SOLD I'm very conflicted about the Jaguar S-Type, which was, essentially, the first "baby Jag." For many years, Jaguar had wanted to build a smaller sibling to the full-sized XJ model, and after years of delays (and an early cancellation by Ford), the project came flying back and produced the S-type, which went on sale in the US in 2000.
That it was a hit with consumers is not arguable - it doubled Jaguar's US sales numbers, and re-familiarized people with the brand. To do this, it relied on traditional Jaguar styling to the point of being almost as retro-modern as the Camaro, Beetle, or challenger. The four round lamps up front, the small wire mesh grill, the sweeping body lines in to a tapered rear all hearkened to the first Mk. 2 S-Types of the early sixties, and did so pretty well. Additionally, the interior treatment convincingly covered the Ford underpinnings with more traditional Jaguar garb - piped leather, expanses of rich wood veneer, deep pile carpet, nicely trimmed gauges, and other items that made it feel like a real Jaguar - at first impression.
But that impression doesn't hold, at least for me. After a while, you begin to notice and miss the distinctively Jaguar details like quality switch gear, odd and meaningless controls, overbuilding of trim, and that sort of thing. The Ford bits just under the surface become apparent like a coin in a shallow fountain. Even some mild electrical glitching doesn't remove the image - the "mystique" is gone, and only somebody's interpretation of it remains.
In many ways, that's not a terrible thing - the Ford parts of this car do make it more reliable, a better all-around driver, and less expensive to own and maintain than a traditional Jag. This is where the conflict comes in for me - mystique is nice, but so is a car starting up every morning.
All in all, this a Jag for people who want good, safe, reliable transportation to provide driving duty, but are only mildly more interested in cars than someone buying a Toyota Camry - they want to appear a certain way when arriving, but don't want to deal with a finicky, hard-to-repair automobile. They want a Jaguar with out the negatives - unfortunately, that couldn't be done without killing too much of what makes a Jaguar a Jaguar.
Негізгі бет The S-Type Looks the Part, but Lost what Makes a Jaguar a Jaguar in the Effort to Make it Reliable
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