Introduction

What We Drove
San Diego isn’t South Africa or Spain, but it starts with an “S,” has palm-lined beaches, and basks in some of the best weather found anywhere in the world. So, while Blackett and Chee crammed into airliners for all-day flights to Africa and Europe, I stuck close to home for my one-week stint in Jaguar’s redesigned XK. Our test model this time around was an Indigo Blue XK Convertible with an Ivory Slate interior and a sticker price of $94,000. Jag won’t like hearing this, but that’s about $15,000 more than it oughta be.

Why We Drove It
If Jaguar offered you the keys to a new XK, wouldn’t you drive it? Thought so. Actually, two of our writers spent quality time with this new Jaguar in Africa and Europe, so I needed some seat time in what is likely to be the sportiest Jaguar for many years to come. I have fond memories of the week, but in many ways the XK was a disappointment. It wouldn’t take much effort to resolve most of my complaints and make the car worth full sticker price.

Performance
With its throaty growl and plentiful power, the Jaguar XK’s 4.2-liter, 400-horsepower V8 is the best thing about the car. The blend of refinement, power, and fuel economy (we averaged 22.1 mpg during a week of driving) rivals the best engines from Japan. The transmission is satisfying, too, though the paddle-shifters decided to stop working and Sport mode wouldn’t engage halfway through our run up San Diego County’s Palomar Mountain. Shutting the car off and restarting it resolved the mystery glitch.