My X has been running very well for the past couple of weeks, fuel economy still stinks, but that's cause I don't go very far anymore. I think I am getting use to driving this car, it only took 4 months, but remembering I had a Benz for 8 years, which is a completely different car in many ways, this X is turning out to be a decent 7 year old automobile. From driving a gentleman's sedan to a sport sedan takes a while.

 

It really is apples and oranges.

If you search through my early threads you'll see I too had my issues. My first CEL happened 15 minutes after buying the car. It's been in the shop 4 times in less than 8 month.

Pretty much everything can be traced back to an idiot installing a new windshield. I still have a couple of issues, the park assist gave up after a couple of months, I noticed it was going a bit crazy then stopped altogether. Prior to having the windshield replaced the right side electric defroster in the windshield (I've got the cold weather package) didn't work. The guy showed me the connection on the old windshield and they looked cooked, must have been getting really hot, then the new windshield worked fine for a month. Now it has stopped working again and the connection is way up behind the glove box so the chances of me getting in there to fix it are slim to none.

But I really do like the car, it's very different, and has a personaily of it's own. I'm never quite know if it's going to be good for the day having been stranded a couple of times. But that's half the fun of having an older car.

I'm glad Adam you are starting to embrace it.

 

Adam, what you say certainly resonates with my experience. Initially, I had significant buyers remorse when I got my X Type. However, I have to admit now that after 4 years of ownership it is by far my favorite car that I have owned. I think it's aged really well and still draws appreciative looks - and trust me in Washington that's pretty unusual for an entry level car like the X

 

IMHO the X Type is one of the best designed cars on the road today, too bad Jaguar stopped making them. The design is timeless and will look good 20 years from now as it does today. That's is one of the reason I bought it.

 

Certainly, money talks and this year Jaguar's 60% increase in car sales is probably vindication of their new styling. But to me (taste is personal of course), the current XF and XJ styling remind me of Lexus/Mercedes S550 like styling. In the current line up I only like the XK styling. The last gen XJ was in the same class as a Maserati Quattroporto or Porsche Panamera and the XJ and the X Type looked 'jaguarish' - when you bought one, it was obvious the stand out styling was a big factor.

In fact, when my wife went in to get the XF in August, I lobbied her real hard to consider a lightly used XJ Vanden Plas that could be had for the same price! I drove both and honestly, the XJ was superb inside and out. The XF is very similar to a Lexus GS 350 (a much less expensive car)...from a styling perspective and the materials on the inside (my opinion).

On a side note, I recall when I first got the X Type (our C Class, which my wife drove mostly, was only a few months old) it was as if the car had dual personalities - on the one hand it had this excellent, deep paint finish and the inside had this rich leather and wood that made it look like a much more expensive sedan than it was....but the inside also had bits and pieces of really cheap plastic like a truly economy car. It was amazing! I wasn't sure if they suck some really expensive looking and feeling materials on a cheap car, or added cheap parts on an expensive car! The C280 was medium all around - consistent.

When it came to driving the car, there were some similar quirks - the engine came to life with this nice little growwwwl and the shift was butter smooth but when going over bumps the front wheels would make this slight thump. I just wasn't used to it. Also, compared to the X, the C280 had a smoother revving engine and switching between comfort and sport mode seemed to change the feel of the car. On the X, I just leave it on S Mode since there is no difference in the ride quality, except the pick up seems to be better in S.

So it sum it up - the X type seemed crude in some respects and very refined in other respects. I could go on...the sound system (I got the premium audio on both the X and the C) was far superior on the X Type, but the CD changer was in the trunk (compared to glove compartment in the C) which made it useless. Also, I had to pay $1000 to get an ipod connector on the X, which was included with my C. However, the ACM (which was the ipod connector) was great and similar to what was on the top of the class Range Rovers! go figure. The audio/climate control system had (in my opinion) great button layout and easy to figure out - but the grey plastic cover was really cheap. However, I have to admit the plastic on the C Class got easily scratched and I noticed it all the time towards the end. The X Type dash is still pristine...

Anyway, it's definitely a car with dual personalities - refined luxury on one hand and tarted up standard compact on the other. Overall I love it though. I'm sad they stopped making them. Once I accepted the dual aspects of the car, I really appreciated it more. I guess Jaguar had a price point that they had to meet and they met it by not doing everything in the middle, but mixing and matching from the top and the bottom! I guess one would call that "British' - no half way!

 

I think my next car in a couple of years (consider my wife and I have gone through 7 in the last 5 years) is going to be an 08 XJR. I think that car is timeless, it's a Jag, but it is definately got some styling cues from other premium cars as well.

I looked at a new one a few weeks ago just because I was grabbing something from the dealer and although I like them, they are migrating away from the classic Jaguar styling and getting more asian.