The cat's out of the bag.
While Jaguar, the British-influenced car manufacturer, remains steadfast in its commitment as a car-builder (no sport utilities are on the drawing board....yet), the company made familiar by a leaping cat hood ornament is venturing into new design territory by offering a 'sportwagon' version of its popular X-Type sedan.
Jaguar is a member of Ford Motor Company's Premier Auto Group (PAG), a corporate offshoot that also includes high-end luxury automakers Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin. Ford purchased a controlling interest of the then-struggling company in the late 1980s, a precursor to the wave of automotive mergers and acquisitions taking place throughout much of the 1990s.
Jaguar's U.S. sales in 2004 reached 45,875 units, down 16 percent from the 2003 figure of 54,655. The model lineup for both years remained virtually identical (X-Type, S-Type, XJ sedan and XK coupe/convertible), so Jaguar is feeling encroachment from other worthy upscale competition.
Jaguar debuted the compact, luxury X-Type sedan in 2001 as a 2002 model year offering. Its debut was notable on several levels. This was the first all-wheel drive Jaguar ever offered, replacing rear-wheel drive prominent on its vehicles up to that time. The relatively affordable $30,000 price tag in 2001 encouraged those who once aspired to owning a Jaguar, to now visit their local dealers to test one. This was also going to be the volume leader for Jaguar.
Ford's influence could be felt. Both X-Type V-6 engines were built in Cleveland while the vehicle shared a platform with the European-sold Mondeo sedan. Ford used this same platform in the late 1990s when the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique were part of the lineups. While engines are assembled in the U.S. the rest of the vehicles is assembled in Halewood, England.
For the 2005 model year, X-Type has dropped the less-potent 2.5-liter V-6 engine, offering the 3.0-liter V-6 exclusively. This is the same engine found in the pricier S-Type sport sedan. Three new 2005 X-Type derivatives are now available at dealers: the aforementioned sportwagon, a new sport model and high-end VDP edition. All three join the returning base model. Jaguar's X-Type reaches a milestone early this year as the company reaches 100,000 units sold in North America since its 2001 introduction.
The X-Type serves as an ambassador of sorts for Jaguar. Ninety-four percent of customers who purchased an X-Type are new to the brand. Jaguar expects the take rate for sportwagons to be between five and 10 percent of total X-Type sales.
The lowest-priced X-Type, a base model with manual transmission lists at $31,495. The sportwagon edition starts at $36,995.
Auto journalists from around the country had an opportunity to sample the three new derivatives throughout the winding mountains of southern California. Most were drawn to the pleasant-looking sportwagon, a vehicle targeted to single and newly-married thirty-somethings seeking more versatility than what's normally found in a traditional sedan. This new variant comprises 420 new tooled parts and 58 new body stampings than its sedan counterpart.
The hatch, hinged at the top, utilizes two gas struts easing the opening and closing process. The rear manually lifts up as one unit when needed, or the glass window opens independently via a button on the wiper base for quick trips to the cargo area. With the second-row 70/30-split seat backs folded down, the X-Type sport wagon has a class-leading luggage volume of 50.0 cubic feet.
The sportwagon's front profile carries on the family resemblance. Two pair of diminutive, circular headlights flank a handsome chrome waterfall grille while the leaping cat hood ornament adorns the front of the hood featuring vertically-driven sport creases.
The 3.0-liter V-6 engine cranked out 227 horses and handled the twisty road admirably and probably better than the exiting 2.7-liter version.
When pressed, the engine produced a bit more interior noise than what's found in other luxury compact offerings. Automatic transmission comes standard in the sportwagon.
The Jaguar wagon competes with other smaller-sized European V-6 powered wagons including the BMW 325 xi (with a $39,145 starting price), the Audi A4 Avant Quattro ($40,460 starting price) and Mercedes-Benz C240 ($40,510 price tag). The Jaguar is the only one in the pack with all-wheel-drive standard.
The permanent all-wheel drive is a 40/60 torque split sending 40 percent of the drive power to the front wheels and 60 percent to the rear. |