A Jaguar Worthy of Aspiration

The 2002 Jaguar X-Type

by Denise McCluggage

This effort at illusion has been successful with round lights side by side in the front broadening the brow and the strong horizontal lines on the sides stretching that view. All this, and the preponderance of Jaguar family cues, made the body seem a bit too fussy to me when it was unveiled at the New York Auto Show, but that impression largely faded when the X-Type was seen outdoors on the road.

No, head-on the X-Type is not as smoothly elegant as the S-Type which harks back to the Jaguar sedans of the 50s for its “Jaguarness.” The X-Type favors the current XJ line. But in either case the signature “leaper,” that agile replica of the namesake feline, springs from the hood.

Grasp the steering wheel of the X-type (and grin back at the “growler,” the full face snarling view of a Jaguar, in its center.) Look through the panoramic opening to the handsome instruments - large, round of face and outlined with just the right assertiveness of chrome. The instruments’ design was influenced - we are told - by the Spitfire, the aerial star of the Battle of Britain. (Could these two British constructs have a similar purpose - to shoot down the Germans?)

The wood in a Jaguar is real and not a superficial afterthought. It is a deeply grayed bird’s-eye maple with the Sport Package, a dark brown in the other. I am tiring of wood in cars, but in a Jaguar it still seems right. The seats are supportive and comfortable (those with the Sport Package have more side bolstering, greatly welcome with more vigorous motoring.) The front cabin feels roomy though knee-room in the rear is scant if those riding in front are not cooperative about seat adjustments.

But perhaps the true pleasure in the X-Type is its surefootedness on any road in any weather. And it seems to belie the need to choose between a tight suspension for secure cornering and a comfortable ride over tar joints and rough pavement. The Jag’s ride is one of ease but the car’s sense of connectivity to the road is never adversely affected. The suspension tuners got it right. The X-Type is a natural athlete and is up to spirited runs over swooping roads. And it has the brakes to deal with surprises. How fun that is.

And then again there’s that cavernous trunk, suggesting some serious mall crawls with lunch at a place where you can admire the leaper from a corner table. This is a Jaguar still worthy of aspiration that can actually become a part of, and enhance, the real world of many more than ever before. If Ford made that possible, then smile a thank you to Dearborn.
 [Details on the X-Type]