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Originally Posted by Luwalira  The car being based on the Mondeo wasn't an issue. |
Actually, it was a major issue. It got a lot of negative publicity because of the similarities with Mondeo. You have to remember that the old Jaguar owners were having heart-strokes when the S-Type was presented. It was already too middle-class for them. So seeing Jaguar go as low as FWD and four cylinder Diesel(!!!) engine was like going through an amputation without anesthesia. The X-Type was doomed from the start, there was no way it could have been a success. It could have sold better if it offered more for the same money as A4/3er/C or if it was positioned a bit higher than these cars but I doubt it would have been enough to challenge the Germans in sales or make profit.
Like the article says, Jaguar should drop X-type and make the S-type replacement something that differs from the competition, maybe something like the CLS. They should concentrate on lower volume, higher profit cars and forget 4-cylinder engines. Now that Aston is gone they can make sportscars like they used to. Jag could have a new start with the following lineup: a distinguished mid-size luxury car (perhaps 4-door coupe?) (XF), a large luxury saloon as a flagship (XJ-replacement), a smaller GT (XK), a bigger GT/(hardtop-)roadster with V8 and V12 engines and finally a V12 supercar à la XJ220 for image boost.