2009 Jaguar XK
Discussion
I usually drive classic cars as dailies, but even I have to succumb to practicality sometime, and over the next year or so I expect to be doing a lot of to and froing between London and Norfolk, so I decided to buy something cruisy and comfortable that will probably start more often than not.
I am now old enough to have Jaaaaaags, and I had enjoyed owning a rusty XJS for a while a few years ago. I found this normally aspirated Jaguar XK at a bargain price at a generalist forecourt dealer who had it on his hands and wanted rid of it. It had done 70,000 miles and appeared to have been well looked after. It has a 5 litre V8 engine, a six speed autobox with paddles (but the S setting drives it better than I can), an aluminium body, and toys. It does about 25 mpg if you don't go nuts, a lot less if you go nuts.
I really like it. It's fast, it makes a good noise, it handles fine for a big and heavy car, you can see out of it, and it has proper British rubbishness such as a crap demister and a comedy parking radar.
The first photo shows the car as it now is, with grey 18 inch Cromadora Venus wheels. They are there because I found that the originally fitted 20 inch Kalimnos wheels are rare and expensive after one of them was written off when a tyre blew out at speed on the M25 a week or so ago. The tyre shredded and I was down to the rim before I could stop on the hard shoulder to fit the space saver spare. Searches on eBay and with suppliers and scrappers failed to produce a front wheel (the rear ones were available, but they are wider). I found a set of four wheels with unused tyres on them and bought those. I shall try to sell the three undamaged wheels.
I think that the car looks better with the smaller wheels and more sidewall, and it rides better as well. The other photos show the car with its old wheels.
It needs a wash.
I am now old enough to have Jaaaaaags, and I had enjoyed owning a rusty XJS for a while a few years ago. I found this normally aspirated Jaguar XK at a bargain price at a generalist forecourt dealer who had it on his hands and wanted rid of it. It had done 70,000 miles and appeared to have been well looked after. It has a 5 litre V8 engine, a six speed autobox with paddles (but the S setting drives it better than I can), an aluminium body, and toys. It does about 25 mpg if you don't go nuts, a lot less if you go nuts.
I really like it. It's fast, it makes a good noise, it handles fine for a big and heavy car, you can see out of it, and it has proper British rubbishness such as a crap demister and a comedy parking radar.
The first photo shows the car as it now is, with grey 18 inch Cromadora Venus wheels. They are there because I found that the originally fitted 20 inch Kalimnos wheels are rare and expensive after one of them was written off when a tyre blew out at speed on the M25 a week or so ago. The tyre shredded and I was down to the rim before I could stop on the hard shoulder to fit the space saver spare. Searches on eBay and with suppliers and scrappers failed to produce a front wheel (the rear ones were available, but they are wider). I found a set of four wheels with unused tyres on them and bought those. I shall try to sell the three undamaged wheels.
I think that the car looks better with the smaller wheels and more sidewall, and it rides better as well. The other photos show the car with its old wheels.
It needs a wash.
I do too. More tyre sidewall is better, I think, and the ride is a bit better. The bigger wheels are a bit factory-Barry, I think.
I will have to check the colour - it's a sort of gunmetal grey. I usually do not like cars with black interiors, but it works on this one, and the windows let in enough light for it not to be gloomy inside.
I quite lack the abandonment of wood and the adoption of moderny interior surfaces. The headlining is posh, and the car feels well built, by Britheap standards.
The touch screen has a million useless features and is there mainly to encourage you to crash. The car also has heated seats and steering wheel, things that I thought were utterly stupid until I had them.
The round thing that you use to select the autogears rises up when you start the car, in a sort of Thunderbirds way. This entertains me as I am easily entertained.
I will have to check the colour - it's a sort of gunmetal grey. I usually do not like cars with black interiors, but it works on this one, and the windows let in enough light for it not to be gloomy inside.
I quite lack the abandonment of wood and the adoption of moderny interior surfaces. The headlining is posh, and the car feels well built, by Britheap standards.
The touch screen has a million useless features and is there mainly to encourage you to crash. The car also has heated seats and steering wheel, things that I thought were utterly stupid until I had them.
The round thing that you use to select the autogears rises up when you start the car, in a sort of Thunderbirds way. This entertains me as I am easily entertained.
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 4th May 21:49
Cheers all. I actually went to the forecourt intending to buy a late XK8, which was half the price, but although that was in good nick and had a lovely blue colour and the pale interior that I usually prefer, my eye was drawn to the XK, which has a better engine and is more modern whilst still retaining some ye olde Jaggishness. Also most of my cars are rustheaps, so it made a pleasant change to buy something where rust isn't a thing.
