The Essentials

• Price from £65,430
• What Car? says:
• Fuel economy: up to 25.2mpg
• What is it? A beautiful blend of sexy sports car and 'take me to the south of France' grand tourer.

• Drive

  A delight, thanks to mighty engines and poised body control

• Inside

  Slim seats with plenty of adjustment; narrow rear window compromises visibility

• Safety

  Strong showing here, including a pop-up bonnet to help protect pedestrians

• Reliability

  Jaguar now has a good reputation for reliability

• Space

  Rear seats next to useless; shallow boot is easily accessed via hatchback opening

• Standard and extras

  Heated leather seats, sat-nav, Bluetooth and climate control are standard

• What's it like to drive?

  Under the XK's bonnet lurks a 5.0-litre engine which even in its most basic form has 380bhp, making it seriously powerful. Want to feel like a human cannonball? The supercharged versions up the pace and the XKR-S will shoot you from 0-60mph in just 4.2 seconds. Handling is superb, with a level of agility that belies the car's size. All versions feel a little skittery over scarred Tarmac but only the XKR-S feels overly firm at higher speeds. The engines growl suitably while accelerating and quieten nicely for cruising.

• What's it like inside?

  The seats can be precision-tuned with electric adjustment but are definitely better suited to slim frames. A touch-screen console reduces dash clutter but isn't the easiest to use. Two adults will be able to get comfortable in the front but the rear seats are bizarrely shaped and unsuitable for anything more than a few extra bags. Loading the long, shallow boot is made easier by the hatchback rather than saloon-style tailgate.

• How reliable is it?

  Although some of the materials don't feel as expensive as the price tag would suggest, we don't expect reliability to be an issue. Jaguar was the top-rated manufacturer in the 2012 JD Power customer satisfaction survey, too. Safety kit is as good as we'd expect, with a pop-up bonnet to help reduce any impact if you hit a pedestrian.

• Should I buy one?

  If your financial advisor suggests the XK as a sound investment, don't listen. Not only is it fantastically expensive to buy, but you can also give up any hope of seeing much of it back after three years. Quenching that 5.0-litre engine's thirst is also going to sting, too. If you buy the cheapest model we'd suggest adding the active suspension system, which pushes up the price.