The X-Type is Jaguar's attempt to go "down market." What does that mean? Well, in addition to selling a small number of $60,000 XJ8s, Jaguar would also like to have something to sell to people who want to spend $30,000 to $40,000 on a car. They think they can do some real volume in that "mid-luxury" segment. But going down market, and mixing with the hoi polloi presents a real challenge for a luxury car maker: How do you make a cheaper car, and still live up to your luxury reputation?

And that's exactly the issue that jumped out at us when we drove the Jaguar X-Type. The question we kept asking ourselves is, what's "Jaguar" about this car?

Considered on its own merits, the Jaguar X-Type is a reasonably nice, heavy-ish, mid-sized, all-wheel-drive car that would like to be a sports sedan (think BMW 3-Series, Infiniti G35, Audi A4). The X-Type is available with one of two engine options and a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. We tested two combinations. The base model we drove had a suggested retail price of $29,305, and came with a 2.5-liter, six cylinder engine with a manual transmission -- an unusual offering for a modern-day Jaguar, which traditionally accommodates its older clientele with automatic everything. By offering a stick shift, Jaguar is trying to appeal to a younger crowd, and signaling its sporty aspirations. The higher end X-Type we drove came with a more powerful 3.0-liter V6, sport seats, a GPS navigation system, and other goodies. The total suggested retail price is $36,305-- a cool $7,000 over the base model. All X-Types come with all-wheel drive.

Our first impression? Divided, to tell the truth. We found the engine adequate in both cases, though not as smooth or as quiet as we've come to expect from Jaguar. The handling, too, was perfectly adequate, more firm than the larger, more luxurious Jags of old, in keeping with targeting this car to younger, less sensitive rear ends. Our Producer, Dougie Berman, found the clutch in the manual transmission car rather annoying, describing it as heavy and having excessive pedal travel. He found it fatiguing to drive around town. Tommy disagreed, finding it smooth, and not a problem.

Sometimes optional equipment can make a big difference in how a car feels or drives. Not so, however, with the X-Type. The version with the automatic transmission and the larger engine didn't turn the car into a luxury coach. The transmission was fine, but not as smooth as glass, as you might expect from Jaguar. And even the larger engine was a bit loud and somewhat coarse. Overall, "luxury" is not the impression you get when driving the X-Type, even when the car is loaded.

The X-Type is very Ford-like inside, which is fine for a Ford, but not necessarily a good thing for a Jaguar. If you're expecting Jaguar luxury, the interior feels cheap, right down to the switches -- the directional light switch is right out of the Ford parts bin. The seats don't feel terribly luxurious. There isn't even an automatic dimming rearview mirror on the base model, which is quite unusual for a luxury car. If you want all of the available luxury touches, you'll have to load up the car, and pay around $40,000.

We particularly disliked the sport seats on our higher end 3.0 X-Type. The seats had very tight side bolsters that pushed up against both sides of our cheeks -- our lower cheeks, that is. Worse, there's no adjusting the side bolsters. It made us want to take our wallets out just to get an extra half inch of breathing room down there. Anybody with even the slightest posterior girth is going to be sitting up on those bolsters, hovering over the seat. Stick with the standard seats.

And a minor complaint: Jaguar has switched to a Tony the Tiger-like Jaguar logo that's now plastered on the center of the steering wheel and on top of the stick shift. We thought it was a little silly looking, for such an otherwise classy company. We much prefer the old leaping Jaguar to the current cereal box rendition.

One way to make a car seem more expensive is to add lots of controls and buttons, and Jaguar succumbed somewhat to this temptation in the X-Type. The X-Type center console is quite busy. On the plus side, there's one nice, large volume control on the radio console. That's good. It would be really nice if the console had an equally large tuning control... but it doesn't. We found ourselves taking our eyes off the road to find needed controls more often than we would have liked.

Another plus: The navigation system on the 3.0-liter X-Type can't be programmed while the car is moving (good thinking, Jaguar!), and it's fairly intuitive and easy to use as these things go.

Overall, though, the ergonomics are good and up to date. It was only a few years ago that Jaguars were ergonomic nightmares. And one of the real positive influences Ford's ownership has had on Jaguar is to straighten out that mess and put things where they belong. Now you can find the lights, the defroster, the high beams, and the fan control just like on any other modern car. So we need to note the huge improvement here.

Here's one place where at least some Jaguar-ness shows up. While the body of the car is fairly average looking (as opposed to the classic, Jaguar long and low look), the curved hood, dual round headlights, and Jaguar hood emblem do say "Jaguar." The cues are subtle otherwise, and from certain angles, you might mistake it for a run-of-the-mill Ford sedan. But from the driver's seat, at least you'll always be looking at the leaping Jaguar on the hood to remind you why you're paying that extra $150 a month over your Taurus.

Both the 2.5- and 3.0-liter X-Types use a Ford Duratec engine, which has proven itself to be reliable. Jaguar has made some minor tweaks to the design, including changes to the tuning, manifolds, and cylinder heads. The result, according to Jaguar, is better performance and a little more horsepower. We'd expect both renditions of the X-Type to be reasonably reliable, especially compared to Jaguars of yore.

So getting back to our initial question, what is "Jaguar" about this Jaguar? Well, there IS the hood ornament. Other than that, not much ties this car to other Jaguars, in our opinion. If you were plopped into this car minus hood ornament and logos, "Jaguar" would never be your first guess. That doesn't mean it's a bad car. In fact, the X-Type is a perfectly nice car. The reason we're critical is because of expectations. When a luxury brand like a Jaguar decides to put out a lower priced, "entry level" car, the trick is to figure out what makes a car a Jaguar, and then make sure that the entry-level car at least has the most important of those qualities (car geeks call it the "brand DNA").

There are certain things that we think of when we think of Jaguar: British-ness. Quiet. Power to spare. And soft, leather and wood for the feel of bathed comfort. When we think Jaguar, we think of a softer, powerful luxury car -- not a BMW, and not a Mercedes, both of which are firm and very Teutonic. With the X-Type, Jaguar went for sporty firmness, and modest power, which doesn't quite make sense to us.

The closest competitor to the base model X-Type is probably BMW's 325iX, a four-door sedan with a 2.5-liter, six-cylinder engine that you can get with a stick shift and all-wheel drive for about $35,000. Given a choice between the 325iX and an X-Type, we'd take the BMW in a heartbeat. And the closest competitor to the 3.0 X-Type may be the V8 Lincoln LS (also made by Ford, with a retail list price of $38,348), which to us seems more like an entry-level Jaguar than the entry-level Jaguar.

We're not sure who is going to buy the X-Type. Perhaps people who are awed by the Jaguar name, or seeking the perceived prestige. But we wouldn't be surprised if Jaguar dealers are left with a number of these on their lots -- which might force Jaguar to offer some sweet financial incentives to make them move. And, eventually, a redesign and significant upgrade will be in order if Jaguar really wants to make it in this segment.