Jaguar X-Type

The X-Type is a compact executive car which was produced between 2001 and 2009 by Jaguar. It was the smallest of the range of Jaguar saloons, and included the only estate model in the Jaguar range. It was produced at the Halewood assembly facility near Liverpool, a Jaguar Land Rover plant which also produces the Land Rover Freelander.

Codenamed X400, the X-Type was Jaguar's first compact 4-door saloon. The X-Type was one of the last to be styled under the supervision of Geoff Lawson, with the principal designer credited as Wayne Burgess. Neither Jaguar nor Ford had a suitable small rear-wheel drive platform to base the X-Type on, and the decision was made to base the X-Type on a modified version of the Ford CD132 platform, the basis for the 2000 Ford Mondeo. In order to distinguish it from its rivals and its Ford origins, the X-Type was initially offered as all-wheel drive only and mated to an extremely underpowered 2.5 litre and 3.0 litre AJ-V6 petrol engine. In 2003, the X-Type was offered in front-wheel drive with the introduction of Jaguar’s first four-cylinder diesel engines (based on the Ford Duratorq ZSD unit from the Mondeo and Transit), and with the smaller 2.0 litre petrol V6. In 2004, a further body style was added with the introduction of an estate version, making it the second-ever Jaguar estate car. In North America, the estate was officially known as the "Sportwagon”. The X-Type received modifications to its grille design for the 2004 and 2006 model years, and a fuller facelift of the front end for the model year 2008, which included a redesigned front bumper and an overall look that echoed the 2008 Jaguar XF. Interviewed in November 2000, Jaguar managing director Jonathan Browning spoke of his objective of achieving annual sales of 100,000 with the car, partly by taking market share from established German rivals and partly by expanding the market segment in Jaguar's key markets. The X-Type was indeed Jaguar's best-selling model during almost all its production run. However, sales never met the company's expectations, peaking at 50,000 in 2003. In the United States, the car's primary market, sales dropped from 21,542 in 2004 to 10,941 in 2005. In the same year, Audi sold 48,922 A4s, BMW sold 106,950 3-series and Mercedes-Benz sold 60,658 C-classes.