Jaguar X-Type Road Test / Car Review

Introduction

The Jaguar X-TYPE marked a series of firsts for Jaguar. It was their first all-wheel drive production car and subsequently their first front wheel drive. It was the first to challenge the hegemony built up by the BMW 3 Series and the first to be built around a mainstream Ford Mondeo platform. Old school Jaguar purists wrung their hands in abject horror whilst the rest of us recognised the machinations of Ford's Premier Auto Group at work behind the scenes and recognised the X-TYPE for what it was & pragmatism and clever engineering writ large beneath some pretty clothes. Shooting yourself in the foot with a used example would take some doing as the X-TYPE has thus far proved to be a sound proposition.

History

2001 to present

Perhaps feeling that the compact executive class was becoming a tad predictable, Jaguar's attempt to muscle in on the BMW/Mercedes/Audi party was launc