I just picked up a beautiful garage kept 2003 Jag serviced X Type from an estate. It only has 85000 miles and I purchased it for $2500 US. What I can't figure out is why people have such a bad attitude towards the car. It's unbelievable for the money. Why the hate? I guess I could see it years ago but in the used market it doesn't make sense. I'd rather drive this than a a Kia.

 

I always thought the same thing - why? It seemed like all the press reports on the recent reveal of the XE trotted out the old X-Hate all over again. Its annoying to read what a terrible and unloved car the X-Type is, and how it was a disaster for Jaguar.

There's no good reason for it. Some people say it's a stale design from the start - but I think it has classic good looks. Some people still think Jags are unreliable, but I'm loving the reliability - and the AWD. Some people say it's just a gussied-up Mondeo - but this car oozes class - and you don't see one on every corner. I think Jaguar sold more X-Types than any other car they ever made.

When they see the car, everyone thinks I must be rich - and they're usually incredulous when I tell them what I paid for it - invariably a small fraction of what they paid for their pedestrian rice-mobiles and Messerschmidts.

Let the haters H8 - they're just opinionated loudmouths who haven't owned one.

 

total opposite here in the northeast everyone loves them down here,
its just like audi saab mercedes,they had some bad years,and it left a bad taste in there mouths,so you,ll have the haters,toyota lost there trust in people,the only one left with less issues is honda
and my x-type no issues here

 

Gregp, I will give you two sides from this story about the X-Type hate and ou can take things from there and beleive what you want.

My side of things: People hate this care for a few reasons with a few of them being "it is a dressed up Ford, to "it isn't a Jag because it doesn't meet the standards of a typical Jag", to "it is the most unreliable car ever made".

As for the "It's a dressed up Ford", sure, it shares a lot of components with various Ford products (Ford Mondeo, Volvo S40, amongst many). But, guess what, most modern day cars are like this, it just isn't a well known fact of what they share. Look at the mid 90's cars by GM and see how many cars are using the same chassis and components just with a slightly different grille and some having a nicer interior stock. Unfortunately, Ford crossed a line that most found as "going too far" when they took a "Ford" and put a Jaguar badge on it. When the reality of the situation is the X-Type uses very few Ford parts in it and those that it did use were the higher end things (except for the transfer case, but I will get there). So, let them hate on the car. You know what you have and smile. It just made sure that you got a great car for very cheap. The intention of this car was not to be an XJ, but merely a car that a "young executive" would want to show off to his clients to make them think he had lots of money. The hope was that later that same "young executive" would be in a better spot and want that next bigger/better car which would then be into the XJ/XK range where Jaguar really wanted people.

As for the reliability factor, there was a lot of grief given to this car about its transfer case. While the initial cars had issues, they got ironed out fairly quickly and those that are on the road to this day will most likely not suffer these problems. Then you have the "fear" of the Lucas electrical systems. By this point in time, the Lucas electrical was long gone and now you have the same type of wiring system that you find in any modern day vehicle. But, this "lucas fear" is still hanging out there, even to this day. Talk to your friends about why they don't want to get a Jag and I can almost garantee that they will bring up the electrical issue.

A lot of people also saw the design as a "retread". It was the same styling that Jaguar had been using for a long time (since 1968) with the 4 headlights and the lumpy hood. But, a lot of people also interpretted this to mean that the car was using "old technology". If you look at this car and compare it to a lot of other cars of the same year, you will find that this car was fairly cutting edge, especially for what it cost. But, they never got passed the front bumper to look at what made the car tick.

Now, the Jaguar side: Having just come back from the FeelXE event, I got to talk with the Jaguar designers and marketing people. The XE is battling the same issues that were brought up by the X-Type. Jaguar is trying to use this "cheap Jaguar" as a stepping stone for the "young executive" to give them a taste of the good life without killing their wallets. So, yes, the X-Type and the XE are not coming with a full leather dash. Duh. A full leather dash is expensive and if you are trying to impress someone, you need to get them to open the door and look at the interior to show them what they are buying. Hence why you are seeing the XE going with the more modern styling. Jaguar admitted that the X-Type suffered from the "old design being recycled" syndrome. Hence why in 2009, all the Jaguars got a face lift to change that perception. But, Jaguar wanted the X-Type to be a stepping stone. They were also getting tired of getting beat up by the 3-series BMW because when you look at things, if you toss out the X-Type, Jaguar then started at the 5-Series and went up from there. They didn't have anything that could intice the younger person to a Jaguar. It was seen more as an "old person vehicle".

If you want to talk more about this, let me know. There is one last thing that killed a lot of the lower high end cars was the need for premium gas. The people going after cars like the X-Type/3-Series/A4/etc were pushing their budgets to get that nice car and with the price of premium gas skyrocketing, people started having to cut back and one of the easiest things to get rid of was the "expensive car". Hence the market got flooded with a lot of nice vehicles with extremely low prices because a lot of people didn't want the "premium gas power monsters that got horrible mileage" for fear of what it would cost just in gas. So, all the nice cars lost a lot of value because of this. Hence why you could get the deal that you did.

 

Well this is my second Jag and I love them both. I've had an S type for a while now that has been a dream. I'm glad I found this forum.

 

I second everything Thermo said, and add my own similar phrase:
"Land Rover Discovery II". Well, except that you could push a Disco to twice the price of an X-type.

