Jaguar X-Type
The Jaguar X-TYPE is an compact executive car produced by the Ford owned British luxury marque Jaguar Cars since 2001. It is built on a modified version of the Ford CD132 platform, a British version of the Ford CDW27 platform, which is the base for the Ford Mondeo, and remains in production at Jaguar's Halewood facility in England.
The X-TYPE is the smallest of the current Jaguar saloon (sedan) cars, and was designed to build on the success of the S-Type, although it takes many styling cues from the XJ series. Jaguar states that 10% of the parts are made by Jaguar, 20% are made by Ford, while the rest are made by subcontractors
The X-TYPE was designed as a direct competitor to the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the similar styled Rover 75.
Sales have been poor (more noticeably in foreign markets than in the UK), however, blamed on its resemblance to the larger XJ which was traditionally
bought by older customers, not the younger ones that Jaguar craved. Initially projected to surpass 100,000 annual sales, the X-TYPE peaked at 50,000
in 2003.
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The initial version of the X-TYPE was a saloon. In early 2004, this was joined by an estate version, making it the second ever Jaguar estate car, in addition to being the first to use a diesel engine.
The estate version was launched to mixed reception. In the United States, the estate is officially known as the "Sportwagon" and is not available as a diesel.
Sales in the United States, its primary market, dropped from 21,542 in 2004 to 10,941 in 2005. BMW sold 106,950 3 Series cars in the U.S. in 2005,
while Mercedes-Benz sold 60,658 C-Class cars and Audi sold 48,922 A4 and S4 models. Despite these poor numbers, the X-TYPE is Jaguar's best-selling
model, accounting for 36% of overall sales. Due to poor sales and the loss of profits resulting from the continued devaluation of the USD vs. the GBP
in recent years, Ford (then owner of the Jaguar brand) announced in October 2007, that it would stop sales of the X-Type in the United States.
The new generation X-TYPE went on sale in the UK in March 2008 and in other European markets in April 2008. In Canada, where it is Jaguar's best-selling
vehicle, expect it to be sold there.
Initially, the X-TYPE was equipped with either a 2.5 L 192 hp (143 kW) or a 3.0 L 227 hp (169 kW) Jaguar AJ-V6 engine. All wheel drive (the patented Jaguar Traction
4 system) is standard on 2.5 L & 3.0 L variants, but the 2.0 L petrol and all diesel models are two wheel drive. There is no diesel version available
in the U.S.
The four-wheel drive system is tuned to send 60% of engine power to the rear wheels and 40% to the front for a sportier feel.
As of 2007 in the UK, the 2.0 L and 2.5 L V6 petrol variants have been discontinued. The 3.0 L is still available but only in estate form. The only
saloon X-Types are the 2.0 L and 2.2 L Diesels.
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The 2008 revised X-Type has a new grill, with inset mascot and a new bumper.
The turbocharged 2.0 L Diesel engine is coupled to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The 2.2 L Diesel engine has the option of 6-speed manual or 6-speed
Sequential Shift, Automatic transmission.
The 3.0 L V6 has 5-speed manual or fully automatic transmission options.
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2008 X-Type |
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