In the eyes of many the X-Type looks more like the flagship XJ sedan than the mid-size S-Type. It's clearly a Jaguar which is essential in Jaguar's attempt to widen the appeal of the well loved oh-so British line of luxury cars. It's just as well as ever since Ford took over Jaguar, purists have been scrutinizing every move the company makes in an effort to turn up some evidence of Fording down" the illustrious British marque.

Because the X-Type has a common ancestry with Ford of Europe's front-wheel-drive Mondeo, Jaguar endowed the X-Type with all-wheel drive as a standard feature. This helps set it apart from most other near-luxury models where such a feature is optional, and usually only offered on a handful of models.

The X-Type is some 7 inches shorter than the S-Type. So the challenge facing the X-Type designers was to make a relatively short car look low and long. They did it using lots of horizontal lines, body sculpting and a high-tailed wedge shape, though the wedge is more obvious in photographs than in person. The illusion is generally successful and the X-Type looks bigger on the road than its dimensions suggest.

The design of the grille and headlamps, with fluting that sweeps back over the hood, make the X-Type look like a baby XJ. The front view is broadened with two sets of side-by-side round lights flanking Jaguar's traditional horizontal split grille. This makes it look more conservative than the S-Type, which features a unique round grille. Riding the hood of the X-Type is the traditional bounding Jaguar known as the bonnet leaper.

The Sportwagon is identical to the sedan up to the B-pillar. From there back it has different side doors and obviously a longer side profile. Its overall length is less than two inches longer than the sedan so there is little extra overhang in the rear. The tailgate slopes forward, appropriately giving it a sleeker look than most station wagons. The roof rails add just over an inch to the height of the vehicle.

As one has come to expect, the overall visual stance of the X-Type is not affected by the all-wheel-drive system. X-Type models now proudly carry an "AWD" badge on the trunk.

All in all, this is a ground-loving vehicle that makes the eye believe it is longer and lower than it is, and bigger as well. What at first blush seems to be busy-ness about the indents, horizontal lines and visual cues of Jaguarness fades with on-going exposure, evolving into acceptance and even appreciation. Anyway, the car looks better on the road than it does in pictures, or even in the showroom."

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