I'll tell you what, the car has serious street creds, regardless of what the press said. I am absolutely amazed at the number of lookers the car gets, especially now that they are older and you don't see so many (not that you ever saw many before). The design has stood the test of time, and holds up quite well a decade out, thank you very much.

I suspect that a nicely tuned, economical 4-banger might have moved a lot more of them...

 

I think it was mainly the motoring press that fanned the hate attitude and it was probably because the X Type came as only one model (OK two similar engines). Lets look at BMW, the press test the M3 and wet their pants over it but very few people buy that model. The BMW the average buyer gets is far more mundane. I've had a 2.5 MT for 8 years now and it's as good a car as I've ever had.

 

--The looks. --The Ride. --The looks. --The Ride. '03 91K miles and doing well.

 

The leaper on the hood still garners attention...it is interesting that I get almost as many comments while filling up or parking some place with this one as I do the XK8.

Personally, while I would have liked a couple of the options that dad had on the S-Types, I prefer the drive of the X-Type to both of the S-Types he owned.

The fact that both X-Types I have purchased in the past year were quite inexpensive was just an added bonus...

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...hought-126018/

Perhaps you will enjoy that topic.

Part of the reason is people are stupid. Some car journalist did not like the car and then another repeated it, and so on.

The great, great irony of the whole "it's a Ford" argument, is that the car is unmistakable Jaguar. You will not confuse this car with anything else than what it is from miles away ,not then and not now. Anybody that says this car looks a Ford from any angle is a liar or blind.





In contrast with the cars Jaguar is building today on their own platforms which in fact look like Fords. And Audi's and Lexus. And Mitsubishi. Etc












also, I think there is a more sinister motive coming directly from Jaguar. In these past years, in order to prop up the new cars, they themselves (particularly Ian Callum and his team) have gone on the attack with everything that came before him. He constantly disparages the jaguars from the 90's and 2000's. As a matter of fact, in the recent "top 10" cars picked for the "XE" event, you will not see anything designed by Geof Lawson or Keith Helfet, who preceded Callum in the design department. Despite the fact that Lawson and Helfet knew and actually consulted Sir William Lyons in the 80's. Particularly Helfet who worked with Sir William in the XJ41 project that would eventually evolve into the 98 XK8

 

That's telling, isn't it. In the end, Jaguar, like every other company, is bottom- line driven. In the interest of profit, they have chosen a new aesthetic direction. I guess if they're selling cars, it's working. It's just that the new cars, from any distance, look like Audis; they've become generic. (although I personally DO like the F type). So I suppose they are promoting the press to bash the earlier stuff. Dunno. You read terrible things about the X-Type, but people you actually talk to seem to like them. Jaguar sure sold a bunch of X-Types though, huh? Maybe ten years from now they'll be lamenting the unloved XE/ XF/ XJ series!

 

Some snide remarks , but no hate in UK * ( we also have the Diesel version ) Quite a large family of X's on the UK Jag Forums . Still 100.000 still on the road in uk. Ford connection very small , about 16% Ford Mondeo / Contour . Modified stretched platform & some braking/suspension bits. Its already got " Junior "Classic status . Its a great all round compact , with the added benefit of 4x4. AND !! it wears a JAGUAR badge ...

 

Agreed you do get the comments related to it being a Mondeo here, but no real dislike - and once your neighbours see you looking after it (wish my kids would support my 'looking after it' protocol :-)) and they have come to know you, they all start to refer to it as a Jaguar and start to see you as a real Jaguar owner :-) It's just a learning curve for the general public.. as I have said before, after having had an XJ it even took me a while to come to accept my X-Type as a thoroughbred Jaguar.. but what did it for me was reading up on Jaguars history and finding a lot of the classic Jaguars that are accepted as being purebred were in fact made with parts from part bins from other manufacturers.. It comes down to the character and you could say heart of the car, not what it is made from - when people first see an X-Type they think back to any references for discussion (as you would) and the first thing that pops into their mind is the Mondeo link which also brings a luxury car down in level towards whatever car they have, making discussion easier - but.. after they have seen your car a few times and get used to it, that link falls away in their minds and you don't hear any other mention of it..

 

For such a "horrible design", they certainly never sold as many of any other model, did they?


Of course, I like the original Dodge Magnum ('78, '79) design as well...

 

i must say that here in ireland, my 2005 diesel x-type, even today 9 years later, gets far more looks than any of the other cars i've owned. and i've owned plenty; BMW e36, e46, Alfa Romeo 75, Alfa GTV, MG MGF, etc to name but a few. The jaguar beats most of them in looks, comfort and to date, in performance.

 

I recently took my x-type to a tire place to get new tires and the guys working there were all over it: "Look at the wood! Leather interior! Beautiful design!..." The car looks good, rides great, impresses many, and is fun to drive. Not bad for a car that some one in the press rated as one of the 50 worst of all time!


I recently looked online at the new XE. No more wood accent interior!


And it looks to me very much like the Volvo S80 and a lot of other cars out there. At least no one is going to confuse your x-type with a Ford or Volvo.

 

I live in NW Florida and when I drive my 2002 X-Type to work, all the folks who drive the Lincolns, Lexus, etc. want to know who's making enough money to afford the classic Jag!! I just smile...