Hello all, I just joined this forum because I'm looking to become a Jag owner in the near future. I apologize for the potentially wordy post I am about to make, I just have many potential questions buzzing around I hope you can help with. Please forgive me if in asking these questions I offend anyone or violate a rule. I literally just joined and this is my first post.
I currently have a 2nd gen Lexus GS300 which I enjoy (except in the winter). I was thinking of Getting a 3rd Gen GS with AWD, then I saw that there are a few Jags for sale at a much more reasonable price. I also am looking at Jags because my old boss tried to convince me to buy one years ago but I didn't want to because of the Ford stigma and the cost of repairs. At that time I had never owned anything over 4 Cylinders and wasn't confident in my ability to repair them. Since I've had my Lexus I've done most of the work on it myself, I just would like the added confidence of AWD. I understand that this vehicle would be smaller inside than the Lexus, which is something else that kept me away before. My father lives in England and he owns and 2007 Diesel X-type and he loves it. But his is only front wheel drive, and he's a mechanic so I'm sure he'd walk me through anything I needed. My Lexus is a straight 6.

* What type of timing mechanism do these cars have? Is it a Belt or is it chain driven?

* How are these cars on long distance drives? I often drive from Alberta to the Pacific coast (12 hours or more) and it's all mountain driving. I also annually take a 2-3 day drive to the east coast if I'm going to be there for a while. How do these cars handle the miles? I've never owned an AWD car yet and I know that not all of them enjoy loads of distance driving.

* I see that the engine bay seems to be tight quarters, and that seemingly easy tasks sometime require the bumper to be pulled off. How complicated is this to do? And is it necessary to remove the bumper to do everything with the bulbs? Such as changing headlights and signals/ fog lights?

* I am looking for a Sport, with a manual tranny. I have seen mention the automatics can sometimes be finicky, are there issue with the manual I should look for? Also I'd prefer a little extra power that the 3.0 offers. My Lexus was rated for 220 hp and I believe the 3.0 jag has 230 hp. is there any type of reliability difference between the 2.5 and the 3.0?

* My Lexus doesn't show tons of rust on the body. Only the hood from rock chips and the top of the windshield. However the underneath of the car, such as the suspension bolts and stuff seem to be growing rust. Are the Jags prone to rust? Previously I had been looking at Mazdaspeed 6s and they are bad for rust. Is this going to be an issue with the X-type? Some I see have rust near the bottom and some don't show any. Of course this is all in photos, no idea what they look like in person. Mostly I've been looking at cars in Ontario, while I am working in Alberta.

* I like the look of the Sport not having the chrome and also the wheels and the extra bolstering on the seats. However I'm 6'3" and I'm 230lbs will the seats in the Sport be too cramped? Getting good thigh support is paramount for me over the side bolstering truly, it's not like I'm going to be thrashing the car around. I confess I'm a bit hard on my Lexus and was on my Acura TL. I really thought the TL had the best seats of any car I've owned. As far as the adjustments and the thigh support for long distance travel. How is the driving position in these cars for taller people?

* Are there stock upgrades for the brake calipers? My TL was a stick and so it came with Brembo calipers, I swapped the calipers on my Lexus for 4 pot LS calipers, how many piston do the X-type calipers have and is there a factory version which may be more resistant to brake fade?

* I'm most likely going to buy one that is pre 04 so I can get the Viscous coupling in the transfer case. That is the one I should be looking for right? Since the car is already going to be older I'm going to be driving it in the winter and I'd like to be sure that I don't get stuck because all the power goes to only 1 wheel that is already slipping in the snow or something.

* I haven't seen many after market stereo set ups and these cars it is difficult to swap out or do you lose and capabilities when taking the deck out?

*It seems like any car I get will be over 150k to 250k in mileage potentially. So unless I get records I'm going to have to do a bunch of stuff on it. Any recommendations for what I ought to be starting with?

I thank you all for your patience in reading my post and for any further insight you may be willing to offer.

 

Hello & welcome . I'm on my 2nd X type & find them great all round Compact saloons/sedans. Problems can be easlly rectified with the aid Of diagnostics & parts dont cost an arm & a leg ( Not in UK ) . Try & buy as late year / low miles as you can . I have no probs with 2.5 engine ( 3.0 if you do miles & want a little more Ummmph) & of course you have the added benefit of 4x4. Just check the outer / inner sills on early models.

