Safety is emerging as the single most important consideration when a consumer buys a new luxury car, according to a recent Gallup Poll. Good thing that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given the X-Type its "Best Pick" seal of approval in the 40-mph crash test, and that the X-Type has scored well in crash-tests conducted by the federal government. Despite these showings, Jaguar has added more safety gear to the 2005 X-Type, but we'd like to see two additional items made available.

New for 2005 are a front knee airbag for the driver and occupant sensors for the front passenger airbag. Dual-stage front airbags, side-impact airbags, and side-curtain airbags are all included as standard equipment, along with antilock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), and Traction-4 permanent 4WD. Pretensioning and load-limiting front seatbelt retractors, three-point seatbelts for each seating position, and adjustable head restraints are also installed on every 2005 Jaguar X-Type. Stability control and reverse park control are options.

What needs to be added is a brake assist feature that helps perform quicker panic stops. Also, in IIHS side-impact crash testing, the X-Type sedan received a "marginal" rating, but since the X-Type Sportwagon is structurally different, we cannot speculate that it would receive the same score as the sedan.