Future of Jag X-Type?

The X Type is a restyled European Ford Mondeo. The S-Type is a restyled
American Ford Contour.

Who cares what the cars were based on. The Contour was a very nice car
for what a person paid, and the S Type is wonderful for what it is. The
S Type has a brilliant suspension and a free revving V6 that is quite
powerful. The X Type doesn't have the same quality of suspension that
the S Type has, but it has a nice interior and drives very well. Also
remember that the Mondeo won quite a few awards in Europe for being a
great car before it got turned into the X -type.

Don't get hung up on what the platform also underlies. What you are
buying is the car that you are seeing and driving and if you love it
then it's the car for you. There is a lot of good in the X type. If you
like it, go for it!
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

Its not to be discontinued
Most modern mass production cars are built on a floorpan that is used by
multiple models/makes, the specific manu then adds a bodyshell and various
mechanical tweaks etc - very basically put -


"Sills" <wpsills DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3b00e7019f4a570403fe8a0a5760dae6@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...
> I still go back and forth in trying to decide whether to remain loyal to
> Volkswagen or to try a Jaguar X-Type sedan next time. Every time I see one
> of those cars, I fall in love again.......But...Can anyone tell me if this
> model is supposed to be discontinued in the near future? I've heard that
> this is a possibility. Some "purists" say it's not a "real" Jaguar, but
> merely a Ford Contour with fancy sheetmetal. It's probably the ONLY Jag I
> could ever afford, save for a very used S-Type.....Any thoughts?
>
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

In article
<3b00e7019f4a570403fe8a0a5760dae6 RemoveThis @localhost.talkaboutautos.com>,
"Sills" <wpsills RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:

> I still go back and forth in trying to decide whether to remain loyal to
> Volkswagen or to try a Jaguar X-Type sedan next time. Every time I see one
> of those cars, I fall in love again.......But...Can anyone tell me if this
> model is supposed to be discontinued in the near future? I've heard that
> this is a possibility. Some "purists" say it's not a "real" Jaguar, but
> merely a Ford Contour with fancy sheetmetal. It's probably the ONLY Jag I
> could ever afford, save for a very used S-Type.....Any thoughts?
>

Wait till the all-wheel drive Ford Fusion is available, then go for
that. I am.

BTW, I still own my '71 XKE.

Al
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

Ford Fusion?
I assume in the USA, the fusion is a decent sized high spec'd sedan (saloon)
It is far from that in the UK, far far from it!
I read somewhere (and I forget where, I read so much) that the X Type will
indeed be replaced, with a similar line up to the current models (engine
choice).
Most of the changes will be mechanical ... a Jag has to look like a Jag,
right?

The new Ford Mondeo (Contour in the USA?) is virtually production ready ....
due out in 2006/7 ... date to be confirmed.

The 'new' X Type will use the new floorpan on which the new Mondeo is built
(along with several other Ford?Mazda vehicles no doubt!)


"Al" <no.spam.DeleteThis@wanted.com> wrote in message
news:no.spam-AC2B59.11323308012006@news.verizon.net...
> In article
> <3b00e7019f4a570403fe8a0a5760dae6.DeleteThis@localhost.talkaboutautos.com>,
> "Sills" <wpsills.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I still go back and forth in trying to decide whether to remain loyal to
>> Volkswagen or to try a Jaguar X-Type sedan next time. Every time I see
>> one
>> of those cars, I fall in love again.......But...Can anyone tell me if
>> this
>> model is supposed to be discontinued in the near future? I've heard that
>> this is a possibility. Some "purists" say it's not a "real" Jaguar, but
>> merely a Ford Contour with fancy sheetmetal. It's probably the ONLY Jag I
>> could ever afford, save for a very used S-Type.....Any thoughts?
>>
>
> Wait till the all-wheel drive Ford Fusion is available, then go for
> that. I am.
>
> BTW, I still own my '71 XKE.
>
> Al
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

I too have heard that the X-Type may be discontinued.

The real question is, given your budget, when you open your garage,
what do you want to see there? Forget about the purists, the guys
who say to get a "good older Jag," etc. etc. etc. If you say that
every time you see an X-Type you "fall in love," then in sounds to me
like you've found your car. If you feel that way about a Ford Fusion,
then get one of those.

For me, it's my 2003 4.2 S-Type in British Racing Green. I love my
car.

In the US, BTW, three year old S-Types are easily available for less
than the price of a new X-Type. Buy for many people, there's nothing
quite like having a new car.

Follow your heart.

Michael W.
Chicago, IL, USA
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

> The X Type is a restyled European Ford Mondeo. The S-Type is a
> restyled American Ford Contour.

Rubbish! Restyling means taking the existing car and changing its looks a
bit. The X-type uses a modified, *shortened* version of the Mondeo floor
pan, just picking up 6 "hard points". Some of the suspension and brake
parts from the Mondeo were used as well, but remember that this Mondeo
design never had AWD. The Ford Duratec V6 block was used as a *basis* for
the engine, but it was strengthened and the innards are all Jaguar-designed
(e.g. variable valve timing and variable length inlets). Aside from this
and a few switches and filters, the entire car is a totally fresh design.
The motoring press just ignored the facts for the sake of an eye-catching
headline - as usual - and it has stuck. I don't remember them criticising
the Audi TT because it is a re-bodied Golf, even when the car killed many of
the early owners because of its handling defects.

The S-Type shares far more components with the US car that was used as a
platform (I thought it was a Lincoln - surely not a Contour!) but the press
never went to town on that one either.

--
Gnomeface
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

I believe the S-Type was originally built on the Lincoln LS platform,
whatever that means. The LS is a nice car, but having driven them
quite a bit, I'd never think that one vehicle had anything to do with
the other. I also recall reading that in 2003 the S-Type was
"redesigned" with 70% of the components being new (vs the 2002).

