2007 Jaguar XK: My Take

Joe Wiesenfelder’s extremely thorough – and unusually ecstatic – review of the all-new 2007 Jaguar XK coupe and convertible is a terrific read. Often around the office writers will argue over what they thought of each car, but on this Joe and I see eye to eye: the XK is a winner.

And Joe’s not wrong to point out the looks as one of the important “win” factors. When compared to the awkward wedge shape of the BMW 650i, the XK is all curves. From any angle besides head-on, the XK is tough to compete with, unless you’re in the rarified air of $100,000-plus vehicles.

And while BMW is called the “Ultimate Driving Machine,” I had a blast taking the XK through serious paces on a racetrack. Now, the XK isn’t meant to be a pure sports car, but it still moved its mighty frame around tight corners with ease. The paddle shifters didn’t work well at all, often ignoring my inputs, but the pure automatic mode provided plenty of thrills, and I whole-heartedly agree with Joe’s positive assessment of the transmission. 

No other car I drove on the track that day reached high speeds with so little effort. And no others had the high-class looks. Perhaps Jaguar should call it the “Sexiest Driving Machine.”

While I enjoyed a week testing the BMW 650i a month or so back, I want a week to test the XK much more. And when buying a car of this type and price, that desire factor is often the ultimate decision-maker.