
- its not seen as a show off car which for some might be a negative but suits me well
- amazing value to buy, as long as you are looking to keep for a while
Someone asked about running costs - on a 70 mile round trip motorways/busy A roads, I can get 25 MPG driven sensibly but not at a snail's pace. But obviously if you indulge the right foot it'll guzzle fuel. But you won't care.
Done 10k miles in mine and nothing wrong. Local dealer service excellent (Wakefield).
Rear seats - forget it - small kiddies only, its really a 2 seater.
Infotainment set up is old & clunky but for me that's a tiny criticism which pales into insignificance as everything else so good. One tip - if you use a USB memory stick for music, delete any album art files, as on mine, it made the system freeze. Deleted JPEG files and now no problem.
Firstly - full disclosure. I was one of the PH members contacted by Alisdair when he was researching this article & asked to offer up my comments on life with the modern XK 150 model of Jaguar XK. [Congratulations, Alisdair - I think you've done the car justice].
I'm currently running a 2011MY XK 150 coupe; 5 Litre V8 and in Portfolio trim. To answer various questions asked on the thread:-
1) Jaguar quoted the 5 litre V8 as being 10% more fuel efficient than the earlier-generation 4.2 engine.
2) I only use mine for long-run stuff and do the supermarket / station runs in the other car. South Buckinghamshire to Geneva and back in March this year saw mpg at 27 on the autoroute sections and 24 overall for the round trip. That's about as good as it gets in what I call "long-distance cruise mode" ie fast enough to be making progress but not to the extent that the law are likely to take an interest.
3) Rear seat practicalities; you can use them just as you would in a 911 (used to run one), but why would you? That's where you put the overnight bag, laptop and coat. Leaves all the boot space available for holding the wine you then buy on the way home via Burgundy. The coupe is far more practical for this than the convertible, BTW, although I can see why that variant has its fans.
4) Reliability; nothing to say, really. My first-ever Jaguar after 30 years of running German kit. Nothing has broken or gone wrong in 20K miles over the last 3 years of ownership. [Bought as a 1 year old at 10K miles; now on 32K]
5) Bad points:--
The Sat-Nav is an old-generation Garmin unit and uses 3 discs to cover Europe. Drive from the UK to the French-German or French-Swiss border and you'll then have to stop and open up the Sat-Nav player unit [which is located in the boot], to change over the disc from UK/France to a new disc for Germany & beyond. If you have any luggage in there then you'll be taking that out to get at things. Which isn't fun if it happens to be raining hard at the time...
Fuel Tank - it's not big enough to give a decent non-stop range.
Seats; not as comfortable after 2 hours+ as the Recaros in my Porsche 928 S4 of sainted memory.
6) Good Points:-
Style: The look of the thing is just wonderful; the proportions are just so, especially the view of the rear three-quarter aspect on my coupe. I never fail to admire the lines when I’m walking towards it in across a car park. Moreover it does not attract “911 envy” – the condition whereby nobody ever lets you out of a side turning or moves over when you approach behind them in the motorway overtaking lane. Since owning the XK Coupe I have developed a “Queen Mother” style wave, with my left hand, to thank my fellow - motorway users as I glide past them after they’ve let me come by. Seemingly, everybody loves a Jaguar XK150 Coupe.
Practicalities: The coupe is much more "usable" as a proper Grand Tourer than the convertible, at 300 litres of boot space plus those 2+2 rear seats for midgets in the cockpit itself. The convertible only offers 283 litres roof-up, and just 200 litres when it’s down. I got 19 boxes of French wine plus carry-on bag, laptop, coat and briefcase into my XK coupe when on the run back from the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. You can’t do that in an F-Type coupe..
OWNERSHIP SUMMARY
Reliability has been excellent and servicing costs are reasonable on something like this at £400-£500 for the annual one. Despite my grumps re the sat-nav, touring range and seat comfort after 3 hours at the wheel I struggle to think of a credible replacement – assuming, that is, that you want a continent-crossing Grand Tourer and will use it in this mode.
