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Mark

New Car

After a bit of deliberation here:

http://themotor.myfastforum.org/ftopic12016-0.php

I finally decided on the car below – a ’55 plate Jaguar X-Type 2.0d Sport with 34,500 miles. In the end, it was a very close call between this and a Volvo S60 D5; other cars that were test driven before a decision was made were the Saab 9-3 and VW Passat – both of which were pretty poor. I also tried a Lexus IS which was very good but their values are still strong and I didn’t really want to spend any of my own money.

Thanks for the ideas and advice in the other thread.























Big TC

Good choice - I like the X-type, which seems to underwhelm a lot of people.
Racing

Looks very smart. I also like the X-type.
BeN

Nice
Grampa

Big TC wrote:
Good choice - I like the X-type, which seems to underwhelm a lot of people.


+1, especially this pre-facelift version.
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

That looks very nice indeed - colour really suits it, as does sport trim.
Parm

Looks like it's in great condition. Nice colour too. Enjoy.
DaveGibson

Big TC wrote:
Good choice - I like the X-type, which seems to underwhelm a lot of people.

Yes, it certainly wasn't what I expected (in 2.5 V6 form) but my opinion of the Saab 9-3 seems to be similar to Mark's.
Guitar Zero

Well I couldn't live with the poor image Mark

I saw an old person driving one once and that was it for me - I'd rather have aids and an FSO polonez

My mother's brother's cousin's room mate's uncle's boyfriend's window cleaner had an XJKXS-type and that was ghastly - which means all Jags are rubbish for ever and ever.


 

Lovely motor - glad to have been of service with the back ground info.
DarthBalls

Guitar Zero wrote:
Well I couldn't live with the poor image Mark

I saw an old person driving one once and that was it for me - I'd rather have aids and an FSO polonez

My mother's brother's cousin's room mate's uncle's boyfriend's window cleaner had an XJKXS-type and that was ghastly - which means all Jags are rubbish for ever and ever.


 


Calm down grandad!

My step dad's getting his V50 in the next couple of weeks. It even has a built in child seat for his grand-daughter.
Jasper

Guitar Zero wrote:
Well I couldn't live with the poor image Mark

I saw an old person driving one once and that was it for me - I'd rather have aids and an FSO polonez

My mother's brother's cousin's room mate's uncle's boyfriend's window cleaner had an XJKXS-type and that was ghastly - which means all Jags are rubbish for ever and ever.


 



It's not like you to have such a strong opinion.  

Nice car Mark. How hard is the '2.0d' badge to take off the back?
Roadsterstu

Looks nice - enjoy!
PG

Nice Sport trim and colour and full leather too, which was not standard on the Sport.  

An excellent choice.  
Matt

My Dad had one in that colour on the horizon when we got the S.

It's a really smart colour and I'm another [pre-facelift] X-type fan.
gonnabuildabuggy

Guitar Zero wrote:
Well I couldn't live with the poor image Mark

I saw an old person driving one once and that was it for me - I'd rather have aids and an FSO polonez

My mother's brother's cousin's room mate's uncle's boyfriend's window cleaner had an XJKXS-type and that was ghastly - which means all Jags are rubbish for ever and ever.


 

Lovely motor - glad to have been of service with the back ground info.


My inlaws have one, replaced a Rover 75 (which replaced a Montego)



Seriously, a nice car, underated and I liked the one I ran for a while a lot.

Looks good spec/colour as well.
Bob Sacramento

We have an identical one as a pool car at work. It's one of those cars that underwhelms you at first and then as you keep driving it starts to grow on you more and more. It gets decent mpg as well.

One thing everyone who drives it agrees on though is that the leather seats are too hard for long journeys.
Mark

Thanks for all the comments.

The car really is a grower and very under-rated – I actually like it more now than I did when I left the deposit.

“That looks very nice indeed - colour really suits it, as does sport trim.”

The pictures (it was a dull day) don’t really do the colour justice – it’s very striking in sunlight.

“Looks like it's in great condition. Nice colour too.”

The car is very, very tidy – a few stone chips on the front (which you would get on anything - even at a quarter of the age) and the interior/leather is un-marked. And, not a squeak, creak or rattle from anywhere.

“Lovely motor - glad to have been of service with the back ground info.”

You were indeed – thanks a lot.

“How hard is the '2.0d' badge to take off the back?”

