Petrol consumption on the V6s is very bad, and they depreciate heavily (particularly if you have a lot of options). They could be a good buy second-hand, but only with a warranty - they are complex cars and early ones had some teething troubles. Having said that, service from a Jaguar dealer is first class. I had several very expensive components repaced under warranty for minor irritations (e.g. complete steering rack due to a hardly audible noise) and with absolutely no argument from Jaguar or the dealer - you mention there's a problem and they fix it, no questions. Having experienced significant issues with other makes in the past where they say 'they all do that, live with it', I was very impressed.
I had a 2.5 Sport and loved it for 4.5 years. With 4WD, big tyres and stiff suspension you can drive it like no other and with total confidence - the road-holding is amazing.....but if you're used to the German opposition they can feel 'soft' in comparison. Personally I like that - I tried an Audi A4 S-Line and it was, frankly, bone-wrattling. Great on a track, but not so great with a 5-year-old in the back!
I just traded in for a 2.2D manual and am astounded by how different the car feels. It is very well put together and much stiffer than my old car. You lose the unshakable grip from the 4WD, but the petrol consumption halves. The 2.2D engine is fantastic and actually feels faster than my 2.5 petrol! The Sport is the one to go for - the non-Sport models are OK, but a bit bland from a drivers perspective. If you drove a non-Sport model or it was a few years old, then maybe getting in a new Sport would give you a different opinion.
I've heard all the mondeo comments, but these are two totally different cars. Having driven both, I can say there is no comparison. Yes, some of the bits are the same, but the feel of the car is very different. Much in the same way that an Audi TT doesn't feel anything like a Skoda, despite them sharing many components. Maybe I'm a snob, but you do feel 'special' in the Jag - something a Mondeo fails miserably at. If cost is your metric then, yes, the Mondeo maybe a good option....but if you're looking at Jags then that's probably not your only criteria!
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My parents had a look at a few X types in january when they where looking to replace there car.
The 2 litre ones just seemed cheap to look at, Most had a manual gearbox, cloth trim & these funny handle things in the rear to lower & raise the windows.
They had a look at a couple of 3 litre ones & these looked a lot better, Leather, auto, full electric's.
In the end it they didn't bother with them & bought an ex demo Mondeo for silly money from a Ford main dealer.
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The cloth trim comment is understandable, especially on a Jaguar, but it's actually much more comfortable, on this seat design.
& thats not just my usual anti dead animal skin, in cars, moans!
2.5 seems good compromise. Except in USA where 0nly 3litres now available, 'till out of production.
I like X Types!!
VB
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I've heard all the mondeo comments, but these are two totally different cars. Having driven both, I can say there is no comparison. Yes, some of the bits are the same, but the feel of the car is very different. >>
They are in fact two very similar cars, there is no point trying to say otherwise because the X-Type is in fact better off for its close relationship to the Mondeo, the Mondeo was a great starting point. From your comments you perhaps like the softer feel of the X-Type though the Mondeo Saloon and Hatch has a multilink rear suspension system that endows it with a sportier more responsive handling set up where as the X-Type rear suspension is actually based on the Mondeo Estate. Have you driven a 2.2 Mondeo saloon/hatch since you have had the 2.2 X-Type?, you might be surprised - or you might still prefer the softer feel of the X-Type.
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About May/June last year I picked up an '02 2.5 4WD X-type for bargain money from a local haulage company (ex-manager car). Valeted it up, serviced it and sold it on, for a decent profit, to a local chap. He only does a low mileage and is happy with it.
I have no axe to grind on the X-type, however I will say that once you stick your head underneath it you do notice that its really a Ford. The outer body and trim are Jag, but all the 'working bits' are Ford, with Ford-type engineering and from Ford suppliers. IMHO they are somewhat overpriced as a new car, but once depreciation takes its toll they drop to sensible money secondhand. When it comes to basic servicing you can save yourself a few bob by using a Ford dealer - the techs will be familiar with most of it and will be able to extract fault codes etc. Jag dealers are all very nice 'touchy feely' sort of thing to massage the ego's of their customers, but they will give you a thrashing price-wise. The chap who bought mine was quoted about £800 to fit a tow-bar!! I bought one for £100 and fitted it for about £100 for him.
The one thing that does concern me about buying an 'older' X-type (i.e. 2003 or earlier) is that they do seem to have been very 'buggy' - the list of TSB's for the earlier cars is very long - and they are not all trivial problems either!
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A mid to top of the range mondeo is a far beter buy.
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That was exactly my point - many shared underpinnings, just in the way a Skoda has shared underpinnings with an Audi. Does it matter? In my opinion, no - and arguably means that car is better off for gaining a great chasis from the Mondeo. Does an X-Type feel like a Mondeo to drive? Not in my opinion. Sure, there are some similarities, in the way I could detect similarities between an Audi TT that I drove whilst owning a bog-standard Golf.
Yes, I do like the softer setup of the Jag. I don't understand why manufacturers seem to think cars with mildly sporty trims to appeal to the under-40s should also come with bone-ratlling suspensions. I want to drive a smart car, but I also want to be comfortable! Maybe I should accept my fate and go for the 'old man' trim with chrome everywhere, but I just don't feel I'm ready for that yet!!! I actually quite like the new new Focus-ST, but could predict that if I drove one I'd absolutely hate it because of the harsh ride!
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>> I had a 2.5 Sport and loved it for 4.5 years. With 4WD, big tyres and stiff suspension you can drive it like no other and with total confidence - the road-holding is amazing.....but if you're used to the German opposition they can feel 'soft' in comparison. Personally I like that - I tried an Audi A4 S-Line and it was, frankly, bone-wrattling. Great on a track, but not so great with a 5-year-old in the back! I just traded in for a 2.2D manual and am astounded by how different the car feels. It is very well put together and much stiffer than my old car. You lose the unshakable grip from the 4WD, but the petrol consumption halves.
.... then maybe you're putting the wrong fuel in your diesel ??
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haha! For the elimination of doubt, I get double the mileage from the same amount of fuel. Surprisingly the 2.2D feels quite a bit faster than the 2.5 Petrol. It also depreciates much slower according to What Car indexes.
Most importantly - because a Diesel takes longer to warm up, there's an electric heating circuit that means you get warm air out of the ventilation system on a cold morning much quicker than in a Petrol!! I must be getting old!
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