In fact, I went so far as to suggest that Jaguar (still Ford-owned then, but with rumors starting to swirl of purchase by India's Tata Group) would end up like Packard. Speaking of Packard, I wrote, this "top-drawer name used to stand among the world’s premier automotive marques, mentioned in the same breath as Cadillac and Pierce-Arrow. Then, in the late 1950s, that Studebaker thing happened, and Packards became less like Packards and more like gussied-up Studebakers. We know how that turned out." Truth was, although I did enjoy the way the then-new XK went about the business of going, turning, and stopping, I just couldn't get over how much this pricey European grand-tourer felt like a parts-bin Ford on the inside — cheap-o switchgear, rental-car-grade cloth on the sun visors, that sort of thing. In a Focus, that may fly; in an $87,910 Jaguar, not so much.
Well, 20 months have passed. Ford has long since been relieved of Jaguar ownership and I am again behind the wheel of an XK convertible. It's $89,000, and I love it. I can't get over how much I love it, in fact. Has there ever been an automotive brand that took to its adoptive parent quicker than Jaguar has taken to Tata? The 2010 XK feels every inch worth $89,000, and not once did I find myself muttering "Why wouldn't you just buy a 911? Or a 650i? Or a Mustang?"
The interior is vastly improved. There's gorgeous faux suede on the A-pillars and windshield header, a terrific 525-watt Bowers & Wilkins audio system, and the very cool JaguarDrive selector knob with a starter button on the center console (I'm a sucker for that red heartbeat pulse). But more than simply boasting new content, the whole interior feels better. It feels more finely crafted, more pleasing to the touch — the leather, the wood, the chrome, the plastic, all of it. In other words, it feels (at last) worthy of its not-insubstantial sticker price.
And under the hood, it gets even better. The engine is the biggest change for 2010, and another reason the XK seems deserving of its $89,000 bottom line. Jaguar/Land Rover's new 5.0-liter V-8 with direct injection is a thing of beauty. I haven't sampled the 510-horsepower supercharged version, but after driving this normally aspirated XK, I'm not sure I see the point. Three hundred eighty-five horsepower and a 380 pound-feet of torque deliver 3924 pounds of cat to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and onward to 155 mph. It's plenty fast for damned-near any road this side of Le Mans. Jaguar claims the standard XK is good for 22 mph in the Interstate, and I came within 1/2 mpg of that figure over 750 miles — most of them highway miles. The engine is smooth, sweet-sounding, and never less than completely willing — in short, it's dramatically better than the Ford-ified AJ-V8 in last year's XK.
To me, the belated greatness of the XK is bittersweet, particularly after reading Joe DeMatio's post from last week, "Not a sustainable situation." What a shame to see Jaguar hitting the skids so hard, particularly when the brand appears so suddenly relevant and competitive among its high-zoot European rivals. And as good as the current crop of Jaguars is, models coming down the pike look even more game-changing. We can only hope that Tata has has the resolve to let this venerable British cat hang in there a while longer.