I wanted to clarify my point about having a Ford engine in a Jaguar like the X-type. I have nothing against the Ford V6 and I am sure it is a very fine engine in many ways. My point was to talk about perception. Imagine you open the hood to a Mercedes or BMW and find a GM V6 lying in wait for you. Again nothing wrong with a GM V6 but you are not use to seeing this. I know that if I were to see a GM V6 in a Mercedes for example it would cheapen my perception of Mercedes.

My 2 cents on this is when a upper end manufacturer starts to use a entry level or mid entry plat form/components on their product it changes the perception of that product and again is a risky thing to do. It is one thing to say you are the best in class but another to earn that spot.

Just seems like so many car manufacturers can talk the talk but in the end it comes down to the smallest of details. Did anyone see the episode of "Top Gear" in America where they were testing three SUV's and one was the Range Rover? The Range Rover had so much going for it but the driver found out in a rain storm that the dome light had water leaking through it-Details-Details-Details!!!!!!!

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the AJ30 engine had been in the S-Type (which shared 40% of parts with the Lincoln LS) before the X-Type, and has since been fitted to the XJ (X350 and X358), and in further refined form the XF. Also, if I'm still not wrong, the supercharged version of the engine was fitted to the AWD XJ (X351) and AWD XF, as well as the F-Type.

Still, I don't think any other models have caught flak for it.

EDIT:
Was wrong, the new S/C versions are unrelated to the Duratec line.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/j...25/#post950496

 

Yep. It's funny how they forget they setup the X-Type as a direct competitor of one of the most successful models of all times, under any badge, the 3-series. Well golly gee, it didn't outsell the 3-series during it's run. Did they really expect it to?...No.

They shouldn't fault the car because the car, as a whole, delivered what it was designed for quite well. Blame the person who gave the green light to deliver a perfectly good Ford dressed in Jag clothing at inflated prices. That's not the cars fault. In playing catch up, it loses it's identity when it borrows innovation from elsewhere.

The car worked. The niche was brutally competitive. Too brutal for a high end badge to try to wing it on mid level engineering. I imagine most of the complainers are people who bought their X new (or not owners at all). Those of us who bought them used are quite happy with our cars because we didn't buy them to "one-up" the Jones'. We bought them because the quality was there and the price was right.

 

Love my X-Type. I continue to receive compliments about the car's looks. People always have to look inside. The amount of wood on the dash and doors is very nice! I will keep mine for as long as I can!

 

Sorry but i think my x type is a clean fully loaded overengineered peice of junk. Its the only car ive paid for twice in parts.

 

I think the problem I had when I started this thread, and the problem that I have when people tear into the X type, is when they tear into it because of its looks. I won't try to pretend its some super reliable car that never breaks down, It's an eccentric little Jaguar, that's for sure. But just pop over to the XF forum. It isn't paradise over there either.

No, my problem was with the current batch of Jaguar designers and their comments. Say the car is unreliable, say the transfer boxes are prone to failure. Say the gearboxes with their "sealed for life" fluid are on borrowed time. But please ,give me break,and don't say that the car is aesthetically hideous, or disproportionate ,specially when all you are capable of designing are cars that look like Audi's or Lexus with growlers slapped in the grill.

 

Spikepaga,
Everyone is entitled to an opinion - regardless.
So, enufs been said now.... let it be.

 

I bought my 2007 X-Type Sportwagon almost 7 years ago. Usually I get tired of a car after 4 or 5 years and get something else. This time it's different. I enjoy driving it now as much as I did when I picked it up from the dealer. Yes, some of the mechanical issues I have been experiencing over the past few years are annoying, but overall I figure it's like any relationship - there are always things that need work! I just went to the Lake Mirror Classic car show in Lakeland, FL. Didn't see any "Jag Wag's" there so I think I will register mine for show next year.

 

I have a used, entry level Jag with decent power....AWD, picked it up cheap. Great winter car for me I have no issues with it. People can call it crap, Ford Jag, anything they want. I personally like it. Besides the lame battery light issue....I enjoy the car. No, it is not a rocket but the 3.0 works just fine for me and traffic, besides a little rough ride and big car rock...probably due to aged suspension, perfect entry level lux AWD car for under 7K....that is what my 2004 cost me at least. Traded in a 2002 Dodge Durango 5.9 R/T that was a 11 MPG gas hog and almost had 200K on the engine. This is my first winter with the car though so time will tell. The BBS Melbourne rims and Pilot Super Sport tires will be in the garage this week when I put my summer rims and snow tires on it.

 

Good write up...Replace ALL the Battery Cables and your Battery light issue should go away..

 

The above makes sense to me in two ways. There's nothing awkward about my X. I love it, looks, style, and performance. My friends love it too. Much cooler than having a Beemer, bc you don't see a JAG on every corner. Actually, you could go a week and not see another JAG on the road.

