2005 Jaguar X-TYPE Review

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Review:

By Al Vinikour

Jaguar has a new addition to its family for 2005 -- and it's the kind of addition that's become a standard in the European luxury ranks. The Sportwagon joins in with the compact wagons from Audi, Mercedes, BMW, and soon, Saab, in a sort of battle of the bands where there are no losers -- indeed, there's hardly an also-ran in the group.

The Sportwagon is based on the entry-level X-Type sedan, which came to North America in 2002. Jaguar hoped that today's X-Type buyer would be tomorrow's customer for its other offerings, from the mid-level S-Type to the top-of-the-line XKs and XJs. And though some 100,000 X-Types have been sold in North America, the smallest Jaguar has needed incentives to keep its sales at decent levels. It's not done much to improve the brand image here, but in Europe it's been a bigger success, especially with the diesel versions now plying the streets.