For two years I’ve wanted a jag xkr convertible.
Prior to that I spent an over a year looking at the v12 xjs. But that was too much maint to get into.

Over those two years I’ve watched hundreds of videos,read gobs of posts, articles and learned a bunch… and honestly, fell in love.

But I’d never been in an XKR, let alone driven one.

Today I had the opportunity to explore and drive a 2000 XK, a 2004 XKR and a 2013 XKR.

Ho-lee-smokes, gentlemen. I’m in.

But then the dilemma. Because there is always a dilemma.

i drove the 2013 XKR first.
And the 2004 last.

The 2004 has 32,000 miles on it. Everything worked and was pristine.
Has the gorgeous dash I love.
And that lovely growl.

But my main concern was fit, being 6’3 and of long torso.
With the top down, my head was a good 2” above the windscreen. Had the seat back and lowered.
had a face full of wind the entire drive.
In the 2013 the top of my head was about dead even.
So I was still being a bit blown away but tolerable as hey, it’s a convertible.

The 2004 XKR is a classic and this specimen did not disappoint. Very close to like new.
The 2013 has more creature comforts and updated tech. Has the package that does the car color Jaguar on the boot lid, instead of chrome. Don’t recall which that was.
It felt orders of magnitude faster off the line and at speed. The problematic hoses had already been replaced with I believe metal?

So it seems I’m not yet ready to embrace my inner “old guy” at 55 and may defect over to the x150 side for my first journey into XK ownership.

Still on the fence, but leaning heavily towards the x150.

 

If you can tolerate the styling of the X-150’s, and the price is acceptable, then what’s the issue ? It’s a faster car with a superior chassis.

for me, it was an easy choice. I don’t care for the X-150 appearance, or the price. So I was in 100% for the 4.0 L X-100. All the 4.0 issues had already been fixed, the price was well under 6 figures, and no rust. All in all a good fit for me.

whatever you choose, have fun.

Z

 

I confused the blackout jaguar in the boot attributing it to the 2013, but it was the 2004.

 

I think in hindsight the X150 for me would have been the better car as I use mine as a daily in the UK. The X100 cars like to rust a lot, the X150 is mostly aluminium, there is some steel in the rear suspension and that does rust but it's a much smaller area to deal with then the whole car rusting away. I woudl like to replace my X100 for a 5.0 X150 at some point for this reason although I do like the X100 more in terms of style. The lack of interior wood is a really bug bare for me. There is also the lack of a dipstick and the steering wheel is too chunky.

 

I agree. It has to be about usage and purpose.
If it will be your daily driver, you sit in traffic twice a day and it is your only means of transportation… a later model may make more sense.

After looking at and driving 3 versions of the XK, I absolutely love the classic Jaguar style of the x100.
If it were my garage kept drive to the mountains or the beach weekender (Long term goal), I’d buy the 2004 with 32k miles I drove yesterday in a heartbeat.

However, what I buy will be my daily commuter car. At least for 4.5 more years when my youngest graduates HS.
So the x150 2010-2015 convertible would be a good hybrid approach and still give me the gorgeous and sporty Jaguar I want, without some of the trade-offs.

At that point, I would probably look into adding, not replacing with the x100 classic.

 

Sorry you didn't find what you needed at this time.
You need to take care of what's going on in your life right now and glad to see you understand your priority.
Take care of your health and when the kids are taken care of, build a big garage and buy the best one you can find and maybe one of each and have fun fixing them for yourself or maybe others.

 

Thanks Wayne!
It was meant to be a research trip, so completely worth it.
Breaks my heart that the 2004 XKR wasn’t a good fit for my height. I’m still confident that someone on here has made mods to the seat tracks and been able to lower it a bit.

I will continue to read, search and learn.
And when the right car presents itself, I will be all in.