RWD X-Type

[Twin Turbo]

Well, the second generation X-Type might have been had Wolfgang Reitzle had his way. Autocar reports, this week, that Mr Reitzle wanted a new rear drive chassis to underpin the next X-Type and a small Lincoln, but the bean-counters at Ford obviously had other ideas.

This is a great shame as, from what I can tell, Reitzle is obviously a bit of a Petrolhead like us and wanted the small Jag to appeal to rear drive fans (and get a few more BM drivers out of that 3-series).

I'm sure both the FWD and 4WD X-Types are excellent cars, but I'm a die-hard RWD fan and think that Ford should have had the faith to go this route for the second generation cars.

What do you think?

[adrianr]

Weld up the centre diff & remove the front driveshafts?

But seriously, you'd have thought that with their heritage there was mileage in making RWD sporting saloons even if they are just rearranged Mondeo bits.

I mean, I could have an BMW, or a Lexus IS200, or a.. erm?

AdrianR

[pbrettle]

Reitzle will be a great loss to Ford. I cant believe that they let him go! Still, Ford is a funny one. I mean they have some of the best handling cars in their classes and sell airfields full of them.... Focus, Mondeo and now the new Fiesta. But, why oh why do they loose money?

Cos they make utter rubbish for their own home market. Making money is a good thing, but give the public what they want and watch the money roll in. Throw trashy rubbish at them and watch the customers go elsewhere...

And dont get me started on Vauxhall / Opel - cars designed by commitee if we have ever seen them.

Cheers,

Paul

[mattjbatch]

RWD and a desirable badge are the two main criteria for doing well in the junior execs market IMHO. With the obvious exception of Audi of course. Being German does help too of course I would love to see a rear drive "mini" Jag and I hope ford tighten the purse strings to allow a great chassis and drivetrain to be developed.

[ap_smith]

Driving an Impreza i have to say that 4WD rules. Why would you want to go back to RWD?

[yertis]

quote:
Driving an Impreza i have to say that 4WD rules. Why would you want to go back to RWD?

For fun.

[Twin Turbo]

Now now!

Ford sells Jaguar's partly on it's heritage - and Jaguar's heritage is rwd sporting saloons as far as I'm concerned (with a nice little sportscar thrown in for good measure!)

[Mark Benson]

Drove an early X-Type in the pouring rain one night, the 4wd is biased towards the rear (60/40 IIRC) and it gave the car the feeling of a grippy RWD car, you could throw it into corners at silly speeds in the wet and it drove round them like a rear driver in the dry.
I enjoyed driving the Jag in the wet more than I did the TT I drove a few days later to be honest.

[paul]

quote:
Cos they make utter rubbish for their own home market. Making money is a good thing, but give the public what they want and watch the money roll in. Throw trashy rubbish at them and watch the customers go elsewhere...

I agree that US Fords are sh*te. But they sell countries-full of them, make 'em out of K-Mart spec materials and they spend 2p a year on R&D. This is despite 20 years of Japanese and European superiority - They are giving the US consumer EXACTLY what they want (excepting LA and NYC). Don't overestimate the requirements of the majority of US car buyers...

/asbestos suit=on


>> Edited by paul on Tuesday 14th May 17:19

[Synchrobox]

I have just bought a ZT and I work for a Coventry car compamy. To me the ZT looks better and it drives better. It eats X-types whther wet or dry. My last car was an Impreza and for that completely different type of car 4 wheel drive is the way to go. An X-type does not have either the power or the handling prowess to excuse the extra weight. For rear wheel drive fun I drive my MGB !

[adrianr]

quote:
Driving an Impreza i have to say that 4WD rules.

But have you ever tried a RWD one? I was wondering the other day whether leaving out half the transmission would make a better car (for tarmac). Any know if it's ever been tried?

AdrianR

[ap_smith]

quote:But have you ever tried a RWD one?

No, and it's a good point. But then I have driven plenty of RWD cars in the past, and found them all to be inferior to my current Impreza. No, I'm not saying they *are* inferior, just that my personal driving style seems to match 4WD very well.

As for

quote:For fun.

Saucer of milk to table 1. Meow!!

4WD is impressive (at least on the Impreza). I take it you're talking from experience Yertis? If so, how you can you possibly describe it as lacking in fun??!

[gnomesmith]

quote:
Now now!

Ford sells Jaguar's partly on it's heritage - and Jaguar's heritage is rwd sporting saloons as far as I'm concerned (with a nice little sportscar thrown in for good measure!)

Or a sidecar?

[kevinday]

quote:
Drove an early X-Type in the pouring rain one night, the 4wd is biased towards the rear (60/40 IIRC) and it gave the car the feeling of a grippy RWD car, you could throw it into corners at silly speeds in the wet and it drove round them like a rear driver in the dry.
I enjoyed driving the Jag in the wet more than I did the TT I drove a few days later to be honest.

So, you are saying a Mondeo is better than a Golf?

[Mark Benson]

quote:

quote:
Drove an early X-Type in the pouring rain one night, the 4wd is biased towards the rear (60/40 IIRC) and it gave the car the feeling of a grippy RWD car, you could throw it into corners at silly speeds in the wet and it drove round them like a rear driver in the dry.
I enjoyed driving the Jag in the wet more than I did the TT I drove a few days later to be honest.

So, you are saying a Mondeo is better than a Golf?

LOL I guess I must be then.

[yertis]

quote:

Saucer of milk to table 1. Meow!!

4WD is impressive (at least on the Impreza). I take it you're talking from experience Yertis? If so, how you can you possibly describe it as lacking in fun??!

Didn't mean to sound catty ap. But I do speak from experience though I have to confess I've not actually driven an Sti - only ridden in one. I have driven an Evo VI Tommi Mak edition, and I own and drive a quattro 20 valve (regularly). Plus my everyday car is an Audi 100 S4 (with getting on for 300 bhp). They're extremely capable 4WD cars and they are fun - especially when dusting off TTs BUT if I just want to drive purely for fun I'll take the TR6 (when I've finished putting it back together), which I can unstick just for the sake of it without having to be hurtling around at silly speed. Having said that, it's not much fun in the p155ing rain on a winters' night.

[ap_smith]

I had a Scimitar for a few years which was fantastic fun. Lazy 3 litre Ford Essex lump, which was happy to get thrashed occaisionally and sounded wonderful. Sideways roundabouts action was guaranteed, and driving in the wet/snow was a hair raising experience at best. Ahhhh, they were the days.

(Rose tinted glasses 'cos it was a bugger to maintain.. changing clutches on cold winter evenings, wheel bearings on sunday mornings, etc etc).

Having said that, if i ever move and get a house with car storage space, I'd have one of the early coupes.

[pjg]

Anyone driven one of the FWD X-Types... not bad (all things considered)... worth a pootle if you're bored one afternoon.

[CarZee]

quote:Having said that, if i ever move and get a house with car storage space, I'd have one of the early coupes.

I'm sure Mrs AP would have something to say about that

[Roadrunner]

4WD might very well prove to be the most effecient way to cover ground quickly but it's too easy. A bit like turning all the electronic gizmo's on to help you out. It'll get the job done but lacks the fun to be had balancing a RWD on the edge. Surley having fun is the whole point.