The Jaguar 2.5SE is a better car than some will have you believe. Ford Mondeo in drag? No way! I have it on good authority that the Jaguar does not share the same floor pan as the Mondeo. With the extra weight that the Jaguar carries, the Mondeo frame would not have sufficed. The actual floor pan is made of two different parts of differing thickness' which are laser welded together. This process of laser welding the stock before pressing the part was very new at the time. One word sums it up - brill.
Had a free rental upgrade to this car during a recent trip to Ireland. Initial excitement soon turned to disappointment. Car looks nice and goes alright, but constant obtrusive bus-like soundtrack and general cheap ambience a real let down. Unlike the turbine smooth S-Type diesel, no meaningful attempt seems to have been made to dampen the engine noise and vibration.
