At $4,200, Is This 2006 Jaguar X-Type Sportwagon The Cat’s Pajamas?

The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice Jag attributes its high mileage to a prior owner who used it for trips between San Diego and Boise, Idaho. That means it’s a suitable cruiser, but will its price let it cruise to a win?

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Mario Andretti won his last Indy 500 in 1969 and took the checkered for the last time as a professional racer at the Valvoline 200 in 1993. That win capped one of the most successful and varied careers in all of racing. It’s too bad then that the 1995 Ford Mustang GT Mario Andretti Edition we considered last Friday couldn’t continue Andretti’s winning ways. It was the car’s $29,700 price that was to blame. Many of you felt that too be too much to ask for the car, while others averred that there are too many more interesting options in that range. The result was a 75 percent No Dice loss for Mario and the Mustang. Hopefully, Andretti will be able to bounce back from this bitter disappointment.

We all know the sage wisdom that says to stay away from first-year car and truck models. The thinking is that such initial models typically don’t have all the kinks worked out yet.

Today’s 2006 Jaguar X-Type Sportwagon isn’t a first-year model. However, it—and the X-Type overall—represents several firsts for Jaguar. The first of those firsts, and the most obvious, is its body style which is that of an estate. This is the first factory estate in all of Jaguar’s history and, ignoring tall hatchback crossovers like the F-Pace, one of only two in the lineup ever.

The next notable aspect is the drivetrain. The X-Type is built on a heavily modified version of Ford’s communal CD132 platform, best known for underpinning the contemporary Ford Mondeo. That makes the X-Type the first Jag with a transverse engine and the first to offer both AWD and, later, FWD. In certain markets, it was also Jag’s first entry into diesel power, adopting Ford’s Duratorq four.

Finally, upon its introduction in 2001, the X-Type served as Jaguar’s first foray into the small executive car market since the debut of the Mark 2 saloon in 1959. This was perhaps not so good a move as X-Type sales never took off, costing Jaguar and parent Ford dearly in amortized development expenses on every one that did sell.

This Sportwagon was one of those poor-selling models. According to its ad, fewer than 1,600 were sold in total here in the U.S. over its five-year run. That’s too bad since, in this guise, the X-Type can be a comfortable, practical, and appreciably posh way to get around.

This one has gotten around to the tune of 197,000 miles. Despite the fact that cats maintain a reputation for having nine lives, that high a number in a Jaguar car typically means it’s long past pushing up the proverbial daisies.

Laudably, that doesn’t seem to be the case here at all. The seller claims that the majority of the odometer exercise was racked up on trips a previous owner made between San Diego, California, and Boise, Idaho. That makes them mostly less stressful highway miles. The present owner bought the car in Idaho and claims to have made the trek from there to the San Fransisco Bay Area in it without issues. It has since passed California’s stringent emissions test and carries a clean title.

The car itself looks to also be fairly clean. Sure, there are some minor aesthetic blemishes to be acknowledged. The seller notes some clear coat issues in places, and the tow hook cap in the front bumper is obvious by its absence.

Remarkably, the interior, awash in leather and real wood, appears to have held up admirably. In the cabin, there are also power and heated front seats, automatic climate control, and Jaguar’s goofy J-Gate selector for the standard five-speed automatic.

Under the hood purrs Jaguar’s 3.0-liter DOHC V6—sideways, naturally—which the factory says makes 228 horsepower and 206 lb-ft of torque. That’s all split 40/60 front to rear via the AWD system with slip being handled via the ABS-centered traction control.

The ad makes no mention of service history nor, it should be said, of any problems with the driveline or other major components. It does caution that this is “a $4000 twenty year old car so a few blemishes is to be expected.”

It’s actually a $4,200 car as that’s the price noted in the title of the ad. Let’s now get down to brass tacks on this notably rare wagon and that asking price. What’s your take on this X-Type and that asking? Does that seem fair for the car as it’s presented in its ad? Or do you think this cat has given up too many of its lives?

You decide!

San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Paul Neme for the hookup!

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