Jaguar X-Type

The Jaguar X-TYPE is an entry-level luxury car / compact executive car produced by the Ford owned British luxury marque Jaguar Cars since 2001. It is built on a modified version of the Ford CD132 platform, a British version of the Ford CDW27 platform, which is the base for the Ford Mondeo, and remains in production at Jaguar's Halewood facility in England.

The X-TYPE is the smallest of the current Jaguar saloon (sedan) cars, and was designed to build on the success of the S-Type, although it takes many styling cues from the XJ series. Jaguar states that 10% of the parts are made by Jaguar, 20% are made by Ford, while the rest are made by subcontractors.

Market and sales
The X-TYPE was designed as a direct competitor to the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the similar styled Rover 75. Sales have been poor (more noticeably in foreign markets than in the UK), however, blamed on its resemblance to the larger XJ which was traditionally bought by older customers, not the younger ones that Jaguar craved. Initially projected to surpass 100,000 annual sales, the X-TYPE peaked at 50,000 in 2003.
Sales in the United States, its primary market, dropped from 21,542 in 2004 to 10,941 in 2005. BMW sold 106,950 3 Series cars in the U.S. in 2005, while Mercedes-Benz sold 60,658 C-Class cars and Audi sold 48,922 A4 and S4 models. Only the Lexus IS posted similarly disappointing sales. Despite these poor numbers, the X-TYPE is Jaguar's best-selling model, accounting for 36% of overall sales.

Powertrain
The X-TYPE is equipped in the US and Europe with either a 192 hp (143 kW) 2.5 L or a 227 hp (169 kW) 3.0 L Jaguar AJ-V6 engine and all wheel drive, and the X-TYPE is also available with a 2.0 L in front wheel drive format. In Europe, the X-TYPE is also available with petrol or diesel engine. A 2.2 L diesel engine was introduced in mid-2005.
It has good handling — the four-wheel drive system which is tuned to send 60% of engine power to the rear wheels and 40% to the front for a sportier feel.

Body styles
The initial version of the X-TYPE was a saloon. In early 2004, this was joined by an estate version, making it the second ever Jaguar estate car, in addition to being the first to use a diesel engine. The estate version was launched to mixed reception. In the United States, the estate is officially known as the "Sportwagon".