The X-Type's "Sport" designation means, among other things, that it has sport-tuned suspension and performance-sized (if not exactly actual performance) tires. The ContiTouringContacts are, as the name implies, better suited for touring than sport. This is an all-wheel-drive sedan, and, as such, should be quite the handler. Power turn-ins are a breeze, yet there is something about the overall handling that doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. Perhaps it's the car's tendency to jounce its way over bumps and rough spots, or the ever-present acceleration squat and brake dive, but I find myself taking sweepers less aggressively than I would in say an Audi quattro or the Volvo S60 AWD. The sedan does not live up to its four-to-the-floor potential.
From a design standpoint, the X-Type doesn't have enough styling cues to call its own. It so closely resembles the previous S-Type that many non-car buffs can't tell them apart. It's not a bad-looking sedan; it just doesn't have any flair. One colleague said it was a more boring-looking Taurus, another simply calls it "The Potato."
Worried that I was being too critical, I gave several of my girlfriends (who wouldn't know a 911 from a 240Z) a ride in the car. They thought it was nice (two of them did mistake it for either a Ford or a Lincoln: "What are you doing in an American car?"). They appreciated the interior appointments and liked the navigation unit, but when told the price, they balked. I've ferried them around in much pricier cars that they've liked very much, so it wasn't that the car cost $43k but that it didn't seem worth the price. And that's the clincher. For an entry-level sedan, the Jaguar X-Type doesn't live up to its nameplate or its pricetag. An updated X-Type should fix that.