Jaguar X-Type Estate: final report

Arrived: June 2008
List price (including options): £23,900
Average economy: 34.0mpg

The Jaguar X-Type Estate has been -

...sorely missed. As this is written, the X-Type has been back with Jaguar for a few weeks and will no doubt be winging its way into the hands of a lucky new owner in the near future. In its final days with us the X-Type had the opportunity to display the full diversity of its broad range of talents. From keeping us safe, warm and the right side up in the traffic chaos sparked by the snowy weather to shifting a bath back from the DIY store it was always more than a match for the job at hand.

We're loving the -

...ownership experience of the Jaguar.

Subjectively, and it is admittedly down to individual taste, the X-Type is the best looking estate car on the market. Weigh in the added practicality the estate offers and it's hard to think why you'd buy the saloon instead. The Jaguar name may not carry the kudos it used to but it does remain in the upper echelons of people's lists as an 'aspirational' brand.

Over seven months and 12,000 or so miles the X-Type never missed a beat and always provided comfortable, rapid transport for a broad spectrum of cargo, people and animals. As a family car it's hard to fault; as a commuter or company wagon it forms an equally strong case.

But not so impressed by -

...costs associated with ownership. In fairness these were exaggerated by the unprecedented global economic slowdown but, the depreciation, fuel consumption and service costs of the Jaguar were indicators that we were running a luxury car. Assuming we'd paid the list price, which is rather unrealistic, the trade-in price of £14,000 we were offered reflects a loss of over 50% in under a year, which is brutal in any terms.

If we were buying an X-Type then a diesel would be the default choice, but think long and hard about whether the additional performance of the 2.2-litre version is needed - though the gains are significant, much of the benefit is negated at a motorway cruise. Equally, the slick shifting auto 'box is nice to have but for many a manual would be all they ever needed and the trade off in price and economy are appreciable.

We're looking forward to -

...seeing where the firm's new owners take the brand. The X-Type never delivered in the way Jaguar perhaps hoped it might but it's hard to see why the brand doesn't have the attributes to give the German establishment some sleepless nights. A small XF would be a formidable package.

Dave Jenkins