Some folks like vintage cars, some like new ones. Some people prefer
old houses to new contruction. Personally, I prefer old houses and new
cars.

Michael W.
Chicago, IL, USA
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

My post was lazy, and I apologize. The Mondeo platform does underlie
the X-Type, but as I tried to point out the platform means nothing when
you compare actual cars, and perhaps I didn't say that precisely
enough, but you definitely drove the point home.

In rereading it, I did not mean to say that the Contour underlies the S
Type. That's wrong. I was being snarky because when the S Type came out
people made the same accusations about it being a restyled Ford because
it used a reworked Contour engine. To the best of my knowledge the
platform was developed uniquely for the Lincoln LS and the S Type. It
has hence been heavily reworked and put under the Thunderbird and now
the new Mustang.

Both of these platforms are fabulous, but just because the S Type and
the Mustang share some chassis architecture does not make them the same
car. They are like apples and oranges.

What I am still trying to say to the original poster is that just
because Ford used an award winning chassis to base the X Type on does
not make it a Mondeo. Cars are a lot more than their chassis
architecture or their engine. Handling comes from so much more and
driving the two would show the difference. Again my apologies for being
lazy in my posting.
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

Gnomeface wrote:
> > The X Type is a restyled European Ford Mondeo. The S-Type is a
> > restyled American Ford Contour.
>
> Rubbish! Restyling means taking the existing car and changing its
> looks a bit. The X-type uses a modified, *shortened* version of the
> Mondeo floor pan, just picking up 6 "hard points". Some of the
> suspension and brake parts from the Mondeo were used as well, but
> remember that this Mondeo design never had AWD. The Ford Duratec V6
> block was used as a *basis* for the engine, but it was strengthened
> and the innards are all Jaguar-designed (e.g. variable valve timing
> and variable length inlets). Aside from this and a few switches and
> filters, the entire car is a totally fresh design. The motoring press
> just ignored the facts for the sake of an eye-catching headline - as
> usual - and it has stuck. I don't remember them criticising the Audi
> TT because it is a re-bodied Golf, even when the car killed many of
> the early owners because of its handling defects.
> The S-Type shares far more components with the US car that was used
> as a platform (I thought it was a Lincoln - surely not a Contour!)
> but the press never went to town on that one either.

If one is going to deride a car because of what it was "based on" then the
original Ford
Mustang was "just a Falcon".
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

Everytime I see a S or X-type I think Taurus.
i can't help it.

Definately not a XJ or XK.

Hazey wrote:
> My post was lazy, and I apologize. The Mondeo platform does underlie
> the X-Type, but as I tried to point out the platform means nothing when
> you compare actual cars, and perhaps I didn't say that precisely
> enough, but you definitely drove the point home.
>
> In rereading it, I did not mean to say that the Contour underlies the S
> Type. That's wrong. I was being snarky because when the S Type came out
> people made the same accusations about it being a restyled Ford because
> it used a reworked Contour engine. To the best of my knowledge the
> platform was developed uniquely for the Lincoln LS and the S Type. It
> has hence been heavily reworked and put under the Thunderbird and now
> the new Mustang.
>
> Both of these platforms are fabulous, but just because the S Type and
> the Mustang share some chassis architecture does not make them the same
> car. They are like apples and oranges.
>
> What I am still trying to say to the original poster is that just
> because Ford used an award winning chassis to base the X Type on does
> not make it a Mondeo. Cars are a lot more than their chassis
> architecture or their engine. Handling comes from so much more and
> driving the two would show the difference. Again my apologies for being
> lazy in my posting.
>
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

I don't really care what platform the X-Type is based on, as long as parts
will be readily available as they wear out. For example, is the 3.0 in the
X the same engine as the 3.0 in the S-Type, or are they different? Also,
I'm looking about 3 years down the road, anyway. Until my wife's SUV is
paid off (34 to go @ $447.40.....)Even then, a new X-type would be out of
the question. I'm thinking more like $20,000-23,000 for a used one 2 or 3
years old. Another problem is that I'm 100 miles (or 160Km, for our UK
friends) from the nearest dealership. Since Jaguar only sells, what,
20,000 cars annually? in the US, there aren't that many dealerships.
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

Hazey - OK... understood, and apology accepted. I have owned a 3-litre
X-type for over 3 years, and whilst I accept that it is not in the same
class as the XJ and XK models it is still a fine car. I also have a Mondeo,
and whilst they are also good cars there is no comparison between the two.
The X-Type all-wheel drive is absolutely superb, with 60% of the torque fed
to the back wheels in normal circumstances, and I've never been able to get
a wheel to spin even on wet roads without DSC. The grip when accelerating
hard round a sharp bend from very low speed is simply unbelievable when
compared with FWD or RWD. My Mondeo has only 130bhp (100 less than the
Jaguar) but it still produces understeer and some wheelspin in the same
situation, and my wife's RWD 145bhp MX5 roadster (renowned for its superb
handling) just goes into huge oversteer - even with its limited slip diff.

I'd still like an S-Type 'R' though.
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type? 

Jaguar US sales for 2004+5 were around 76,000 for the 2 years combined -
20,000 S-Types and 32,000 X-Types. Most X-types would have been 3.0L, and I
guess that the 4.2L S-Type would be more common. The 3.0 engines are
more-or-less the same - the S-Type develops about 10bhp more, but that is
more to do with the poorer breathing of the transverse-mounted X-type
installation than anything else. Current X-Types are one of the most
reliable cars you can buy - and top of recent owner satisfaction surveys,
beating Lexus.

--
Gnomeface
 >> Stay informed about: Future of Jag X-Type?