 

Do Not Buy ANY X-TYPE that has any indication of rust. If you can see it from the outside, there is more, way more, you can't see. You might consider looking south and importing to Calgary rather than looking to the eastern Provinces.

Can't answer all your questions but:

-timing chain
-02 and 03 MY's are the only viscous coupling T-cases
-having driven Alberta winters in an X-Type I can tell you it was a tank in the snow
-biggest repair expenses are with "Jag only" parts. no harder to work on than other cars
-a person your size may find the X a bit cramped. I personally have driven my X on 14 hour jaunts with no fatigue, including the mountains.
-3.0 Sport with manual trans is about the most difficult to find as there weren't a lot in the NA market
-search the forum for mods on brakes, audio equipment, etc

As the current owner of two Lexus vehicles, I can tell you I would buy a 150K km Lexus over an X-Type, barring impeccable maintenance records. Sorry. just my opinion.

 

Do manual trans. X-type have the DSC/ Traction control button below the shifter? I don't see it in any of the photos I've seen. Is that an Automatic only option?

 

I've owned new entry level compact luxury cars since 1997 - when I graduated from college. My first was a BMW 323i, then an Acura Integra (4 door GSR), then an Acura TL, then a Mercedes C280 4 Matic followed by an 07 X Type and finally now an XF. Of all the cars I've owned my least favorite were the C280 and the TL. My favorites the Integra and the X Type. Having said that, here are what I liked and what I didn't like about the X Type:

1. The 3.0 engine is very good, even with just a 5 speed auto, the car was really smooth.

2. I loved the minimalist interior design. The new interiors, including the XF is over done. Even the ACM and Bluetooth on the X just worked with no fuss. The alpine audio is pretty good as well. Easily at par with the much more expensive system on the XF. Better than the Germans, as good as the TL.

3. The suspension was good when in order. I liked the ride quality but you have to maintain it (control arms). I also replaced the stock tires with Michelin since I had the 18 inch rims - much better. I also paid 2k to put additional sound insulation on try floor - also did it with the Integra where I put Dynamat all around. Overall ride quality was good.

4. Fuel economy was worst of any car

5. Maintenance and repairs needs a good dealership. I always use dealers because new cars are covered best by them. My X Type had issues like door locks needing to be replaced, fuel pump going bad and AC condenser needing to be fixed that none of my other cars needed. Everything else was just the same.

6. Already said I liked the interior design and exterior. The interior of my car also had no rattles. Better than all my other cars in that respect. I like the heavy doors that close with a thud v. the tinny Japanese cars now. The X actually seems to have more solid metal than even the XF! However, the interior also has some incredibly cheap plastic. So it's wood and very comfy leather seats and also very cheap plastic. Plus not sure why they never put a blower in the back. The climate control in the car is very good as well.

7. I live in DC and the X Type worked well in the snow we get here.

Overall, I think the x type drives like a car above it's category. My x type new was every bit as nice as the XF. I think my next will be an Evoque.

So if not for the X Type, I'd never have bought a Jag/land rover in my life. But because of it, Jag/land rover may well be my first 3 cars in a row from the same brand experience

 

Too much info, got bored, moved on.

 

ButWouldn't you rather have too much info then too little or not enough? Personally I'd say you can never have to much info.

 

I don't want to read about Lexus and anything else beside Jag

 

trugr8ns, as for your questions, hopefully I can hit all the high points.

As for the timing chain/belt issue, this car has a true timing chain. As long as you don't rev the motor to ungodly RPMs, you will be more than fine for the life of the car.

As for long distance drives, you will enjoy it. The X-Type is more of a cruiser vehicle than a sports car (as I like to think of it). The transfer case is not happy about light to light, day after day use. You want to get out and cruise for 500 miles, you will be able to do that day after day and feel pretty good getting out of the car. You try to shoot light to light, the transfer case is going to make your wallet hurt. I make 400-600 mile trips all the time. I would rather do it in my 03 X-Type than any modern day car.

As for the engine bay, show me a modern day engine bay that has room. Almost all don't these days. But, accessing most of what you need is pretty easy and a few simple things being removed and you are into the deep parts of the motor. As for the bumper, 30 minutes to get it off, 30 minutes back on. Not that difficult. You can replace the headlight bulbs if you have skinny hands and not remove the bumper cover. But, this comes at a cost. As the cars get older, the supports for the headlights we are finding are becoming brittle and the more you strain to get the bulb in place, the more likely you are to break one of the mounts and end up with a headlight pointing who knows where. The fogs you can change by simply dropping the lower plate (5 minutes off, 5 minutes on).

