How Does an X-Type Handle Off-Road?
With nearly 200,000 miles on the clock, this $700 X-Type is a ripe candidate for a safari-style build.
With the recent success of the E-Pace and F-Pace, it’s easy to forget that there was a time when Jaguar didn’t make sport utility vehicles. For many Jaguar fans, that role was filled very well by the evergreen Land Rover lineup.
One of those models, the E-Pace, serves well as an entry-level model. Jaguar tried to fill that niche once before, with the X-Type, based on the Ford Mondeo platform. While purists and automotive journalists were horrified, many owners enjoyed their X-Types.
One new owner intends to enjoy his Jaguar in a completely new way. It’s also possible that no one has done this with an X-Type, or any Jaguar sedan, ever before. Alex Kersten at Car Throttle intends to make full use of his X-Type’s available all wheel drive…by turning it into a bonafide off-road machine.
The X-Type he purchased was nicely equipped when new, with-all wheel drive, a 194 horsepower V6, a five-speed manual transmission, and touch-screen satellite navigation. It’s aged remarkably well, and in a lot of ways, looks much the same as it did when it left the factory. Likely owing to its solitary previous owner.
ALSO SEE: The X-Type Story, An Insiders Look at How It Came to Be
What’s even more impressive is that it’s held up this well after nearly 200,000 miles! Owing to that incredibly high mileage, the CarThrottle gang purchased this regal Jaguar for the princely sum of four hundred and ninety pounds. For those counting, that’s just under $700 USD at the time of this writing.
Lest you think that the incredibly longevity of this particular car is a testament to the ruggedness of the X-Type, Alex actually attempts to take it off-road. Almost immediately, the ABS module fails and the car begins smoking. While 200,000 miles seems perfectly doable for an X-Type, it takes less than 200 feet to find the platform’s limitations. Oh boy.
This X-Type ‘safari’ build will be an on-going mini series for CarThrottle, so stay tuned, we certainly will be.
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