My understanding is that Jaguar like to have a sporting Grand Tourer in their line up. I know they don't have one now; neither did they have a two seater sports car during the X100 and X150 production. They do now, of course.


So the XK has 2 + 2 very occasional seats, really for marketing reasons. We all know that they are impractical as seats for anything other than infants and short journeys, yet they have the practical ability to store all sorts. I keep a small blanket there for the wife when the roof is down, a small packet of tissues for the wife when the roof is down and a jacket for me when the roof is down. On occasion a squishy bag fits in there and I've had a suit carrier, two spinnakers for a 30' racing yacht, a food bag and a cake box all fill that space!


By the way, with the roof up the space behind the roof liner in the boot, wherein the roof folds when down, provides a useful shelf for two pairs of sailing boots and other flattish items.

 

4 seat cars are less expensive to insure than 2 seat cars FWIW

 

Correct, and that is the principal reason that there is a rear seat. It is not intended for anything more than occasional transport of small human beings, preferably without legs.

 

I assume that if one was forced to give a couple of airline stewardess a lift, one could stretch their legs over the center console?
one must remain optimistic.

 

"Normal Sized"
Front seats all the way forward, steering column retracted. Not a driveable position for a "Normal Sized" operator.
I'm only 6-1 and the seat doesn't go quite back far enough to suit my preferred position, and that leaves only 2-1/4 inch of "leg room" between the front of the back seat to the back of the front seat. That also disregards the Thigh Length of the rear passenger, which is about twice the length of the actual seat. The "Seated, Hip-to-Knee" space available is only 17 inches. My 'seated, hip to knee' measurement is 24 inches.
I just measured everything, front seat still in my normal driving position.

 

Having sex in the back of the XK is not easy! Not so easy in the front either, but sometimes you have to make due...

 

Yeah, best bet is to have multi-car option, that way there is no reason to think about the back seat.

 

That makes you three and a half inches taller than the average American adult male and in this situation size does seem to matter!

 

No sex please we are British, LOL

2 air hostesses need a ride; do you forfeit the wonderful conversations that would ensue in the lobby bar by telling one of them to take the shuttle. Or can her friend sit in the back with legs on top the center console, where her toes were touching the nav screen. It was a genuine question.

 

Just a suggestion to the OP, since Audi has decided to make the S5 into a full fledged 4 door now (Audi S5 Sportback), it may be the answer to your dilemma. The S5 coupe is a wonderful car, and I have to believe the Sportback is equally good. Is it an XK/XKR, no! But the X150 was never designed to be a four seater, the back seats were strictly for "looks" and insurance. If there is one thing I would have loved for my X150, it would have been to have eliminated the "electronics" wall that separates the trunk compartment from the back seat (on the coupe, of course), so that it could fold down and have a rather large and useful amount of storage. It could easily have been done and would have been a popular option were it to have been available.

 

Thats the rate limiting step. That wall, crossbeam is crucial to structural integrity. It simply cannot go anywhere else.

 

Q&C,
Of course, when you pull away the cover, for instance, when you're changing the battery, the steel bracing is quite evident. However, this could have been designed as an open rectangular frame with a push down center, with the electronics' modules relocated in the spare tire wheel well or behind the carpeted panels on each side of the trunk compartment. Many other cars have this configuration, and just would have required a little bit of different engineering. It would not have been hard to do.

 

Tberg,
You are right there is a way to my somewhat untrained eye. Arching the beam all the way to the top of the glass- aka a roll bar. But there are many factors in play that I am sure I dont know about.

 

Ok, but then where do I put the wife? Guess the boot is available...

 

I guess this is a good time as any to quote some Rodney Dangerfield...

"My Wife asked me to talk to her during sex, so I called her from the hotel room"

so we substitute "call her from the XK".

 

I would prefer an XK to a F type because the back seat can be used for luggage. Now that my kids are grown, we seldom share a car. I don't have any friends so it's just the Wife and I. If I need to carry people I can take my XJ6 or Explorer. If I need to carry big stuff I can take my truck. I understand that many don't want to have extra cars, so that would make a choice more difficult. You can actually fit two adults in the back of a new Mustang. I've even done it in my'96.

 

Thenrear seats on the XK should be considered as bonus luge space rather than additional seating. There is a guy in the UK does bespoke luggage for the boot and includes 3 bags to fill the rear seats and the centre one is a cool bag.

The increased length over the F Type also makes the car more curvy and attractive, well,to my eyes anyway.

 

This is why I didn't get an F-type...

Although your scenario sounds like it would be a situation from the Netherlands. Italians would fit in the back seat without the need to go legs out.

I have had 4 adults(including driver) in my 944's on multiple occasions. The XK has only gone one more than two twice in my ownership; but I'm not sure I could get to four and keep a reasonable driving position for myself.

I like the 2+2 arrangement, either easy access carry space, or in time of need, can take additional humans. Additional humans, especially overweight humans, do not tend to tag along in a 2+2 unless they really need to get somewhere, and are of decent physical fitness.

There have been a few times in my life unwanted passengers wanting to cram into the "fancy sportscar" have declined for their other ride options upon seeing the size of the backseats.

 

I personally don't want anyone riding in the back seats of my XKR. I'd have no where for the ice chest and food bag! We've got an XF to haul more asses if the need arises.

 

Suggestion:
Put the battery in the engine compartment, where it belongs. Fix the back seats so that they will fold down. Then perhaps you could take, the more important stuff with you like a fly rod, or golf clubs.