The BMW 6 series is far uglier and (I found) uninvolving to drive, the Mercedes SL is more of a tourer and has a small boot, the Aston Martin DB9 hasn’t the boot space either, is even worse on fuel range, and the relatively-affordable examples are getting quite old now, the Porsche Panamera drives beautifully on a motorway but is both way too big and, oh dear, really got hit by the ugly stick, while the Maserati and Ferrari offerings are too “shouty” for my taste. I prefer to make discreet progress.
That leaves only the Bentley Continental V8 S, which has enough weight out of the nose to make it feel like a proper Grand Tourer should, plus it has the right amount of luggage space and a wonderful interior, but, there’s that “Cheshire footballer” image to contend with and used examples will be way out of reach of my piggy-bank values for years to come. Have I mentioned that a Jaguar XK Coupe, by comparison, is also rather good value for the money? All in all, I’m thinking that mine is a keeper..
I'm currently running a 2011MY XK 150 coupe; 5 Litre V8 and in Portfolio trim. To answer various questions asked on the thread:-
1) Jaguar quoted the 5 litre V8 as being 10% more fuel efficient than the earlier-generation 4.2 engine.
2) I only use mine for long-run stuff and do the supermarket / station runs in the other car. South Buckinghamshire to Geneva and back in March this year saw mpg at 27 on the autoroute sections and 24 overall for the round trip. That's about as good as it gets in what I call "long-distance cruise mode" ie fast enough to be making progress but not to the extent that the law are likely to take an interest.
3) Rear seat practicalities; you can use them just as you would in a 911 (used to run one), but why would you? That's where you put the overnight bag, laptop and coat. Leaves all the boot space available for holding the wine you then buy on the way home via Burgundy. The coupe is far more practical for this than the convertible, BTW, although I can see why that variant has its fans.
4) Reliability; nothing to say, really. My first-ever Jaguar after 30 years of running German kit. Nothing has broken or gone wrong in 20K miles over the last 3 years of ownership. [Bought as a 1 year old at 10K miles; now on 32K]
5) Bad points:--
The Sat-Nav is an old-generation Garmin unit and uses 3 discs to cover Europe. Drive from the UK to the French-German or French-Swiss border and you'll then have to stop and open up the Sat-Nav player unit [which is located in the boot], to change over the disc from UK/France to a new disc for Germany & beyond. If you have any luggage in there then you'll be taking that out to get at things. Which isn't fun if it happens to be raining hard at the time...
Fuel Tank - it's not big enough to give a decent non-stop range.
Seats; not as comfortable after 2 hours+ as the Recaros in my Porsche 928 S4 of sainted memory.
6) Good Points:-
Style: The look of the thing is just wonderful; the proportions are just so, especially the view of the rear three-quarter aspect on my coupe. I never fail to admire the lines when I’m walking towards it in across a car park. Moreover it does not attract “911 envy” – the condition whereby nobody ever lets you out of a side turning or moves over when you approach behind them in the motorway overtaking lane. Since owning the XK Coupe I have developed a “Queen Mother” style wave, with my left hand, to thank my fellow - motorway users as I glide past them after they’ve let me come by. Seemingly, everybody loves a Jaguar XK150 Coupe.
Practicalities: The coupe is much more "usable" as a proper Grand Tourer than the convertible, at 300 litres of boot space plus those 2+2 rear seats for midgets in the cockpit itself. The convertible only offers 283 litres roof-up, and just 200 litres when it’s down. I got 19 boxes of French wine plus carry-on bag, laptop, coat and briefcase into my XK coupe when on the run back from the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. You can’t do that in an F-Type coupe..
OWNERSHIP SUMMARY
Reliability has been excellent and servicing costs are reasonable on something like this at £400-£500 for the annual one. Despite my grumps re the sat-nav, touring range and seat comfort after 3 hours at the wheel I struggle to think of a credible replacement – assuming, that is, that you want a continent-crossing Grand Tourer and will use it in this mode.
