In the eight years since the car's introduction — as a derivative of the plebeian Ford Mondeo — Jaguar built more than 350,000 X-Types. That would make the X-Type the highest-volume Jaguar of all time. But when the car was launched in 2001, executives confidently predicted annual sales of 100,000 units.
Critics couldn't care less. The X-Type was thumped in review after review, mainly because of its Ford roots — the so-called "baby Jag" was assembled at a former Ford Escort plant in Halewood, England, rather than at Jaguar's home plant in Browns Lane — and the fact that it was not based on a rear-wheel-drive platform but on the front-drive Mondeo architecture.
The 2001 X-Type made Time magazine's list of the 50 worst cars of all time.
Offered in both front- and four-wheel-drive variants, with a selection of gas and diesel engines, the X-Type sedan was joined by a wagon in 2004. That didn't halt a long slide in sales.
Inside Line says: Tata continues to have a difficult time with the Jaguar brand and has been forced to cut jobs in Britain because of slow sales in most global markets. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
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