Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £21,558 to £32,080
Good value, well-equipped, capable cruiser, pleasant auto box, economical, low emissions.
Stodgy on cornering, too softly sprung on bumpier roads, cabin feels old-fashioned, poor residuals.
Sometimes it does feel like and old man's car, but you get plenty of kit for your money. German rivals are better to drive.
The Jaguar acquits itself well without using and fancy eco-gizmos such as stop/start or regenerative braking.
If you opt for the bog-standard diesel you won't be making too many visits to the fuel stations. According to official figures the 2.0-litre diesel delivers an average of 50mpg - which is pretty good for a car of this size - and it only emits 149g/km of carbon dioxide. Still, the BMW 3-Series trumps that with its Efficient Dynamics package, but the Jag does enough in this area to appease part of your tree-hugging instincts. Of course, if you opt for the 3.0-litre petrol version, the trees will take you off their Christmas card list. It's rapacious when it comes to fuel, but Jag only expects to sell very few of these.
Insurance is in group 14 for the 2.0-litre diesel, 15 for the 2.2-litre diesel, but the V6 is in group 17. Expect to write out sizeable cheques for repairs and servicing - Jag has one of the highest labour rates, but if you put it alongside the even more extortionate rates charged by Audi and BMW, you might feel a little better about buying British.
The manual 2.0-litre and the 2.2-litre diesels CO2 emissions are 149g/km and 154g/km respectively which puts them in VED tax band C and D. The 2.2 auto emits 184g/km which is in VED band E, and the V6 petrol emits 254g/km (Band G).
Latest Readers' Drives About the Jaguar X-Type
wrote on 11 01 2007
wrote on 06 09 2006