2002 Jaguar X-Type Article at Automotive.com

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2002 Jaguar X-Type 3.0 Review Introduction

Below is an enthusiast article written by the automotive experts at European Car. Jaguar has made no bones about how important the X-Type is to its future. This four-door sports sedan was designed to be the car that introduces classic Jaguar values--luxurious performance and tasteful, high-quality appointments--to an entirely new group of c

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IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

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Article From European Car Magazine

2002 Jaguar X-Type 3.0 Part 1: Intro

A new direction for an old carmaker / By Greg N. Brown / Article provided by: European Car Magazine

Jaguar has made no bones about how important the X-Type is to its future. This four-door sports sedan was designed to be the car that introduces classic Jaguar values--luxurious performance and tasteful, high-quality appointments--to an entirely new group of car buyers: Younger, hipper, those who lead active lives and are years away from clipping coupons or tracking blue-chip stocks. Sales are to be captured from potential buyers of BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 or Mercedes-Benz C-Class models, which is an especially tough crowd to convert. Moreover, the target for X-Type sales is hardly modest. Projections (remember, this was before the awful events of last Sept. 11 and the resulting dip in the world economy) called for 30,000 X-Type sales per year in America, and for its worldwide sales to contribute heavily to the doubling of total Jaguar sales over the next two years.

It's a tough road ahead for the crowd from Coventry, but on paper the X-Type has the credentials to make these goals reachable--especially when it's outfitted like our newest long-term vehicle. In late February we took delivery of a 2002 Jaguar X-Type Sport with 231-bhp 3.0-liter V6 engine and a manual five-speed transmission, aptly cloaked in British Racing Green, the standard leather interior a handsome hue called Sand. The car's base suggested retail price was $35,950, which includes such standard four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and EBD, and variable-ratio speed-sensitive power steering. Standard running gear is 6.5x 6-in. steel wheels with 205/55VR16 all-season radials.

The interior boasts the usual luxury amenities and includes automatic climate control; one-touch open/close power windows; bird's-eye maple wood trim; eight-way power driver's seat; front and rear footwell carpets; cruise control and a tilt/telescoping steering wheel.

Audio systems are available in two stages, both by Alpine. Standard is a 120-watt AM/FM/cassette head unit with four door-mounted speakers. The Premium system has a 180-watt amp driving ten speakers and a trunk-mounted six-disc CD changer. Steering-wheel-mounted controls augment the traditional dials of the head unit; if the optional navigation system is ordered, however, the audio system is operated via the central 7-in. touch screen display that also contains controls for climate and nav systems and Motorola Timeport integrated telephone systems.

Active safety systems abound: driver and front passenger side airbags and seatbelt tensioners; front and rear side curtain airbags; three-point seatbelts for all five passengers; automatically locking doors when the car gets underway; and a full-sized spare wheel/tire.

Our test car came loaded, as evidenced by the $43,250 bottom line on the sticker. The options begin with a freebie, the five-speed cable-shifter manual transmission that comes as the standard gearbox for the 2.5-liter X-Type. Jaguar's five-speed electronic automatic, standard on the 3.0-liter model is, conversely, a no-cost option with the 2.5-liter engine.

Contributing $2,500 to the car's tariff is the Premium package, which contains a bunch of neat stuff: one-touch tilt/slide electric glass moonroof; 70/30 split/fold rear seat; eight-way power front passenger seat; two-way power lumbar support for both front seats; electrochromatic rearview mirror; auto headlamps; rain-sensing wipers; reverse park control; message center and trip computer; and Homelink(R)-compatible three-channel garage door/entry gate opener.

Hold on; we're just getting started. With the Sport option package, for a mere $2,000, our car was fitted with 7x17-in. alloys and 225/45ZR17 performance radials; a body-colored grille surround, rear plinth (yeah, whatever); bumper blades and black side window trim; leather-trimmed sport-style seats; gray-stained bird's-eye maple trim; sport-tuned suspension; and Dynamic Stability Control.

Hey, and why not add the Weather options, too (available only with the Premium group): heated front seats with two temp settings; headlamp power wash with heated jets; and Dynamic Stability Control. Wait...we've already got that with the Sport group, but we won't get charged twice, so this sets us back only $600.

Finally, we agreed to try out Jag's navigation system, a $2,200 hit. Additional options not on our car include JaguarNet, an emergency messaging system with integrated digital cell phone ($1,650); Alpine Premium sound system with six-disc CD changer ($1,200); xenon headlamps with automatic headlight leveling ($675). There are also dozens of dealer-supplied accessories from bike holders to trunk-mounted CD changers to Voice Activation.

The X-Type warranty is 4 years or 50,000 miles limited coverage. Scheduled maintenance is free, and 24-hour roadside assistance is part of the package.

Jaguar's first car with permanent all-wheel drive was designed to provide a tasty mix of performance with refined ride quality and, hopefully, attract buyers whose loyalty, when their wallets expand, will extend to cars further up in the line. The question is, can the car deliver all the expected Jaguar qualities at a price never before explored by the British luxury car maker?

Stay with us over the next year and we'll try to answer that question.