1997 Jaguar XK-Series Review
Consumer Ratings & Reviews
Gorgeous, but high maintenance!
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 7 |
| Comfort: | 7 | Interior Design: | 10 | Reliability: | 4 |
| Fuel Economy: | 9 | Exterior Design: | 10 | ||
Vehicle
1997 Jaguar XK-Series 2 Dr XK8 Convertible
Review
I bought this lovely car with only 64K miles on it and in beautiful condition. It is spectacularly beautiful! It may be even more pretty with its top up than down! I love it. However, during the first month I owned it, it cost me $4,000 in repairs, and that's seeking out the lowest cost for parts and labor possible! Still, it is running great now! I will keep my fingers crossed, because this is a comfortable and wonderful car - when it is working!
Favorite Features
Looks! Smooth transmission! Great turning radius!
Suggested Improvements
Needs automatic top cover for when the top is down! Kind of a pain to have to put that cover on each time; head liner flops in the wind without the cover.
Stunning cat
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 7 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 7 |
| Comfort: | 6 | Interior Design: | 10 | Reliability: | 8 |
| Fuel Economy: | 7 | Exterior Design: | 10 | ||
Vehicle
1997 Jaguar XK-Series 2 Dr XK8 Coupe
Review
This car is a sheer rush to drive. I have five other cars that all look great but this car is a stunner, stunner, stunner. The coupe is what makes it so different compared to today's vehicles that resemble soap bars. I have been taking care of some basic areas of maintenance, the tranny needed a fluid change. I put new platinum plugs in. Fixed the rear deck brake lamp. Now I am contemplating the engine timing tensioners which are said to be a weak point in the 4.0 motor. Mine is not showing any indication of ticking or jumped timing on cold start-up. I will look into this further. I still love the car, even if someday I put a ford 351 motor in it.
Favorite Features
The body style is superior. People give me dirty looks in this car like my daddy bought it for me. Even my wife notices people looking at us in an awkward fashion. My wife says it is their problem. If you want a Jag, get a Jag you only live once. Mine is sapphire blue with chrome wheels. Stunning!
Suggested Improvements
A motor that will not cost a fortune to repair. I have only owned it two months and have spent some 18000 dollars so far. I will keep you posted as to how I fair as time goes by. Thanks for reading this, I hope it helped.
Val's Jag
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 10 | Fun-to-Drive: | 10 | Build Quality: | 7 |
| Comfort: | 9 | Interior Design: | 9 | Reliability: | 10 |
| Fuel Economy: | 7 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
1997 Jaguar XK-Series 2 Dr XK8 Coupe
Review
I bought a low miles (17000) black w/tan interior convertible (from a music icon who bought he car off the showroom floor in Nashville). I am the second owner. I enjoy it. Only drive it on nice days. I rarely push it but when I do it performs. The interior quality is not up to what it should be and I would have put some metal in the front where that plastic piece is. I think this is the first year that Ford made the car. The technology on the engine was flawed in materials but does not seem to be too big a problem. Light lenses leak but glass is so much better than all the new plastic lenses. All and all a good car. Classic? Don't bet on it.
Favorite Features
trunk space, top, smooth, wife likes it.
Suggested Improvements
Interior quality like glue, materials and appointments, especially convertables fall below exptected standards.
Worth more to me than it's resale value!
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 9 | Build Quality: | 9 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 8 | Reliability: | 9 |
| Fuel Economy: | 5 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
1997 Jaguar XK-Series 2 Dr XK8 Convertible
Review
My car has been great to own! It has been both fun to drive, reliable and reasonably inexpensive to service, less its gas mileage, which is 11-12 in town (on the good stuff, of course!). Really, my only problems have been with trim pieces; gear shift surround replaced because "S" mode switch got stuck in "S", both visors had mirrors that flopped open (replaced at about $375 ea), headlight assembly which fogs up (still not replaced), lumbar support (which inflates, then slowly deflates...) and the radio backlight is not lit...not bad for a nearly 10 year old car with 48k miles. I still love it and will probably replace it with a used XKR when I find a color I like for the right $. Thanks.
Favorite Features
Hmmm. Maybe the color combo, it's a royal blue metallic with two-tone ivory/beige interior. Also, mine has the best looking wood veneers of any that I've looked at! I love that the trunk is usably large! I looked at a 911, which you could just barely load a case of wine in!(I wish I had an XKR!).
Suggested Improvements
It's here, the new XK series!
1 out 1 people found this review helpful
Incredible value
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 9 | Fun-to-Drive: | 8 | Build Quality: | 9 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 9 | Reliability: | 7 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 10 | ||
Vehicle
1997 Jaguar XK-Series 2 Dr XK8 Coupe
Review
The XK is perhaps the best looking vehicle made, at least in coupe form. Even after all these years in production, the car gets the looks like it was a brand new design. Be careful if you're taller than 6'. It can be cramped inside.
Favorite Features
Incredible styling in the coupe. After six months, I still go out to the garage just to look at it. Highway comfort. Reasonable fuel economy. Handles good for its size.
Suggested Improvements
It's a low production piece, so it can be expensive to fix. I just replaced the transmission on my high-mileage car, and it cost almost 5k. High maintenance but worth it.
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