The BMW 6 series is far uglier and (I found) uninvolving to drive, the Mercedes SL is more of a tourer and has a small boot, the Aston Martin DB9 hasn’t the boot space either, is even worse on fuel range, and the relatively-affordable examples are getting quite old now, the Porsche Panamera drives beautifully on a motorway but is both way too big and, oh dear, really got hit by the ugly stick, while the Maserati and Ferrari offerings are too “shouty” for my taste. I prefer to make discreet progress.
That leaves only the Bentley Continental V8 S, which has enough weight out of the nose to make it feel like a proper Grand Tourer should, plus it has the right amount of luggage space and a wonderful interior, but, there’s that “Cheshire footballer” image to contend with and used examples will be way out of reach of my piggy-bank values for years to come. Have I mentioned that a Jaguar XK Coupe, by comparison, is also rather good value for the money? All in all, I’m thinking that mine is a keeper..
Great cars! I've had my R-S for about 6 weeks now and love it!
It's more economical than my other car (Range Rover), so that makes it sensible right? As others have said, the rear seats aren't really useable for adults but do make handy storage areas for bags.
It sounds amazing, and is very quick too, but is also comfortable for long cruises so makes the perfect GT car I think.
It's more economical than my other car (Range Rover), so that makes it sensible right? As others have said, the rear seats aren't really useable for adults but do make handy storage areas for bags.
It sounds amazing, and is very quick too, but is also comfortable for long cruises so makes the perfect GT car I think.
delta0 said:
How do the rear seats cope with child seats or kids?
They don't, unless the kids are either very small, or mute. They're seriously uncomfortable for kids, as they force you to lean forward and leg room is minimal. Not sure about child seats- I think that they have isofix mounts, so theoretically fine, albeit a bit of a faff to reach into..Personally, I'd prefer it if they had no rear seats and a much bigger boot space.
Lozrington said:
delta0 said:
How do the rear seats cope with child seats or kids?
They don't, unless the kids are either very small, or mute. They're seriously uncomfortable for kids
When I drive one the seat back is all but touching the rear seats and I'm only six foot. My wife could probably sit in front of a pre-teen child in a forward facing seat on the passenger side, but not particularly comfortably. Like most 2+2s it's possible to fit more than two people in but the rear seats are really better viewed as extra luggage space.
The 911 is a better bet if you want to put people in the back. The 6-series is enormous in comparison.
The 911 is a better bet if you want to put people in the back. The 6-series is enormous in comparison.
gf15 said:
I always liked my 650 until a friend parked his XK5.0 beside it. It made the 650 look like it had been designed on a Friday afternoon. The Jag has a nicer interior and sounds better. It is a serious contender for our next car, the other contender is the F-Type Coupe.
I really do hope that Jag bring out an XK replacement that sits kind of above the f type for a powerful GT car, as the f type is more leaning as a sports car than a Grand Tourer which is what the Xk/XKR always was, an overengined GT car, but god its gorgeous even now, but by god did the LED lights make them look so much sleeker (not that they didn't before) they just somehow finish the look.I have seen elsewhere a comparison with the DB9/Db9 volante, saying the XKR is 95% the car for near enough 50% less, and unless you desperately want the badge its not worth it, also its mentioned that the gearbox in the XKR is much better than that of the Aston.
Im currently a 21, but always loved the XKR, just something about it, always looks so elegant, but also rather shockingly potent!
Will never forget a stunning red XKR convertible overtook me and at least 7 more cars and a lory in front of me going up a hill behind a lorry - he looked a strong 60 and he did the lot in one go! Needless to say it made me chuckle all the way home that a senior chap had balls like that. But clearly proved to me they're no slouch, the only car Ive seen since do that is an R8 v10 plus. Most other 'higher' powered cars don't even try.
