A Silver Ritzy Jaguar X-Type Spotted in the Philippines

    Jaguar, the crown jewel automaker of the British Empire. First founded in 1922, Jaguar, formerly known as the Swallow Sidecar Company, developed motorcycle sidecars and bodies of automobiles before branching out to developing fully engineered vehicles. Nowadays, Jaguar is one of the most iconic and valuable automakers in Britain, even supplying vehicles for the royal family of the United Kingdom. However, even though it was an almost century-old carmaker at the time, the Jaguar X-Type was their first foray into the compact executive market.


    The X-Type, nicknamed the Baby Jag, was released during Jaguar's tenure under Ford in 2001. Over its eight year production, numbers amassing up to 350,000 were sold to the general public, making it their most sold Jaguar at the time. However, it was also quite problematic at the time, due to its use of the chassis platform of the Ford Mondeo, which many did not take lightly. Unfortunately, despite being produced and sold substantially, it did not meet their objected sales of 100,000 a year, and for every X-Type produced, Jaguar lost about $5,000 due to its inadequate sales.


    But for an entry-level luxury sedan, it wasn't all so bad. It rivaled the 3 Series, the A4, and the C-Class but was priced relatively higher, due to its more niche market. As a Jaguar, it had all of its standard design cues, such as the front mimicking the XJ8 and the rear emulating the XK8. Its chrome trims surrounding the car from the front to the back were perfect for its design, and its Jaguar hood ornament was the exemplary cherry on top, and the nostalgic emblem of a bygone time.


    Inside, the Jag was filled with all sorts of leather upholstery and wood trimming, also a Jag standard as usual. At the heart, the X-Type was powered by a 2.5L V6 engine, generating a mighty 194 brake horsepower and 244 Nm of torque. This gave it a 0 to 100 acceleration of 8.3 seconds and a top speed of 225 km/h.


    Overall, the X-Type can be summed up as a forgotten, misunderstood, and quite underrated luxury saloon. It may have been called names, such as a "Ford Mondeo clone", but for all the similarities between the two, it's the distinction that makes the difference.

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