No faults.
The X-Type was a pleasure to drive for several thousand kilometres touring Victoria over Christmas with my family.
It was quite, comfortable, but perhaps more lumber support for front passengers.
The Global Positioning Navigation System (GPS) touch screen is light years or several generations beter than the new nav. system in the 4.4 litre BMW four wheel drives.
It is perfect for a tourist and I felt helpless when my six year old son turned off the voice commands and I was just left with the excellent map on a screen.
The steering is excellent, given that it is a three litre engine it has oudles of power and leaps forward ever so silently - just like a cat. On country running I averaged 9 litres per 100 kilometres, over 31 miles per gallon and about 10 to 11 litres or 26 to 26 miles per gallon in town.
It is fantastic to park in small spaces and the parking sensors are just wonderful.
The ride and feel of the car was wonderful.
It is one of the few cars in the world where one can comfortably double or triple the recommended cornering speed and still not feel like a racing driver!
I was also very impressed with the large boot that took four large suitcases and a large bag, laptop computer, briefcase and lots of coats.
Even with this load plus a family of four, acceleration was effortless, especially when overtaking.
It was also fun to be pampered with such luxury, unlike the BMW and Mercedes.
Yeah mate, but the 330i SE, is still much better. It has quicker acceleration and top speed, handles better, its engine is pointing in the proper direction, is rear wheel drive, and in my opinion looks better.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so comments about appearance are highly subjective. Personally I think the car is the nicest thing on the road in this price range.
As for comparison to the BMW 330i SE, the engine power output is the same. Torque is a little less. I don't know, but I suspect the Jag is a little heavier than the BMW. Anyway, who cares if the BMW gets to 100 kph half a second quicker, it is not a drag strip out there, and if you do stuff it up the very clever Jaguar all wheel drive is going to get you out of trouble quicker.
For my money I'll take the Cat thanks.
At least the BMW is not based on a Ford Mondeo, the BMW has 10bhp more thanks. I shall not comment on the looks because it is down to taste, but the BMW out handles the Jag as well! Look at the magazine reviews.
Yes, being based on a Mondeo is no bad thing, it's a very good thing, look at the magazine reviews! The ride quality of the Jag, any Jag in fact, is superior to all, the cornering is better in my opinion too. It may not be as sharp as the BMW, but it's not supposed to be, it's supposed to have a softer feel to it. I personally don't think one could say which car is better, as they're both very good, so it's down to personal preferences.
Having owned a new 3.0SE with "all the toys" for some 6 months now, and having previously owned a BMW 5 and a Porsche Boxster, the Jaguar is exactly what you would expect: a wonderful compromise for those wanting a limo, but not yet quite "ready" to hand off the sports feel to the youngsters. The four wheel drive configuration is a boon in bad weather and believe me, the BMW hates snow or ice, the X-type laps it up like cream. It is excellent value for money and who really cares about 10 bhp? At this level you would need an atomic clock to measure the performance difference. Sure the ride isn't as hard as the BMW, but it is no bend slouch either. But, if you do feel the need for a hard ride get the Sport version! The X-type is a reliable (thank you Ford) well specified sport limo - just wonderful thanks.
Interesting rivalry at this price point. But.. (hear me out).. if you appreciate the security of 4WD/AWD and really want performance (with reliability to boot), test drive a new Subaru WRX (...hear me out...) They have far more experience with AWD.
Obviously an X-type (or BMW 330 for that matter) are going to be far plusher (these products are pitched at a different market segment after all), but it really is embarrassing to discover how much better a lowly Jap car can be to drive.
The X-type is great. Had it for a year now. Amazing in Canadian winters. As for the BMW 3-series? i would take the Jag all over again. Magazine reviews also reflect personal opinion, a lot of these reviews usually begin with 'i wasn't too impressed with this car at first sight' or 'i could tell that I would be very pleased with this car by just looking at it'. Reviews don't say much, it basically someone else's opinion.
What an amusing exchange above. While they're "in the same class" As a former BMW 3-series owner, that is the last thing I'd compare to the Jag for various reasons. Starting with the fact that any objective comparison will be unfair to the Bimmer. It's a much harsher more unforgiving car, that doesn't make up for it with performance or handling. I never felt like I was in a "luxury" car when driving it. In fact it's odd the Subaru came up, because I consider it much more a competitor with the BMW than the Jag. The Subaru and the BMW both share a certain hard-edged feel, a lack of creature comfort and a stiffer, bumpier ride. The Jag is much more plush, much more soft riding, much more luxurious feeling overall -- except that it actually handles and performs as well as either of the other 2.
