X-Type

Vehicle: 2006 Jaguar X-Type 2.1 Sport sedan
Price as tested: HK$369000

Performance: Unlike the North American spec, the X-Type is also available with an entry-level 2.1L DOHC 24-valver V6. This engine is based on the Duratec V6 engine family but it has been detuned from 2.5L to 2.1L. If you thought 2.5L already felt underpowered, this 2.1L is a really slow driver. Everything from throttle tip-in to transmission upshifting are extremely slow. Its also very noisy given its Jaguar status. The most terrible thing is its maximum torque arrives at 4 grand, even if it has 171 pounds feet of torque. That means its slow off-the-line and very unwilling to rev through the redline. The 5-speed auto transmission is sluggish for both up and downshifting. Not to mention its J-gate is awkward to use as with other Jaguar J-Gates. While its a worthwhile tradition for an old school carmaker like Jaguar, this J-Gate has become an obsolete design that is unergonomically to use in 21st century.

Handling: As with other X-Types I have driven, the 2.1 Sport is as dynamically unremarkable as 2.5 and 3.0 in the past. The ride comfort feels floaty at high speed while bouncy at low speed. On the other hand, the so-called sports suspension doesn’t give out any sporty character while pushing hard into corners. The steering feels stiff but totally unresponsive and imprecise. Body rolls and understeer are your closet companions if you happen to drive X-Type hard, terrible with sports suspension and unimaginable with standard setting. The only saving grace is the stiff chassis that is solely based on the Ford Mondeo. The problem is X-Type has the right chassis on the wrong hands given Mondeo’s superior handling dynamics.

Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and ABS, X-Type’s braking is possibly the strongest suit in this unremarkable car. Stopping distance is short while the pedal feels solid and firm.

Interior: This X-Type Sport has a new interior trim called Piano wood which looks quite tasteful. Along with the Connolly leather seats, the Piano wood is the remaining area in this baby Jag’s interior that scored with nice material. The rest of the interiors have been hammered by cheap switchgears with loose fittings. On the other hand, the Conolly leather seats are comfortable. Thankfully, Jaguar finally assembled X-Type’s leather with proper stitch linings after so many years with wrongful craftsmanships. As usual, its interor is cramped and tight. Back seat has nearly nil legroom and trunk space is another joke.

Conclusion: After driven all the gasoline X–Type models, it doesn’t come as a surprise that this baby Jag is a flop. This 2.1L just makes a terrible driven car worse. Hopefully Jaguar will finally woke up with the upcoming X-Type replacement as competition in this segment is really tough. A4, 3-Series, C-Class and IS are all top contenders that are very hard to beat.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2006 JAGUAR X-TYPE 2.1 SPORT SEDAN
=====================================================
Performance: 1/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 2/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 2/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 2/5
Value-for-money: 2/5

Overall rating: 2/5

Vehicle: 2004 Jaguar X-Type 3.0 wagon with X1-Premium, X2-Sport, X3-Weather, 18″ R performance tires, DSC and Xenon headlights
Price as tested: CDN$60145

Performance: As usual, X-Type is powered by 1 of 2 engines. Both are Duratec-based V6 which divided into 2.5L and 3.0L. Our tester is equipped with latter which has 227 hp and 210 lb/ft of torque. In terms of responsiveness and refinement, this powerplant is truly a mix review. Compare to the last 6 3.0 V6 I drove, Jag’s unit feels less refined, less responsive and rougher than equivalent Mazda unit. Although Jag might be a heavier car than Mazda, there is no way this engine feels so much rougher than its PAG silibing. The throttle response feels downright sluggish when pushed. Lack of seat-of-the-pants performance is an understatement to describe this engine. If 3.0L feels like that, I can’t imagine how doggy 2.5L feels.

While the tranny is pretty willing to up and downshifts, it won’t compensate for its sluggish powerplant’s performance. As for the J-gate shifter, its awkward to use since you have to move a “J” style from D to any other gears. While its a Jaguar tradition, they should start researching on manumatic tranny along the line of Porsche’s Tiptronic system.

Handling: X-Type’s chassis is definitely not a sloush given its based on the highly rated European Ford Mondeo platform. Its stiff and lack of flex. However, there are problems during the transformation from a Ford to a Jaguar. It just feels more like driving a Ford than what a “real” Jaguar should be. Although they claimed its AWD system is rear-bias, it feels nothing more like a FWD with tons of understeer when pushed without the benefit of AWD through corners. The weight transfer of the system is really questionable. On the other hand, steering response is more than adequate but feels numb. There are plenty of body rolls and understeers through corners. In terms of ride comfort, the sports suspension makes it feels bouncy on rough roads without giving it handling advantage over standard one.

Brakes: The pedal feel of X-Type is better than average with 4-wheel discs and ABS.

Interior: X-Type interior is another mix review. Although its already been better than the first one I drove back in 01, it still fell short of the competitors. The instrumentation gauges are clear and analog, while the Connlly leather seats are comfortable (also seat linings finally lining up properly). Now, let’s get to the things that I dislike. Firstly, the interior feels cramped. There aren’t much legroom and headroom for both front and back passengers, even in a wagon with higher roofline. Secondly, there are still plenty of cheap and shiny plastic that come directly from Ford’s parts bin. All those switchgears have a low-rent feel that completely out of place in a car costing 60 grand. While the cargo space has cubbyholes, the plastic and handle on the back feel flimsy. The plastic hatch handle has a feeling that its going to break after use.

Conclusion: European Ford Mondeo is, indeed, a great family car. On the other hand, Jag engineers completely missed the marks when transforming a great family car into a piss poor entry-level luxury car. It just doesn’t hold a candle to Audi, BMW and Mercedes compact sportswagons. Considering Volvo and Saab also have a foothold in sportswagon segment, its even tougher for Jag to break into it when all of them have far superior executions than X-Type.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2004 JAGUAR X-TYPE 3.0 WAGON
==========================================
Performance: 2/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 2/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 2/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 2/5
Value-for-money: 1/5

Overall rating: 2/5

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