![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
The Jaguar X-Type.
Gets a lot of bad press. Has been pretty much universally slated since it came out. 'It's just a Mondeo in a party frock!' everybody says. 'Its not what a proper Jag should be!' says everyone else.
So off they all went to Audi and BMW, where they bought 3 Series and A4 instead.
You can see what the idea behind the X-Type was. The bread and butter cars of the prestige marques are, however good the M5, RS6, 5/7 Series, E Class et al are, the compact executives. Everyone wants a 318i or an A4 2.0 TDI S-Line on the drive. You can't blame Jaguar for wanting a peice of that action - every marque needs an entry level car and before the X-Type Jaguar didn't really have one - the S-Type is hardly entry level.
So they built the X-Type on the Mondeo platform.
I wonder why this was such a henious crime? It's not as if its a BAD platform, is it? Infact stripping it back to pure technical ability the Mondeo Mk3 platform was one of, if not THE, best FWD large vehicle platforms of its time. Name one company with a better one? The Vectra was woeful. The Passat was no better in terms of dynamics. So, chassis wise, I do have to wonder why the X-Type being Mondeo based was a bad thing.
Personally, I'd suggest its actually a great thing.
I think the X-Type was and is a much underrated car. Lets look at the strengths.
1) It's built on a class leading, world beating platform. YES, its wrong wheel drive (or 4 wheel drive in 2.5 and 3.0 form) but then so is the Audi A4 and that didn't hamper that, did it?
2) They did a nice 2.5 V6 and 3.0 V6 in AWD form. Lovely. If you wanted a diesel, they did one of those as well. Sure, it was a Ford 4 pot and 4 pot diesels are rubbish but then Audi's awful 1.9 TDI sold by the bucketload.
3) It does not look like a Mondeo inside or out. Infact, it betrays none of its Mondeo roots to the casual bystander. Or indeed anyone who isnt a car geek.
4) You get a posh exterior, nice Jaguar interior, all for the same as you'd pay for an A4 or a 3 Series.
5) These days they offer EXCELLENT value. Less than £5k gets you a lovely X-Type. And stick a private plate on it and nobody will suspect you are driving around in a 4 grand car. A 4 grand 3 Series is a heap of rubbish with 6 previous owners which you'll find parked in a dodgy area of Birmingham.
6) They look like this...
Poor thing. It dies this year. I think it was better than anyone gave it credit for. At least it leaves behind an opportunity to get lots of flash for not much cash.
Gets a lot of bad press. Has been pretty much universally slated since it came out. 'It's just a Mondeo in a party frock!' everybody says. 'Its not what a proper Jag should be!' says everyone else.
So off they all went to Audi and BMW, where they bought 3 Series and A4 instead.
You can see what the idea behind the X-Type was. The bread and butter cars of the prestige marques are, however good the M5, RS6, 5/7 Series, E Class et al are, the compact executives. Everyone wants a 318i or an A4 2.0 TDI S-Line on the drive. You can't blame Jaguar for wanting a peice of that action - every marque needs an entry level car and before the X-Type Jaguar didn't really have one - the S-Type is hardly entry level.
So they built the X-Type on the Mondeo platform.
I wonder why this was such a henious crime? It's not as if its a BAD platform, is it? Infact stripping it back to pure technical ability the Mondeo Mk3 platform was one of, if not THE, best FWD large vehicle platforms of its time. Name one company with a better one? The Vectra was woeful. The Passat was no better in terms of dynamics. So, chassis wise, I do have to wonder why the X-Type being Mondeo based was a bad thing.
Personally, I'd suggest its actually a great thing.
I think the X-Type was and is a much underrated car. Lets look at the strengths.
1) It's built on a class leading, world beating platform. YES, its wrong wheel drive (or 4 wheel drive in 2.5 and 3.0 form) but then so is the Audi A4 and that didn't hamper that, did it?
2) They did a nice 2.5 V6 and 3.0 V6 in AWD form. Lovely. If you wanted a diesel, they did one of those as well. Sure, it was a Ford 4 pot and 4 pot diesels are rubbish but then Audi's awful 1.9 TDI sold by the bucketload.
3) It does not look like a Mondeo inside or out. Infact, it betrays none of its Mondeo roots to the casual bystander. Or indeed anyone who isnt a car geek.
4) You get a posh exterior, nice Jaguar interior, all for the same as you'd pay for an A4 or a 3 Series.
5) These days they offer EXCELLENT value. Less than £5k gets you a lovely X-Type. And stick a private plate on it and nobody will suspect you are driving around in a 4 grand car. A 4 grand 3 Series is a heap of rubbish with 6 previous owners which you'll find parked in a dodgy area of Birmingham.
6) They look like this...
Poor thing. It dies this year. I think it was better than anyone gave it credit for. At least it leaves behind an opportunity to get lots of flash for not much cash.