I actually caught the “2” of the badge with a cloth while polishing it on Friday and pulled it away from the bodywork. It’s stuck back into place but the whole thing should come off with no problems.

“One thing everyone who drives it agrees on though is that the leather seats are too hard for long journeys.”

I did a 200 (ish) mile round trip on Saturday and I find the seats supremely comfortable and supportive in all the right places. Actually, although it’s a Sport, the whole car is very cosseting – but sharp when you lean on it.

Faults?

There is a slight whistle coming from around the driver’s door mirror – all seems to be present and correct but I’ll get it checked properly at some point.

Not really a fault as such, but whoever it is in quality control that signed off the indicator (& wiper) stalks should be shot.

I like it and think it’s a very, very good car.
woof woof

I've had one of these for a day a couple of times when my S was in getting serviced. I'd have one   I hope that you enjoy it  
Gooner

I've always thought the X-type was a good looking car in the right colour and certainly that blue is one of them, but if I had a reservation it's that centre console. What were they thinking?! The radio and ventilation controls look like they've been lifted from an early nineties Honda. But if you're happy with it and it works logically then I'm sure this will be a minor point!

It looks like you got a good spec though, especially with the leather and multi-function wheel - which is a part of the dash that does look alright. From what I've heard, you've also got the better engine. The 2.2d has been described by a colleague of mine as being far too rough and not worth the extra power. As a new car I could understand why the E46 3 series was a more popular car and likewise the C-class, but looking at the X-type in those pics I think it's aged much better (though this could be in part their rarity in comparison to the 3). I know most journalists will cite the design being it's downfall but I know a lot of people who like it and truth be told it was Jaguars poor reputation that was the problem.
Matt

Those centre-console buttons are in the S-Type too. I believe they're all Ford items (the stereo screen appears to be lifted from the MK.1 Focus, in fact.)
Guitar Zero

They aren't Ford buttons, they are Jag buttons that just happen to be a bit crap.
cbeaks1

The 12v socket cover is suspiciously familiar though.
Frank Bullitt

cbeaks1 wrote:
The 12v socket cover is suspiciously familiar though.


Funny how nobody complained when the A3 dashboard was sent to Spain for a weeks holiday in the sun and ended up staying for a few years after a SEAT Leon factory tour!

Looks smart - does the 2.0D sound...erm...rough?  The only reason I mention it is that one of my neighbours used to have a 2.0D X-type which, frankly, sounded like a bag of bolts at the best of times; always wondered if his was a poorly-serviced pup or whether Jaguar thought an unsilenced digger-engine was acceptable?

Liked my friends X-Type (2.5), very reliable too.
Mark

Frank Bullitt wrote:
cbeaks1 wrote:
The 12v socket cover is suspiciously familiar though.


Funny how nobody complained when the A3 dashboard was sent to Spain for a weeks holiday in the sun and ended up staying for a few years after a SEAT Leon factory tour!


Indeed!

The Mondeo comments are already tiresome - I have to say (not here, but from acquaintances).
Mark

Frank Bullitt wrote:
cbeaks1 wrote:
The 12v socket cover is suspiciously familiar though.
Looks smart - does the 2.0D sound...erm...rough?  The only reason I mention it is that one of my neighbours used to have a 2.0D X-type which, frankly, sounded like a bag of bolts at the best of times; always wondered if his was a poorly-serviced pup or whether Jaguar thought an unsilenced digger-engine was acceptable?


Not at all – it’s more refined than the Insignia that it has replaced – and that was in no way bad. It even has a bit of a purposeful growl at certain points in the rev range. I have to say though; I have no idea what it sounds like from the outside.
gonnabuildabuggy

My 2.0d seemed fine noise wise and it's the first and only Diesel I've ever had so i'd be more aware than most.

i did try to convert it to petrol at a shell pump though

cbeaks1

Mark wrote:
Frank Bullitt wrote:
cbeaks1 wrote:
The 12v socket cover is suspiciously familiar though.


Funny how nobody complained when the A3 dashboard was sent to Spain for a weeks holiday in the sun and ended up staying for a few years after a SEAT Leon factory tour!


Indeed!

The Mondeo comments are already tiresome - I have to say (not here, but from acquaintances).


I wasn't complaining! - Anyone that pulls the Mondeo card is retarded. CD132 Mondeos were brilliant, and still missed by me.
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

cbeaks1 wrote:
I wasn't complaining! - Anyone that pulls the Mondeo card is retarded. CD132 Mondeos were brilliant, and still missed by me.