They're also relatively discreet, if you know, you know. But they're not as flamboyant as a v12 db9 that everyone gawps at (Rightly so), but I think thats why owners love them so much. I think they're spec sensitive, but does bug me with the convertibles how little have cream seats!
delta0 said:
How do the rear seats cope with child seats or kids?
I simply couldn't find a rear facing group 0 seat that would fit in the back. In the end I purchased a Britax baby safe sleeper, which is a 'lay flat' side facing seat that goes across both rear seats. There are however forward facing seats for older babies that do fit - legroom up front will be compromised though! yellowtang said:
I keep flirting with the idea of changing mine, but to what? I can't really think of anything else that offers so much for so little (relatively!) bar a F Type R. Having driven the F Type R and viewed it sat along side my XKR, I couldn't help thinking that as beautiful as the F Type is, my XKR still looked more expensive/special.
My car does have a lot of extras, some of which listed below are well worth seeking out:
Speed Pack - lovely body kit and raised speed limiter
Black Pack - looks and lasts better than the chrome on my previous XK150
Performance Seats - the best sport seat I've sat in without a doubt (no cooling function though)
Performance Exhaust (only offered on 2012 onwards I think, but my god - it's loud!)
Adaptive headlights - brilliant when driving through country lanes at night
Adaptive Cruise - makes cruise control viable even on busy motorways
I have a facelift 5.0 XKR with pretty much the same extras, I absolutely love it. I'm obviously biased, but I agree that they look better than the F-Type, mine gets a lot of positive comments.My car does have a lot of extras, some of which listed below are well worth seeking out:
Speed Pack - lovely body kit and raised speed limiter
Black Pack - looks and lasts better than the chrome on my previous XK150
Performance Seats - the best sport seat I've sat in without a doubt (no cooling function though)
Performance Exhaust (only offered on 2012 onwards I think, but my god - it's loud!)
Adaptive headlights - brilliant when driving through country lanes at night
Adaptive Cruise - makes cruise control viable even on busy motorways
As for tuning, the right tuners can extract decent power with software only. I've had mine mapped and it's now at 575bhp, a smaller supercharger pulley would take it over 600. My torque curve is completely flat from about 2500 right to the redline now. In stock form the power does tail off abut in the higher revs.
yellowtang said:
I simply couldn't find a rear facing group 0 seat that would fit in the back. In the end I purchased a Britax baby safe sleeper, which is a 'lay flat' side facing seat that goes across both rear seats. There are however forward facing seats for older babies that do fit - legroom up front will be compromised though!
How would a lay flat seat fit in the later XK? That has an arm rest in the middle. I had a look at an XK today. The coupe has more space than the convertible. I think a group 0 seat will be a tight fit but a group 1 will definitely fit and behind the driver too. I would have to try it to be sure. There was enough room behind the seat to fit legs too.delta0 said:
How would a lay flat seat fit in the later XK? That has an arm rest in the middle. I had a look at an XK today. The coupe has more space than the convertible. I think a group 0 seat will be a tight fit but a group 1 will definitely fit and behind the driver too. I would have to try it to be sure. There was enough room behind the seat to fit legs too.
The seat sits on that armrest. It's actually really stable, mainly because the belt clips keep it firmly in place. There are compromises though - the seat is heavy and bulky, so it's not easy lifting it in and out. Now that my son is 3 months old, I tend to put the seat in first and then him into the seat. The performance seats in my car give you slightly less room than a standard XK seat, so maybe you could squeeze a smaller group zero rear facing seat in if you had standard seats? yellowtang said:
The seat sits on that armrest. It's actually really stable, mainly because the belt clips keep it firmly in place. There are compromises though - the seat is heavy and bulky, so it's not easy lifting it in and out. Now that my son is 3 months old, I tend to put the seat in first and then him into the seat. The performance seats in my car give you slightly less room than a standard XK seat, so maybe you could squeeze a smaller group zero rear facing seat in if you had standard seats?
Once that seat is in place is the other seat obstructed? Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff