And we can imagine Jaguar purists rending their garments and praying to departed founder William Lyons: 'Do not, Sir William, allow this heresy!' That would be the Mondeo, a middle-class, mid-size sedan formerly available here as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.Ĭan such a car be consistent with Jaguar's glorious victories at Le Mans? Is there even the slightest hint of kinship with Formula 1 racing? Well, no. The truth is far less mysterious, far more pragmatic. In the hard world of today, where costs are more important than concept, the X-type looks like a canny blend of cost efficiencies, attractive design, and savvy marketing. And if it succeeds, it'll double Jaguar's annual sales volume almost overnight. So if we can get you to stop rending those garments for just a sec, let's take some of the unknown out of the X.įor openers, you probably want to know just how much Mondeo is beneath that Jaguar sheetmetal. The answer depends on how you're keeping score.