The car doesn't handle as well as a Porsche or Lotus would, but it's fine by Grand Tourer standards, and I have a couple of noisy little classic buzzboxes for handly thrills. I think that this Jag may be one of the best cars I've ever bought, and at a price much lower than a Porsche or Lotus of the same age, and much, much lower than an Aston, it struck me as a good deal. I've had it serviced by a mobile mechanic and he has replaced the worn brake pads on the rear wheels. Having to change the wheels and tyres has been the only big expense so far (I bought the car at Christmas), and that wasn't the car's fault.
The car doesn't handle as well as a Porsche or Lotus would, but it's fine by Grand Tourer standards, and I have a couple of noisy little classic buzzboxes for handly thrills. I think that this Jag may be one of the best cars I've ever bought, and at a price much lower than a Porsche or Lotus of the same age, and much, much lower than an Aston, it struck me as a good deal. I've had it serviced by a mobile mechanic and he has replaced the worn brake pads on the rear wheels. Having to change the wheels and tyres has been the only big expense so far (I bought the car at Christmas), and that wasn't the car's fault.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 5th May 05:10
Cheers, he had a look already when servicing the heap the other week.
I will ask him if can do mobile aircon gassing. I assume that if the aircon issue was just a fuse the stupid computer would tell me, but maybe not, as the computer seems to be mostly about enabling you to listen to bangin' choonze and telling you that you aren't in Kansas, and I have ranted in a separate thread about the car's lack of a temperature gauge and other useful things.
If this car is anything like the XJS (I gather that underneath it lurks a sort of XJS platform), it will have a kabillion fuses in several different inaccessible fuse boxes.
I will ask him if can do mobile aircon gassing. I assume that if the aircon issue was just a fuse the stupid computer would tell me, but maybe not, as the computer seems to be mostly about enabling you to listen to bangin' choonze and telling you that you aren't in Kansas, and I have ranted in a separate thread about the car's lack of a temperature gauge and other useful things.
If this car is anything like the XJS (I gather that underneath it lurks a sort of XJS platform), it will have a kabillion fuses in several different inaccessible fuse boxes.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 8th May 08:17
I loved my XJS , although it was mega rusty. It was a 1992 model with that lovely straight six engine, Brooklands Green with a pale interior and a J-gate gear selector, and cross-spoke alloys.
The XK has indeed got four pages of fuses listed in the manual, and the fuses are located in various annoying places all over the car.
Today's excitement has been finding the battery in the boot, so that the XK can jump start my ex's 2004 X Type Estate, which is on its arse outside her flat.
The XK has indeed got four pages of fuses listed in the manual, and the fuses are located in various annoying places all over the car.
Today's excitement has been finding the battery in the boot, so that the XK can jump start my ex's 2004 X Type Estate, which is on its arse outside her flat.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 8th May 08:14
PS: I think that it may have been the XK8 that had some XJS underpinnings (just as a DB7 has). I like the elegant shape of the XK8, but if I am going to battle rust I would rather do it on something that has a proper Jaaaaaag straight six rather than a somewhat Fordy V8. I shun V12s because they have twice the hassles of sixes. But a good XK8 is now 5K, whereas a good XJS is 15K or more.
I like the way that the designer gave the car haunches. Also, Jaguar in the post Ford era evidently decided to up the game in terms of interior quality - the leather on the seats, the shiny bling on the centre console, the alcantara headlining, and all that, make the car feel swish and posh.
I tested the XK8 at the same forecourt dealer first. It felt more old school, but made me think that if that was what I wanted on this occasion I should go and buy another XJS, and that would have defeated the practicality objective, because although I am a staunch defender of classic cars as dailies, I do recognise the reliability risks that this entails.
I add that, at the time of purchase there was a Jensen Interceptor III on sale for 24,000, and I was sore tempted, but that is now way too cheap for an Interceptor , and buying it would probably have been a mistake. I ran an Interceptor II as a daily for two years 2010-12, and even drove it to Rome and back with only one minor problem, but even I have to realise that running a car that is almost fifty years old as a daily is a bit daft. The XK, like the XJS before it, does everything that an Interceptor does but better (with the exception of luggage capacity - the Interceptor boot is huge), and in the case of the XK in a greener and safer way.
2010 - Hotel Les Vaults de Lugny, Burgundy.
I tested the XK8 at the same forecourt dealer first. It felt more old school, but made me think that if that was what I wanted on this occasion I should go and buy another XJS, and that would have defeated the practicality objective, because although I am a staunch defender of classic cars as dailies, I do recognise the reliability risks that this entails.
