Jaguar x-type has big boots to fill

Jaguar is out to attract the power woman, writes motoring editor ALASTAIR SLOANE.

The pictures of the new Jaguar X-Type on this page are missing something. It's not an essential ingredient, certainly not in a car, but it's important to Jaguar's marketing people.

It's a woman. Not like the old days, in a bikini and draped over the bonnet, but in a power suit, with power blouse, power shoes, power hair, power frames on power glasses, carrying a power briefcase ...

The so-called modern woman. Her appearance in the first official pictures of the X-Type is secondary. Like she was being photographed and the Jaguar sort of got in the way. But the inference is obvious: Jaguar built this car for the executive woman, too.

Jaguar's managing director Jonathan Browning said as much. "The X-Type will attract a new generation of customers - including more females.

"The customers will typically be younger than traditional Jaguar buyers and with notably different needs.

"The X-Type exemplifies Jaguar's new performance spirit, offering a fresh, contemporary expression of Jaguar values."

So did marketing director Phil Cazaly: "It will help us make rapid advances in areas where we have traditionally been under-represented, such as with women drivers and user-chooser company car drivers."

The X-Type will go on sale in New Zealand in October. Three models will be available, each one with five-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive: V6 2.5-litre SE, V6 3.0-litre SE, and V6 3.0-litre Sport.

No word on price yet but Jaguar New Zealand general manager Robert Nash has said the cars will be "priced in line with the competitors."

"We have made it clear we will target the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and new Audi A4."

The X-Type will therefore cost between $70,000 and $110,000, give or take a dollar or two.

The car breaks new ground for Ford-owned Jaguar, despite the obvious family link to the bigger S-Type saloon.

It is 4672mm long, 1789mm wide (2002mm including wing mirrors) and 1392mm high. Wheelbase length is 2710mm. The front track is 1522mm wide and the rear 1537mm. The car has a kerb weight of 1595kg and a gross vehicle weight of 2075kg.

The X-Type is the first Jaguar to be equipped with all-wheel-drive and the first British entrant into the prestige compact segment.

Two more models will be added to the X-Type range before 2003 - an entry-level front-drive most likely powered by a 2.0-litre engine and a high-performance version using a 220kW supercharged 3.0-litre V6 to rival Mercedes' AMG C-Class, BMW's M3 and Audi's S4.

The 2.5-litre engine in the entry-level X-Type produces 145kW at 6800 rpm and 244Nm of torque at 3000 rpm and has a top speed of 220 km/h.

The 3.0-litre delivers 172kW at 6800 rpm and 284Nm at 3000 rpm. Its top speed is 229 km/h.

Jaguar says that on the open road the 2.5-litre model consumes less than 10 litres of fuel for every 100km. The 3.0-litre under the same conditions consumes about 11 litres.

The X-Type was originally penned by S-Type creator Geoff Lawson before his sudden death in 1999. The company's new design chief, Ian Callum, took over the final styling.

Lawson wanted the X-Type to be more than a smaller version of the S-Type. He set out to build a sporty model, subtle, styled on the S-Type and with an obvious Jaguar heritage. Callum carried it on.

"Sublety is about removing, not adding. There's no gratuitous element on the car at all. It relies upon form, subtlety, stance, proportion - that instantly recognisable link to the Jaguar DNA that goes back 70 years," he said.

"DNA is the core Jaguar values in each product, whether it's a sportscar, a big saloon, or a medium saloon.

"What differentiates Jaguar from key competitors is that each of our products has a different and highly individual face which is still obviously Jaguar - not just scaled up or scaled down versions of the same thing. "

The design of the X-Type might reflect Jaguar's heritage but the underpinnings, like the S-Type, are largely Ford. The car is based on the award-winning new Ford Mondeo, which provides the chassis and some components.

The all-wheel-drive system uses a viscous coupling to direct drive to the wheels with the most grip. Under normal running drive is split 60:40 in favour of the rear wheels.

Jaguar says the combination of all-wheel-drive, a suspension set-up with MacPherson struts at the front and a new multi-link system at the rear, speed-sensitive power steering and a body 30 per cent stronger than the class leader makes the X-Type a dynamic driver's car.

The suspension in the 3.0-litre Sports version has been specially tuned to provide even sharper responses. Each model comes with 17-inch alloy wheels.

The interior is typically Jaguar, with wood and leather. Every electronic gizmo is available. Standard safety items including front, side and head-height airbags, anti-lock brakes, a collapsible brake pedal.

A big plus is the boot - 452-litre capacity - the biggest Jaguar boot ever. One wag on the assembly line said it was the first sign Jaguar was looking at women buyers. For the extra luggage, you see.