Jaguar XK 5.0 Coupe (2010) CAR review

Jaguar XK (2010): the range choice

There's a delightfully simple range structure here. You can buy the XK 5.0-litre naturally aspirated coupe, as tested here, for £59,900, or pay an extra £6k for the Convertible. Both are available for the first time in new top-dog Portfolio trim, which adds £5k to the price and 20in alloys, keyless entry, 16-way adjusted, heated and cooled seats, suede headlining and an uprated Bowers & Wilkins hi-fi.

If 380bhp isn't quite enough, you can stretch to the new £72,400 XKR Coupe and £78,400 Convertible. They share the same firecracker engine as the latest Jag XFR and you can read our first drive verdict on the supercharged coupe here.

So what don't you like about the new Jag XK?

Not much to be honest. We drove a Portfolio example sporting that excellent B&W hi-fi on board, but were worried by an exceptionally loud fan sound from the driver's side rear seat, later traced to an over-active amp cooling fan. The actual stereo sounds brilliant, mind you.

The interior ambience is luxurious, pampering, snug. Which is what we expect in a Jag. But there's something about the XK's cabin which is beginning to feel old-hat. It's like the XF has come along and moved the design benchmarks, and a rotary dial here and suede headlining there aren't quite enough to disguise the XK's older origins.

Verdict

The XK remains firmly ensconced in our affections. The design has been kept fresh by those reprofiled bumpers, jewel-like rear lights and new chromed front inlets. It's just enough to retain this 2+2's stylistic simplicity that's so rare in today's over-wrought world.

That the XK is better by degrees in every department seals the deal. It's a desirable sports coupe and provides a beautiful, slick-driving alternative to the cool Germanic logic of its rivals. Each of the competition has its individual strengths, but the XK serves up a strong performance in every critical area.

Was the facelift a success? You bet. Job done.

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