I also like that the X is a bit smaller and toned and trim. I like that comment bc I bought the X after my 96 Cadillac Eldorado blew its head gasket. That was a great car, but I always felt like it was kind of huge to be carting my 200lb around. When I got the X I loved the sporty feel of AWD and cornering etc. I lightened up my X and did some performance mods and it is now a just about where I want it. I'd still like to move the battery to the trunk and get Hi flow cats when my current ones go. To speak for the Duratec engine, it's a great design and zipps to high rpms and sounds good (more so since I modded the air flow thru the engine).

Btw, I haven't read the blog yet, but I know my X and she's a bad ****! Nothing else is a JAG.

 

I am 10/10 in line with Spike here....

It would be fine to let it be... if certain Jaguar Team members (at the top of the definement tree), would let it be and stop being

politicians.

IE, they should stop being world specialists in psycho analytical treatment towards X Type owners past and present, in that they are trying to be too clever.

Yes they are brilliant at designing, BUT, it does not make them world beaters in a) being clever in all areas.. or b) Turning Tail and telling

porkies under the pretense of making excuses to the point of actually trying to fool Joe Public and little old me!

In essence they are telling lies!

In my humble view Spikepaga has had his cage rattled and I'm in firm agreement.

Someone has to say it and I am 100% behind him..

My cage has been rattled too!

 

I totally agree here, sure its not the most reliable car, although mine has been so far (knock on real wood dash) but to say its ugly or awkward is just wrong. My aunt has a '13 640i and she loves the way my Jag looks, the whole family does. So does just about everyone else so far. Its a better looking Jag than an S-type in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I would love an STR, but they just don't look as good as the X. It is sad that spotting an older Jag in a sea of cars can be done from a mile away, but the newer Jags I might notice if I'm sitting at a long light around one. They have lost that distinct Jag look they have always had, like that older chap that had a glorious beard going all his life...then shaved it. They should have built the B99 concept and kept that style for the rest of the line up.

 

X2!!! Brilliantly summarized my thoughts. The X-Type has aged well, better than any other car from 2001 that I can think of, and in my humble opinion will only get better with age. Some looks are timeless; others... not so much. The fact that there was no heavily restyled X-Type that made the first generation obsolete definitely helps.

 

I personally like the look of the x-type. It has the classic Jaguar looks. Sure it has a smaller engine, but it gets better gas mileage. Didn't know it used Ford parts though. Kind of reminds me of the Ford Contour, but not really.

 

I'm one who is glad to have a reliable and proven Duratec/Porsche engine under the hood. JAG engineers modified the valves or whatever, then they took the Ford Mondeo frame and reinforced it to luxury car stds.

The more I read about how the X was conceived and designed by JAG, with Ford money; the more I dismiss the negative rhetoric. The X Type is a sound Jag, and I may just buy another X-Type come Christmas. I've had this one at 120mph using cruise control from Phoenix to Los Angeles.

Here is my Jag just sitting in a parking lot.

 

My "X" it's an amazing car, I love it! I love the fact that I have to learn about it to work on it, I love the fact it has a rock solid engine and crappy transmission, :P (which I have to replace…) I love the fact it get's looks where ever we go. Yeah, it was built with Ford money, but who cares..?

 

Long before I bought my X-Type, my father had many different loaners while his Citroën C5 (marvelously comfortable, yet hilariously unreliable with electrics) was spending time at the workshop. One of the loaners was a a diesel X-Type estate, and another was a Ford Mondeo mk3 estate. Yes, the very mk3 Mondeo with which the X-Type has 20% in common. The two were some time apart, but I don't recall noticing any similarities with the two aside from both being estates and painted black...

 

I am too, the engine and awd are a huge part of why I wanted a X-Type. I think Jag, and the X-type, would have gotten a better name for itself if they had entered the X in the BTCC. Imagine a X-type sedan and estate done up for BTCC racing, They said they wanted to attract a younger crowd interested in performance yet they skipped the most obvious way to sell cars to those people. Sure there are the X-type silhouette race cars but that was just a body shell over a tube frame. Touring car racing would have been perfect, in my opinion anyway.

 

Spot on Justink. It would've been nice to see the X-Type in competition with its peers on the track. With our hi rev V6 and AWD, plus a stick shift, we might have done pretty good. I guess we'll never know. That's rather lame of Jaguar, but they were using help from Ford and maybe things got complicated.

Back to my point about the X, straight horsepower does not win the race. The ability to hold your speed in the corners and curves makes a big difference, and that is one thing the X can do. Anytime that I'm hitting a corner hard, I know that if I start to slip, I need to hit the accelerator with high RPMs to regain control. However, this move, when skidding, is non-intuitive for most drivers, but it works with AWD, esp. when the car is lowered, and has sport suspension.