As for differences between the 2.5L and 3.0L motors, they use the same block, they use a lot of the same parts. Both motors are very reliable and have minimal issues. Both motors are adequate for getting the car down the road. The big difference is that the 2.5L motor needs to get wound up a little bit to come alive where the 3.0L motor has lots of low end torque and no need to really get thing wound up. Both are fairly similar in gas mileage.

Jags are not any more prone or resistive to rust than any other car on the road. Almost all cars are made using the same process. So, having a car that will survive salt covered roads is like picking a needle in a haystack. All cars are going to pretty much rust at the same rate for a given year. The newer ones got a slightly different body treatment and will probably survive a little longer than an early X-Type, but we are not talking a dramatic difference.

As for fitting in the car, I am only 6' even and my head comes close to the ceiling. Granted, I also tend to sit fairly upright in the car too. A click or two to lean the seat back and you won't have an issue fitting in the car. As for the bolstering, that shouldn't be a problem either. As for needing the sport model, keep in mind that it is actually going to work against what you are trying to get the car for as the Sport model came from the factory with a 1.4" drop all the way around. A standard edition is going to make it through deeper snow than a Sport model will. If you want the color matched corners, pull the pieces off and have them painted. That is what I did. I did it in my garage for around $50 and a weekend.

As for brake upgrades, why? The Jaguar calipers are more than capable for this car and unless you are going 0-90-0-90 again and again, the factory stuff is going to handle what you need. Worst case, if you look on e-bay, there are cross drilled/slotted rotors with ceramic pads for all 4 corners for around $200 USD. Easy upgrade and with those you will have more stopping power than you will ever need along with the ability for repeated heavy stops. I have this upgrade and when I stomp on the brakes, if you are not seatbelted in, you are hitting the dash or the back of the front seats. More than enough stopping power for me. I fear other drivers running into the back of me during hard stops.

As for the transfer case and getting an early viscous coupling or a newer one without the viscous coupling, that is a decision you will have to make. The earlier (viscous coupled) transfer cases are more driver friendly in the adverse weather, but are also more prone to breakage if you abuse them. The later ones will do what you are after as long as the car is also optioned out with DSC (dynamic Stability Control). If you get a later X-Type and it doesn't have DSC, then yes, you will end up with 1 wheel drive. You get DSC, it will keep all 4 wheels pulling for you.

As for higher mileage, I don't think these cars are any worse than any other vehicle with the same mileage that has been treated the same way. Can you find a gem out there that will last for what seems like forever, sure. Can you find one that you are surprised it made it to 100K miles? Sure. But, that is up to the owner, not the car. Sure there are little oddities that are common problems, but show me a model/brand of car that doesn't have those things that you just know you are going to have to deal with. Here, we know what those problems are and how to fix them. Most are pretty straight forward and cheap to fix.

As for aftermarket stereos. It can be a breeze to install in this car, it can be a royal PITA. The big thing is whether the car is equipped with the NAV system or not. The Nav units incorporated the heater controls into the radio. So, as you can imagine, you pull the radio, you loose all your heater controls and retro fitting back to the basic controls is a very timely and expensive process. You get the basic radio, the world is at your finger tips as to what you can put in the car. There are no limitations with this setup.

Hope I haven't information overloaded you. I am telling you how it is. The X-Type is a great cruiser vehicle. It will handle the long runs like a dream. But, if you are looking for something to zoom from light to light with, it is going to be an expensive car for you. Am I saying that you can't goose it every now and then and have some fun or use the power when needed? No. But, the more you abuse the kitty, the more that it is going to possibly cost you.

 

Thanks for all the info you guys provided. I'm still on the hunt. Almost went the complete opposite direction by looking at a MAzdaSpeed6, but it was in need of some repairs I wasn't willing to take on.

I was only asking about the Brake because I upgraded the brakes on my Lexus GS from 2 piston callipers up front to the LS 4 piston callipers. I felt it provided better stopping power and since sadly most of my driving seems to be city driving in the daytime I like that added bit of confidence. But since I haven't owned an X-type yet I have no idea what it's going to perform like I suppose.

I'm looking forward to getting the new addition hopefully in the next month when I have some more time.