We’ve seen a few shots of the facelift for the Jaguar XK recently, but this is the first un-disguised car we’ve come across.
The obvious at first view are the new vents in the front, but it’s a bit more extensive than that. The whole car has been tweaked to give a more current style, and there are LED lights at the back and indicators in the door mirrors.
And the XK is going to benefit from some of the advances made on the successful XF. It will get the pop-up gear selector from the XF, together with the very impressive Bowers & Wilkins audio.
Facelifted Jaguar XK - due to launch at Detroit
But it’s under the bonnet that one of the big surprises is going to come – a diesel engine. But not just any diesel. This is the new 3.0 litre engine recently announced by Jaguar to replace the old 2.7. With a significant chunk of extra power and extra torque, and significantly more fuel efficient, the XK 3.0 litre diesel should manage a 0-60 in high 5 seconds and return mid 40s mpg (right foot permitting).
It’s not long ago that the purists would have been up in arms at the prospect of a diesel XK. But times are changing, and with the linear acceleration offered by the new 3.0 litre diesel (much more akin to a petrol engine), and the feeling that we all need to save money where we can, this is a good move by Jaguar (I never thought I’d hear myself saying that about a diesel Jag!).
The XK is a very good looking car, and very, very nice to drive. It feels a little cheap in places (it was developed by Ford before Tata took over, and there wasn’t much budget), but it is up there with the DB9 in terms of looks and driver satisfaction.
Good to see it tweaked a bit.
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