+1 emphatically. If you're going to base a product on a volume platform, it's hard to imagine a better one to choose.
gonnabuildabuggy

Dr. Hfuhruhurr wrote:
cbeaks1 wrote:
I wasn't complaining! - Anyone that pulls the Mondeo card is retarded. CD132 Mondeos were brilliant, and still missed by me.

+1 emphatically. If you're going to base a product on a volume platform, it's hard to imagine a better one to choose.


+2 I loved driving mine and still hanker after an ST220 at some point.
Gooner

gonnabuildabuggy wrote:
Dr. Hfuhruhurr wrote:
cbeaks1 wrote:
I wasn't complaining! - Anyone that pulls the Mondeo card is retarded. CD132 Mondeos were brilliant, and still missed by me.

+1 emphatically. If you're going to base a product on a volume platform, it's hard to imagine a better one to choose.


+2 I loved driving mine and still hanker after an ST220 at some point.


It always did seem silly that the same journalists that heaped praise on the Mondeo, especially its chassis, would then go on to slate the X-Type for using a Mondeo chassis! There was rumours once of an X-Type R. Given how good the Mondeo ST220 was, that could have been a missed opportunity.
SpecB

I looked at 3.0 X-types before I bought the Subaru.  I really liked the car but just decided it wasn't for me.

I still like them.
Mark

Bob Sacramento wrote:
It gets decent mpg as well.


I didn't think it was doing very well to be honest, but this morning I completed a proper brim test and over a mixture of stuck in traffic/town stop/start and country lanes (up hill - down dale) driving near home, it's returning 41.8 mpg. Not being driven particularly gently either.

I think that's pretty good.
PG

Gooner wrote:
It always did seem silly that the same journalists that heaped praise on the Mondeo, especially its chassis, would then go on to slate the X-Type for using a Mondeo chassis! There was rumours once of an X-Type R. Given how good the Mondeo ST220 was, that could have been a missed opportunity.


How come Audi A3's and TT's never got slated in the press for being rebodied Octavias? And yet the shitty comments about the Mondeo underpinnings of the X Type probably did little to help it establish itself in the market.  

An X Type R estate would have been one damn good car. An RS4 Avant several years earlier.
DaveGibson

I suspect the X-Type's poor reception was probably engendered by its derivation from a FWD platform when Jaguars had hitherto been RWD. The Audis were 'true' to their origins.
Martin

That does look smart, Sport trim is essential for the X Type and dark colours are best.

I've never liked the interior, but that's one of the better ones I've seen with the black trim and full leather.

41.8mpg isn't bad, but it's not exactly good either.  I very rarely got an mpg figure that low in the Passat and the Jetta is hovering around the 46-48 mpg whilst being driven like a hire car.
Mark

Martin wrote:
That does look smart, Sport trim is essential for the X Type and dark colours are best.

I've never liked the interior, but that's one of the better ones I've seen with the black trim and full leather.

41.8mpg isn't bad, but it's not exactly good either.  I very rarely got an mpg figure that low in the Passat and the Jetta is hovering around the 46-48 mpg whilst being driven like a hire car.


I agree – it’s not fantastic - but much better than the circa 36 mpg that the Insignia was returning and better than I expected. I know the Passats are really frugal but I think the trade off with the Jaguar is fair enough – the mechanical refinement and relative lack of noise does make it feel like it’s from a class above.
Gooner

Mark wrote:
Martin wrote:
That does look smart, Sport trim is essential for the X Type and dark colours are best.

I've never liked the interior, but that's one of the better ones I've seen with the black trim and full leather.

41.8mpg isn't bad, but it's not exactly good either.  I very rarely got an mpg figure that low in the Passat and the Jetta is hovering around the 46-48 mpg whilst being driven like a hire car.


I agree – it’s not fantastic - but much better than the circa 36 mpg that the Insignia was returning and better than I expected. I know the Passats are really frugal but I think the trade off with the Jaguar is fair enough – the mechanical refinement and relative lack of noise does make it feel like it’s from a class above.


To be fair the 1.6d in my Focus is smaller and slightly more modern and only does 46mpg so 42mpg in the Jag seems alright to me.
Martin

36mpg in the Insignia is terrible!!  You might as well have a 6 cylinder petrol.....
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