PRETTY & PERSNICKETY; Jaguar XKR convertible both delighted and demanded.(News)

Byline: ROGER HART

Few cars have entered AutoWeek's long-term fleet and immediately received more praise for their stunning good looks than the Jaguar XKR. The car's striking design, causing several onlookers throughout the year to mistake it for an Aston Martin-not a bad identity crisis-is flat-out gorgeous, embodying everything a Jaguar should be.

While the Jag's logbook was filling up with praise for its style, there were questions from day one about the car's reliability, and by the end of the year, some drivers felt disappointed.

On the bright side, the car never went away on a flatbed or behind a tow truck because of mechanical or electrical issues, something often forecast in the logbook. (It did disappear on a flatbed, but that was after it was smashed into by a hit-and-run driver. More on that later.)

The dire predictions about reliability arose from the Jag's electronics. In scouring the logbook, we find that those predictions came from two sources: the staff's experience with a long-term XJ sedan and the XKR's all-encompassing electronic minefield known as a touch screen.

The touch screen controlled all entertainment, heating, cooling and navigation systems. Even the seat heaters were operated via the screen, much to the amazement of some drivers who were in the car several times before realizing the car was so equipped.

Besides picking up obvious fingerprints and being difficult to see in bright sunlight, the screen continued to be an annoyance throughout the car's year in the fleet.