Jaguar X-Type 2002 Review

"The X-Type provides Jaguar with a four-model lineup," he said, "and [will attract] younger buyers who may have thought Jaguar was beyond their reach, or not suited to their modern lifestyles."

Rezek also believes the X-Type will make a big impact in one of the most hotly contested segments of the luxury car market. Once the domain of Mercedes-Benz C-class and BMW 3-Series, the introduction of Alfa Romeo's 156, an all-new Audi A4, and now the Jaguar X-Type means compact luxury buyers have never had it so good.

Jaguar's engine lineup at launch included a 2.5 litre V6 and a range topping 3.0 litre V6, both sold with a choice of 5-speed manual and automatic transmissions. In December Jaguar announced it will add an entry level 2.1 litre V6 model in March bringing the total count to 8 models. This new 'budget' model - the first front wheel drive Jaguar in history - is aimed at the fleet market as much as private buyers.

The X-Type calls heavily on classic Jaguar design cues to produce a sleek, elegant style that's very easy on the eyes. There's no doubt this apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Good news is that just like its bigger brother S-Type, the X-Type doesn't let styling get in the way of practicality - too much. With 200mm more between the bumpers than a BMW 3 Series, there's a good sized boot beneath the curves. Jaguar boast that this is the largest boot ever to grace one of their cars. To attract the mafia types, no doubt...

The X-Type is 40mm wider at the hips and 23mm shorter overall, there's still decent real estate inside for those of average height. Those on the basketball playing side of 6-foot may find legroom tight in the front as well as the rear - our vertically abundant tester complained of the driver's seat not sliding far enough rearward.

On paper, the X-Type's trump card over its German rivals is its all wheel drive system. Not a true four wheel drive in the desert bashing sense of the word, instead the Jaguar uses intelligent systems to direct the torque where it'll do the most good. Under normal conditions 60 percent of the torque is directed to the rear wheels, to ensure a sporting feel to the drive. When the viscous coupling differential senses slippage it apportions more torque to the front to provide optimum traction.

Stable? Undoubtedly. Secure? You bet. Sporty? Not really.

We test drove the 3.0 litre V6 SE for a week. Focused as the luxury flagship of the range, the SE - stands for Special Equipment, natch - carries a full complinent of bells, whistles, and gongs.

Fully electric front seats, climate control air conditioning, DVD-based satellite navigation, electric windows and mirrors, remote cetral locking, heated front seats, the list goes on, and on... As it should on a car costing more than $84,000 at launch. Thumbs up on the satnav for having some very cool features, including 3D rendering, but thumbs down for continually directing us down 'unnamed roads'. And, another thumbs down for getting one destination totally wrong.

On the raod the X-Type feels rock solid. Jaguar is known to have focused heavily on quality and structural rigidity with the X-Type, a focus that rewards the driver intimately. The X-Type is extremely easy to pilot, and can be quite enjoyable on twisty country roads. The relatively heavy body detracts a little from the cut and thrust on tight corners, the long, long Jag more suited to faster flowing bends.

A flow on effect of the tight chassis is that it allows the suspension ot deal with bumps and corrugations with little fuss. Initial bump soaking is sometimes sharp, with a little thump, but the suspension remains controlled on rebound, and keeps body roll in corners to a minimum.

All wheel drive systems like the X-Type's are undoubtedly the way of the future. It makes no sense from a safety perspective to have rear wheel drive vehicles given the embarrasingly low level of driver training in most countries - especially ours. In the hands of an expert, rear wheel drive can be just as safe, but while there's plenty of self proclaimed experts on our roads, very few actually are. And front wheel drive cars exist solely becuase they are cheaper to produce and therefore cheaper to buy.

We tried, we honestly tried, to fool the all-wheel drive system by tromping the throttle at all the wrong times. Wet road, exiting a corner - bang! Change of direction - bang! No worries about stability or traction at all. Not once. And that's something Subaru and Audi have known for a long while.

There are inherent lapses in this four wheel drive system, the most noticeable of those when you're accelerating from rest. It pays to be extra careful when crossing traffic flow at intersections, or roundabouts. Allow an extra half second for the drivetrain to put your power request into practise.

The 3.0 litre V6 SE we drove was still very young, with just 3500km on the clock, and we couldn't help feeling slightly short changed in the power department. On paper, the flagship of the X-Type range has 172kiloWatts of power to hustle its 1595kg frame down the tarmac - figures which Jaguar claim are good for a 7.5 second 0-100km/h and a top speed of 230km/h. In real world conditions the X-Type's power was less than impressive, lacking the edge - the aggression - so often refered to by BMW drivers. The Jag's delivery felt a tad sluggish and unwilling - though the engine may loosen up with time.

The Jaguar's five speed automatic engine is still one of our favourites, though perhaps more for the J-gate action than anything else. It's certainly a slick changer when left to its own devices, even when at the mercy of a heavy right foot. And manhandling that selector through the U-turn selector channel... We love it.

There's no question we really wanted to like this car. It's one of the class of 2001 we'd been looking forward to. Introducing Jaguar's unique styling to the compact luxury market, with a mix of all wheel drive and strong V6 engines, and typically high standards of luxury, the X-Type has plenty of potential.

And there's no doubt it delivers strongly in some areas, adequately in others. But in this market, adequate is not good enough. You've got to be something really special to stick it to BMW and Mercedes-Benz, just ask Audi. They've got a really good competitor in the A4, hard to fault, and yet only recently is it getting the sales it deserves. For Jaguar, the wait may be a bit longer.