If I were going to put the Jag up against anything where I felt there was a real run for the money it would be a Benz. They have much more the luxury/performance combo than BMW. The ride, like the Jag, is both smoother and softer, but still tight and controlled. In fact, when I bought the Jag, the MBZ and BMW were the main competition and I extensively drove them all. The reason I went with the Jag was 50% subjective (I just like the look and feel better) and 50% objective - the low-end MBZ cars DO NOT maintain that characteristic MBZ ride I mentioned. The baby-jag DOES keep the characteristic Jag smooth-but-responsive driving experience.
Ouch... that is a bold and inexperienced comment: "Eats BMW and Mercedes." At first I thought it was sarcasm until I read on. Clearly, you have little knowledge of cars. Please do the world a favour and never compare that sorry excuse of a contraption with any German car. These German cars retain their quality and never fail to impress. Why on earth do you think Jaguar sales are falling (and fast!)?. Perhaps a jag is the only car you have ever driven, in that case I understand. First of all nothing performs like a BMW for that price level (everybody knows that) and German cars actually use quality grade materials in their cars, not parts from a ford factory. Anyways I could go on forever on how foolish it is to buy a jag, but I am sure you will find out soon enough. Good luck.
It might be a beautiful car, but the 3-series image stinks. Cheesy, pretentious and generally driven by tossers. I know of no other car that has a "debadge" option for the poverty models so the pretentious idiot 320i owner can pretend he's keeping up with the Jones's over the way who have the 330i.
Sad car for sad people.
Wouldn't buy an X-Type either (for different reasons), but that's not the point.
" German cars actually use quality grade materials in their cars, not parts from a ford factory. " Is this why Mercedes Benz admitted that the levels of quality has suffered significantly over the past TEN years - and has promised to bring their quality levels back up? If you need any proof of the quality level of German designed and built cars - have a look at the JD Power survey and moreover the Mercedes M Class.
I own a Jaguar xj6 and a BMW 325. I TEST drove a X-type they can't match BMW for quality or safety. BMW will eat up a x-type in performance. And BMW is true luxury and sport. The Jag feels sloppy during spirited driving and the suspision is way to soft. The brakes suck. Overall The BMW Out performs Jaguar in every category. That why BMW is the Ultiment driving machine. The real Jags were stop being made in the early 90's. You got a Luxury Ford with a leaping Jaguar on the hood sorry.
What a fiasco! After my last posting about our 2002 x-type transmission failure with only 36k miles, we were advised by the dealer (White-Allan of Dayton) that they don’t have "self authorization" to fix Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) related issues. Why, one may ask? We were advised by the customer service manager of White-Allan that they "do not do enough volume with Jaquar to self authorize out of warranty repairs and White-Allan would have to eat the cost." However, the CSM at White-Allan advised that we should vigorously pursue our claim with Jaguar OEM through their DMM or Regional Manager. She conveyed that it might take a draconian effort to get any satisfaction based on their experience with Jaguar. After nearly 5 calls to Jaguar OEM we have been pointed back to the dealer for remedy. This is a fiasco! We consider ourselves a good customer with White-Allan given the fact that we have bought 2 of our vehicles (Porsche & Jaguar) over the last 5 years. They were helpful in one way: They pointed us right back to the OEM!
UPDATE: Just got a call back from Jag OEM and they state that the issue is clearly a dealer issue. Neither jag nor White-Allan will assume responsibility for this ongoing farce. Why should the burden fall on us because White-Allan doesn’t "do enough volume with Jaquar.
I have owned numerous luxury cars in the last 8 years (still own some of them); BMW318i (E46), Jaguar X-Type (2.1 Sport), Lexus IS250, Lexus LS400, Jaguar XJ8 (X350), and Mercedes Benz S320 (W220).
I have to accept the fact that the new BMW (E90)
is much better than the Jag X-Type in terms of gadgets and appearance (but not personality and the warm feeling of the car).
