Photographs really don't do justice to the XK. In person, it's one of the loveliest automobiles around. (And don't get hung up on that grill. Yes, it looks like a Taurus, but Jaguars were sporting oval grilles long before anyone had dreamed of the Ford Taurus.)

The new XK's hard-edged muscular shape retains Jaguar's traditional cat-like sleekness, but it loses the rounded softness of the previous version.

In many ways, the XK can be seen as a less expensive Aston-Martin. For the time being, at least, the two are corporate siblings. (Ford Motor Co. has said it plans to sell Aston-Martin.) There's clearly a resemblance to the eye, but the XK also offers similarly laid-back, unruffled British-style performance.