Sales might be strong, and our early driving impressions of the X-type were positive, but the car didn't fare too well in its first C/D comparison test ("36 on the Floor," February 2002), where it finished fifth in a field of seven. Sales in 2003 haven't been as strong, but it looks as though the X-type will still account for more than 50 percent of Jag's volume here. Jaguar sold 33,018 X-types in 2002, which turned out to be more than half of Jaguar's 61,204 total sales that year in this country. Hence, a four-wheel-drive system was adopted, with a mechanical center differential that sends 60 percent of the power to the rear wheels until things get slippery and then a viscous limited-slip device diverts power to the axle with the surest grip. Trouble is, the Mondeo uses a front-wheel-drive layout, whereas Jaguars have always routed power aft. But building a new car from scratch is hugely expensive, so Jaguar turned to its parent for a platform to start with, and the Ford Mondeo (formerly Contour) was chosen. market might double if the company could come up with a sedan in the $30,000-to-$40,000 range, a hot segment where Audi, BMW, and Lexus sell a lot of cars. It was thought that sales volumes in the U.S. So the Ford-owned British marque decided to try another approach: Go down-market and produce a less expensive vehicle. But for Jaguar, a sport-ute just wasn't an option-it simply wouldn't be proper. Some European luxury-car makers-BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, even Porsche-have gone so far as to offer a very un-European vehicle, the SUV. Companies everywhere are looking for ways to gain market share.
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