First I want to point out that the current X-Type is way out of its use by date (however, I still own an X-Type - at least until next year).
The dash board and climate control, as well as the hand brake, need a major revision as soon as possible. I believe the design from new XJ8 would solve the problem.
Still, it depends on which model of Beamer, you are comparing with Jag X-Type. If it is the E46 (which I owned, and already sold the car last year), then the X-Type (which was released during the same period as the E46) would not be considered inferior at all.
I would not count something like the Ford Mondeo into consideration, as cars in modern times are very much sharing technology with one another (see Chrysler 300C with Benz E-Class, Saab 9-3 with the Holden Vectra, VW Phaeton and Audi A8/Bentley Flying Spur: Are you still blindly criticize the Flying Spur as a rebadge Volks? Only those who do not have enough money to drive a Spur would criticize them because of their jealousy), and the truth remains that the X-Type did not handle like Mondeo, and a Jag is a Jag (they were under Ford only by name). It is much softer and warmer.
Furthermore, I don't really give a damn about 10hp extra between an X-Type 3.0 and a BMW 330i (E90), because we are in the countries that have speed limit at 100kms/hour anyway. We do not have any autobahns where we can cruise as fast as we can; the road standard in Australia and NZ does not support 200km/hr ride (and if you do, the police will start follow you with their Commodore/Falcon anyway).
It is still the fact that Beamer 318i is a real rip off (and produces less hp than the X-Type as well). Their 330i (E90) might be good, but their 318i (E46) is not. The car is damn heavy, and compared to the Jag, it is a much heavier car (at least for me who drives both cars).
I do not buy the comment from Wheel or Driver, who only test drive the best models in the market, and make a comparison (330i versus Jag X-Type AWD). For us, the buyer who have to spend our hard earned money to buy the cars; we do not often buy the top of the line model, and their entry level is so much different.
What I am saying is that back in 2002 (when I bought both the E46 and X-Type), the truth remains that entry level Jag is way better. The Jag is much warmer than the E46, they hold their value better than the E46, and their design was not dated as quickly as the Beamer (considering that BMW have changed their design 3 times in the last 8 years, while the X-Type is still under the same design). This fact gives me a feeling that Beamer try to suck money from buyers, and their frequent change of design brought their vehicles on a par with a Toyota Camry, which changed 3 designs in 8 years as well.
However, the weakness (of both cars) are as follows:
1) No heated seats on both vehicles, and while I drive my cars in winter, it is not that pleasant.
2) My Jag cannot fold the side mirror (as I did not install them).
3) They need to do something with their handbrake (Look at XJ8 that introduced an electronic handbrake, or Lexus that try to put them somewhere else).
4) Beamer service is not as good as Jag. Jag staffs always remember my name, and try their best to please me; from organizing a good loan cars, to their service that even makes a cup of coffee for me every time I wait for my car to be picked up (if I request, they will deliver the car to my office as well). Well, I guess Beamer sold their cars in the thousands, so they cannot afford to remember all customer names. But for me, I love Jag because of their service. Full Stop.
When I sold my Beamer last years, the car was just out of mechanical warranty, and it started to cost me money at an unacceptable level. I tried to look into a replacement, and the new E90 looked nice. Their decoration and interior are much more advanced than the E46 or Jag X-Type. If people around here compared an E90 with an X-Type, then it is the truth that the E90 is better (because it is newer car).
However, I was not impressed with their handbrake and run-flat tyre system. Say, if I got puncture while I drive my car between Wellington and Auckland, and there are no Beamer centers in the next 400 Kms. Do you think a run flat tyre will last that long? Presumably yes (but I think not), How much will that change of tyre and fix of the system cost me? (a fortune, I say) It is one of the main reasons that I ended up buying an IS250 from Lexus as a E46 Beamer replacement.
The Lex 250 has even better refinement than an E90, and their entry level is as good as (say) a better BMW (I mean 325i, not 320i E90). However, when it comes to next year, as Jag promise to get a new X-Type, then I might consider upgrading my Jag to a newer version, if Jaguar can solve the problems which I pointed out earlier (they need an electronic handbrake; this is the reason I turned away from the E90, as the Beamer still has a handbrake at the console, while the Lex IS250 doesn't. They should also change the damn climate controller to a push button; that will be enough to satisfy me).
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