Guys,
I am looking for serious advice, first some background, I live up here in Alberta, Canada and it gets pretty cold and decent snow amounts in the winter. I already own a beautiful 2001 XKR Silverstone ragtop that I fell in love with a year ago and has been trouble free for 10,000 kms of the best summer driving of my entire life ( thanks in part to this forum). I am hooked on Jags.
I am tired of my winter 4x4+ the kms are starting to get up there and I have decided to trade it in. I have been looking for a Infiniti FX50s and went to look at one on the weekend, there it was parked next to a stunning 07 XK8 coupe. Needless to say the FX didn’t get a look in, the test drive went great and with Low kMs on the clock it is a great deal. I am just a little undecided as it would be my daily winter driver, with 98% on the driving within the city.
The question is how will a XK handle in the snow? It would have the best winter tires and I am not a speed demon. Most of the cop cars here are RWD and I see more than few C300’s Mustangs and BMW’s on the road all winter long but no Jags. If anyone has any experience they could share good or bad I would be grateful to hear them. Go for the jag or stick with a 4x4?

Regards,

Karl

 

I think the XK is a marvelous all weather auto with the right tires. The winter tires available today transform a car in snow. You are used to driving in snow, living in Calgary. An XK should handle as well as any rear wheel drive auto. Just learn to use traction control, turning it off as needed. Ice is still icy so same precautions apply as always. The XK has plenty of ground clearance, so long as you keep off unplowed farm roads.
The worst winter driving are hills, either up or down; and then traction counts much more. In the late 60s I lived with a 500 ft. uphill driveway in Minnesota, driving a supercharged Shelby with old-fashioned snow tires. If I threw two big sand bags in the trunk (200 lb) the car became a goat.

 

Sadly, I'm going to respond with a double negative....
I bought my XK thinking "only car" as well, and it did not take long for me to start looking for a second ride.
I'm shy of winter snow experience in an XK, having only had mine for about 11 months now, but the one time I hit snow with A/S tires, it was a very unnerving experience. I don't care to repeat it any time soon.

Of more concern was every day driving even in summer, where you live in constant fear of parking lots, and the annoyance of the flat rear trunk floor letting your groceries scatter all over heck. (lets not dwell on the low trunk capacity)

It didnt take long for me to get a second car to fill the need for a more practical commuter and grocery getter (fold down rear seats and all). The Jag is now assigned a warm place in the garage for those fun weekend romps. Now it's even hard to pull her out in the torrential rain (where she would be perfectly fine) when you have a small beater to make short trips in....

Jag as an only car up north.... Probably not a wise choice....

Vince

 

Go with the Jag. 4x4's only stick you in the ditch faster.

 

Vince,
The truck is designed for golf clubs, it's the rear seats for groceries!

Cheers, Adrian

 

Golf? Isn't that made by VW?
I just wanna know where to put my skies!

 

In a previous life I lived 10 years in Cleveland OH. Brother that speaks volumes. I have owned 5 or 6 Jags including my current 07 XK in Florida.

As great as this car is I would not recommend it as a daily driver in serious northern climes North of the Ohio River - no matter what kind of tires you put on it. Sorry. To paraphrase that old Casey Jones song "They found him in the wreckage with his foot on the throttle and frozen to death in the steam".

 

We live in the Lake Tahoe area and get our fair share of snow. As much as I would like to drive my XK year round, no way would I rely on it in the snow.

With that said, we happen to be fortunate in as much as we have vehicles that perform exceptionally well in the snow.

If, on the other hand, we only had the XK well...you do what you have to do!

 

Why would anyone want to drive a beautiful XK in a northern winter clime with snow AND SALT on the roads. I live in Ont. and we get loads of snow with roads heavily salted. I store my XK8 in my heated aircraft hanger as soon as the snow appears...and use my 4wd SUV until spring.Its terrible what salt will do to a beautiful car like a Jag ,
;which I intend to keep for many years.

 

any RWD car can be useable in the winter. I use my XJ through the winter with no problem.

the most IMPORTANT part is making sure u have winter tires on. I assume ontario gets a good amount of snow, I wouldnt risk driving without winter tires. you can get a set for a few hundred $$..its worth the piece of midn

 

The rear wheel police vehicles have a special suspension. They use them in Alaska. My Jag is a summer fun car. Current in Florida. But if I take her to Alaska she will rest in my heated garage.
Another issue we have in Alaska is gravel and dirt dumped on roads in winter. Every spring rocks get thrown up into windshields ( especially low ones

Rear wheel will never be as safe as front , AWD, or 4X4.
Don't risk it.
Mike