I add that, at the time of purchase there was a Jensen Interceptor III on sale for 24,000, and I was sore tempted, but that is now way too cheap for an Interceptor , and buying it would probably have been a mistake. I ran an Interceptor II as a daily for two years 2010-12, and even drove it to Rome and back with only one minor problem, but even I have to realise that running a car that is almost fifty years old as a daily is a bit daft. The XK, like the XJS before it, does everything that an Interceptor does but better (with the exception of luggage capacity - the Interceptor boot is huge), and in the case of the XK in a greener and safer way.
2010 - Hotel Les Vaults de Lugny, Burgundy.
As with all modern cars, the engine bay is swathed in plastic covers, so you cannot see the engine. An RAC patrol guy told me that he spends ages on jobs undoing clips and fasteners to remove plastic covers so that he can get to the mechanical bits. Most RAC patrol dudes I have met (and I have met a fair few) rather like old cars because they can access the bits, and fix them with hammers, wire, cable ties, and so on.
The rear seats are useless save for children. I am not tall, but I struggle to get in and out of the rear seats, and cannot sit upright when in them. The XJS had better rear seats. The only 2 x 2 GT that I have owned that had back seats that were seriously usable by adults was a Lotus Excel. The rear seats in an Excel are very deep, and you sit with your knees up, but an adult of average height can sit there in reasonable comfort for a long journey and does not have to bend their neck. In an Interceptor the rear headroom is OK but there is no leg room unless the driver sits too close to the steering wheel.
The rear seats are useless save for children. I am not tall, but I struggle to get in and out of the rear seats, and cannot sit upright when in them. The XJS had better rear seats. The only 2 x 2 GT that I have owned that had back seats that were seriously usable by adults was a Lotus Excel. The rear seats in an Excel are very deep, and you sit with your knees up, but an adult of average height can sit there in reasonable comfort for a long journey and does not have to bend their neck. In an Interceptor the rear headroom is OK but there is no leg room unless the driver sits too close to the steering wheel.
Jimbeaux said:
Breadvan have you had any issues with the supercharger? I am trying to decide between XK or XKR. I know there are more options and cosmetics with the XKR, but I’m asking about the engine itself. Thanks!
My main issue with the supercharger is that the car doesn't have a supercharger!Speaking for myself, as an old bloke who wants a GT rather than a hooligan, the NA 385 BHP is super plenty. I have a tiny red mid engined sports car scream machine for the hoolies. The Jag is for wafting across Europe at high speed without spilling my Martini.
OzzyR1 said:
Big hat off to you for taking a Jensen on a European trip, mine was a an exercise in why you should follow your head rather than your heart.
A fond recollection was feeling a reduction in power, if that is possible given the generally torpid nature of the engine despite having over 7 litres at it's disposal.
Check of the pressure and temperature gauges - all is fine. Ten seconds later that lovely chromed radiator cap made a break for freedom, the shape impressed into the bonnet, steam billowing everywhere and still the dials reported all was OK.
Few months later, a falling tree limb broke the rear screen during a storm. The cost to replace that was outrageous even in today's money.
Still miss the old girl though.
Sorry for yer probs, My Jensen was a reliable daily for two years (2010-2012). It was a very early Mark 1, built in December 1969, and had the smaller but better 6.3 litre engine - more power, less weight. I loved that car very much!A fond recollection was feeling a reduction in power, if that is possible given the generally torpid nature of the engine despite having over 7 litres at it's disposal.
Check of the pressure and temperature gauges - all is fine. Ten seconds later that lovely chromed radiator cap made a break for freedom, the shape impressed into the bonnet, steam billowing everywhere and still the dials reported all was OK.
Few months later, a falling tree limb broke the rear screen during a storm. The cost to replace that was outrageous even in today's money.
Still miss the old girl though.
Cliff J said:
I love these. You never really get the proper sense of how big these are in photos unless you park next to another average sIzed car for reference.
The XK feels like a newer more modern step up for myself, I have a 4.4L V8 E64 6 series, hence the interest I show in yours.
Strangely the wheels do look better smaller, I think sometimes a GT car just needs lots of tyre to keep the beefed up muscular look.
I would recommend this model without hesitation to anyone who wants a fast, stylish and comfortable GT. I am getting a lot of satisfaction from this car. A bargain when you compare it to an Aston Martin of similar age.The XK feels like a newer more modern step up for myself, I have a 4.4L V8 E64 6 series, hence the interest I show in yours.
Strangely the wheels do look better smaller, I think sometimes a GT car just needs lots of tyre to keep the beefed up muscular look.
I must get on and sell the old wheels on eBay.
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