I agree with RF re the X-Type a great car, I fancy a 2.2d estate myself.
As someone has already mentioned Mondeo I will point out that you can get a 3.0 V6 Ghia X or ST220 or a 2.2 TDCi Ghia X or ST for under 17k from a broker, all a slightly more sporty drive than the X-Type due to the suspension set up.
That being said it sounds like you are set on an X-Type, so go for it, get one!
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Me too. I like the X-type but if getting a diesel watch out for smoke. I was following a diesel one the other day, it was pushing out a lot of smoke for a '53' plate. I expect there's a cure though.
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Damn you beat me to it. I was going to say a Mondeo TDCI...
I can understand why you would say that. After all his post made no mention of diesels. Good opportunity to mention the Mondeo TDCI again however. Well done.
Joking aside i agree. The Jag is nice. My uncle had 2 - both 2.5. First one was a sport which he sold to get the SE (i think) as the Sport ride was too hard. But the Sport did look nicer.
My cousin had a C Class at the same time and said the X Type was far sharper to drive.
Lexus are nice, but the new IS200-250 is out soon and will make the old ones values drop considerably.
Its all well and good suggesting mondeo, passat, laguna etc but firstly, they are very dull. secondly a big engined one of those will lost sooo much money. The X Type is a far safer bet. Dont forget those cars are cheaper to start with for a reason.
Go for the Jag. Nice car.
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>> Its all well and good suggesting mondeo, passat, laguna etc but firstly, they are very dull. >>
Depends what you call dull, I guess though to many people it is more important how a car drives than the badge it wears.
secondly a big engined one of those will lost sooo much money.>>
The Mondeo and Passat both hold value much better than the Laguna, an ST220 at £17k from a broker should be a good new buy.
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Also, X-type owners aren't the happiest bunch in the country, due to the less than reliable reputation of this car, bad considering there aren't that many of them around.
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As you said this Jag is a discretionary item. It will make you happier in life than buying any of other brands so go for it. The 3.0 X-Type is very different to drive to the Mondeo 2.5 Ghia X before everyone dives in to say the Mondeo is the same drive. If there is not much different in price between the 2.5 & 3.0, the 3.0 is a better drive too. Fuel economy is identical between the two on at constant 70mph, though the 3.0 is probably 10% heavier for city driving. I regularly hear autoboxes needed replacement but as you are going for the manual, that should be fine. Check the clutch as on a AWD the clutch takes more stress than 2WD.
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The 3.0 X-Type is very different to drive to the Mondeo 2.5 Ghia X before everyone dives in to say the Mondeo is the same drive. >>
More relevant to compare with the 3.0 Ghia X surely? And no they are not the same to drive, the 2.5 and 3.0 X-Types have 4WD which gives great traction though the rear suspension set up is based on the Mondeo estate giving a less sporty handling bias than the 4 and 5 door Mondeos.
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X-Type felt more planted over bumpy roads than Mondeo, where direction changes in Mondeo at high speed felt very nervous and tail-happy. I agreed the Mondeo would be more fun to drive. However, if you are just criusing then it is not much fun if you keep spining 180 degrees at the mildly damped, greasy roundabouts. The X-Type gives a more mature drive.
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However, if you are just criusing then it is not much fun if you keep spining 180 degrees at the mildly damped, greasy roundabouts. >>
What are you trying to say?
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To make the handling more responsive, Ford has also made the car more nervous to drive, easier to spin and more difficult to catch, as you would be driving much faster than normal. I have had the 94 Mondeo in the past and had a 01 Mondeo when I worked there.
Mondeo is just not relaxing enough if you want to get home as quickly as possible after a long day of work. You have to be more alert to drive fast in a Mondeo on wet/greasy roads to avoid spining it.
I liked the Mondeo more than the X-Type when drove it a few years ago, but I was a student then. Now having to work 90-hour days for more than half a year, if I have a choice I would take a softer, less responsive, AWD car to get home quickly after a long day's work. That's the X-Type or an Audi AWD.
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The Mondeo is not nervous or easy to spin, it simply has a well sorted chassis, comunicative steering and very high levels of grip making it fun to drive, as with most modern cars you would really have to be doing highly illegal speeds in very inappropriate places and conditions to have any chance of spinning it. The other thing about the Mondeo is it is relaxed at normal speeds, ok so not a C5 type ride though pretty refined, however it's character changes as you press on, it just seems to tighten up and go where you point it.
On the other had Audi 4WD have a rather antiseptic character, loads of grip and traction though not much feedback and character.
Perhaps the conclusion is that the X-Type 4WD fits nicely between the two.
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The Mondeo is not nervous or easy to spin, it simply has a well sorted chassis, comunicative steering and very high levels of grip making it fun to drive, as with most modern cars you would really have to be doing highly illegal speeds in very inappropriate places and conditions to have any chance of spinning it. The other thing about the Mondeo is it is relaxed at normal speeds, ok so not a C5 type ride though pretty refined, however it's character changes as you press on, it just seems to tighten up and go where you point it.
Agreed with everything said. However, on the test track at least when I worked at Ford, when the Mondeo is driven into the kind of left-right-left chicane (similar to driving round a large A-road roundabout) in wet condition and in excess of 60-70mph, you have to be very quick with the opposite lock when to car start to tail-slide or you will lose it. The X-Type under-steer more, loses more speed by under-steering, and generally feel less lively and more barge-like to drive by comparison.
If I am in mood I'll choose the Mondeo. If I am driving home at 3-4am after a very long day of work, I'll take the X-Type everytime.
On the other had Audi 4WD have a rather antiseptic character, loads of grip and traction though not much feedback and character. Perhaps the conclusion is that the X-Type 4WD fits nicely between the two.
I totalling agreed with you.
Right, time to drive back to London from my client in Swindon :-(
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