Rain, combined with twisty mountain roads and more guts than brains, makes for an excellent test of a four-wheel-drive system, which comes standard on every 2005 Jaguar X-Type. We drove several variants of the X-Type on the freeways, city streets, and twisty mountain roads near Palm Springs, Calif., in wet and dry, sunny and cloudy conditions. As in other areas of assessment, this baby Jag both pleased and disappointed.

The 2005 Jaguar X-Type 3.0 Sportwagon's drivetrain is not much of a treat. On paper, Jaguar brags that it's the most powerful in its class and provides acceleration stats to back up the claims, but the reality is that the X-Type feels sluggish to the seat of the driver's pants. Off the line, throttle response is delayed, and when the go-pedal is suddenly released during hard acceleration the engine "hangs," free-revving for a moment before winding down. The car is quick, but it's not lively in the way of a Lexus or BMW.

On mountain roads, the engine and transmission don't communicate well, resulting in shift quality and shift points that are frustratingly unpredictable. Using the J-gate manual shift feature helped to make the X-Type a more pleasurable companion when climbing to the idyllic little town of Idyllwild. On the streets of Palm Springs where we drove less aggressively, the situation improved, with the transmission delivering butter-smooth shifts that get only somewhat more pronounced when using the transmission's Sport mode.

All is not lost, however. The X-Type's standard Traction-4 permanent four-wheel-drive system operates unobtrusively, and wheel slip is not an issue since the power split is a constant 40-percent to the front wheels and 60-percent to the rears. Jaguar splits the power with a rearward bias to give the X-Type a rear-wheel-drive feel from behind the wheel, to limit any tendency toward torque steer up front, and to preserve Jaguar's trademark leaden steering feel which could be compromised if more energy flowed to the front tires.

Indeed, the steering is sublime, with Jaguar's traditional heft, fluidity, and road feel shining through in spades. It's a pleasure to grip the X-Type's steering wheel, and resistance builds progressively off center. Driving down the highway, few corrections are required to keep the X-Type on course. During hard cornering, however, some sharp kickback comes through the wheel on bumps, and we also noticed a slight tendency to tug back to center on mid-speed sweeping turns. Fine adjustments to the responsive brakes are possible through a soft but well calibrated pedal.

Ride quality is Germanic in nature, taut without being stiff, supple without being soft. There was more body lean during hard charging than expected, but the X-Type Sportwagon grips the road better than its owners will require.

After several hours in the saddle, we gave the 2005 Jaguar X-Type Sportwagon a thumbs up for its four-wheel-drive system, its steering, its brakes, and its suspension. But the engine and transmission receive definite thumbs down.