2002 Jaguar X-Type Review, Price & Road Test

Jaguar's all-new for 2002 X-Type marks the first time in decades that the automaker has produced a vehicle that sells for less than $30,000. It's Jaguar's first foray into all-wheel drive and also brings the return of a manual gearbox to the lineup. A significant vehicle for Jaguar? You bet. Like many automakers, Jaguar had BMW's 3 Series in its crosshairs, so we decided to see if the entry-level X marked the spot with a Motor Trend One-Year Test.

Detroit Bureau Chief Jack Keebler and Senior Feature Editor Scott Mead had participated in the hot/cold-weather testing of Jaguar's X400 prototypes, in 2.5- and 3.0-liter V-6 versions, and advised the hot cat to test would be the latter in Sport model guise. A few months later, Jaguar dropped a manual-transmission-equipped, platinum-colored X-Type Sport in our parking lot.

To the X-Type 3.0 model's base price of $35,950, we added $550 worth of metallic paint, $675 for Xenon headlamps, as well as the $2500 X1 Premium Package (one-touch moonroof, 70/30 split-fold rear seat, eight-way-power driver's seat, two-way-power passenger seat, auto headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, reverse-park control, message center, and Homelink transmitter), a Premium Sound Package (with trunk-mounted six-disc CD changer for $1200), the X3 Weather Package (including front-seat heaters, heated headlamp washers, and dynamic stability control), and the X2 Sport Package (at $2000), which includes 17-inch sport alloy wheels, trunklid spoiler, sport-tuned suspension, and leather trimmed sport seats). Grand total with the $645 destination came to a wallet-melting $44,120.

Before reviewing our year with the XJ's baby brother we need to dispel a misnomer: The X-Type is not a re-bodied and re-badged Ford Mondeo. In fact, according to Jaguar, the X shares about a half-dozen parts with the Mondeo. We've road-tested both and can tell you that the two feel and drive substantially different.

It took less than a week for the Jag's logbook to fill with comments about the X-Type's unusual clutch take-up. Executive Editor Matt Stone noted, "I was excited that Jaguar was getting back to a manual transmission, but this one is rough around the edges." Senior Road Test Editor Chris Walton explained the operation of the five-speed box as, "It took a day to figure out the rev/shift protocol--it's as if there's a giant steel flywheel on upshifts and a tiny aluminum one on downshifts, meaning you must delay an upshift to allow revs to fall before releasing the clutch, but downshifts are a snap with a responsive throttle."