Jaguar X-Type is little more than a rebadged Ford Mondeo Mk. 3 (sold in the US as the Ford Contour). There is no Jaguar engineering or quality in it, which in itself is not a bad idea because Jaguar was going downhill in the 90s.
They had to make it 4WD because the Mondeo is front drive and they could not have a front drive Jaguar. The 2.5 powerplant is also used in the Mondeos. Now they have frond drive X-Types and even diesels!!!!!
Fron the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_X-Type
"Codenamed X400, the X-Type was Jaguar’s attempt to compete in the compact executive car segment. Jaguar and parent company Ford envisaged the ‘baby Jag’ as Jaguar's first compact 4-door. The X-Type was one of the last to be styled under the supervision of Geoff Lawson, with the principal designer credited as Wayne Burgess.
Neither Jaguar nor Ford had a suitable small rear-wheel drive platform to base the X-Type on, and the decision was made to base the X-Type on a modified version of the Ford CD132 platform, the basis for the 2000 Ford Mondeo. In order to distinguish it from its rivals and its Ford origins, the X-Type was initially offered as all-wheel drive only and mated to a 2.5 litre and 3.0 litre V6 petrol engine. In 2003, the X-Type was offered in front-wheel drive with the introduction of Jaguar’s first four-cylinder diesel engines, and with the smaller 2.0-litre petrol V6...
Ford's attempt to turn the Ford Mondeo front-drive compact car into an "all-wheel drive" Jaguar sports sedan by badge engineering backfired. Many compared it to the Cadillac Cimarron, even though reviews were not largely negative. Its humble origins did little to appeal to the buyers of high-priced imports. Consumers also thought it was absurd to pay considerably more for a rebadged Mondeo despite more standard equipment, and Ford should have developed a compact model specifically for Jaguar instead. A common misconception in North America is that the X-Type is somehow directly related to the Ford Taurus. X-Type shares nothing with the Taurus, with the possible exception of the 3.0L V6, which was heavily modified for use in the Jaguar and is not interchangable with Taurus.
Due to poor sales and reduced profit margins, stemming partly from a weaker United States dollar, Jaguar ceased sales of the X-Type in North America in late 2007."
Here you are a pic of the Mk. 3 Mondeo for comparison:
