Our view: 2000 Jaguar S-Type

There is nothing new about commonality. The practice of using the same parts in different cars is probably as old as the auto industry.

But automakers have placed a lot more emphasis on it in recent years. Indeed, it has reached the point where the only practice more common than commonality is making snide remarks to auto writers about the competition’s hardware.

The reason for its popularity is simple enough: The automakers have figured out that car buyers don’t really care about stuff they can’t see, feel and appreciate. As long as the Audi A4 and Volkswagen Passat are properly differentiated, and occupy their own place in the socio-automotive firmament, hardly anyone gives a country darn whether they share the same platform and 1.8-liter engine.

So why, the manufacturers reason, should we spend millions of dollars developing and manufacturing different engines, steering mechanisms and suspensions if no one cares except for a handful of car crazies in the motor press?

As you might have guessed, commonality is practiced with varying degrees of success. The new Jaguar S-Type that debuted this month is probably as good as it gets.

The S-Type employs essentially the same platform and engines that Lincoln is using in the imminent LS sedans. Both cars have a wheelbase of 114.5 inches. Both use a nearly identical V-6 and V-8.

But despite those strong structural and mechanical similarities, Jaguar’s designers have come up with a very different automobile that is very much a Jaguar.

The Jag is a more expensive machine (its $42,500 base price is more than $10,000 higher than the Lincoln’s opening salvo), and it is a much more stylish one. The car was inspired by the S-Type sedan of the early ’60s, but actually evokes a number of Jags from the era.

It also has a different interior. The LS innards are attractive. The S-Types are drop-dead gorgeous.

The wonderful way this car looks and its decidedly Jaguar feel in a corner celebrate the care exercised in bringing the English automaker into the Ford flock. Ford got involved in Jaguar to promote higher levels of quality and commonality. But it also has given Jaguar’s designers a lot of autonomy and allowed them to preserve the marque’s essence. And that’s certainly the case with the S-Type.

A midsize sedan with a midsize luxury price, the S-Type is intended to expand the high-end nameplate’s clientele. Jaguar will build the S-Type in a new plant at Castle Bromwich that has a capacity of 50,000 units a year, giving Jaguar the potential to double its global sales.

The base, $42,500 S-Type uses a better-breathing, 240-horsepower version of the 3-liter, 210-horse V-6 in the Lincoln. The upmarket, $48,000 V-8 model I tested is powered by a mildly detuned, 281-horse variation on the 290-horsepower, 4-liter engine Jag had designed for the more costly XK8 and XJ8 cars.

The V-8 left the test car at once lively and civil . The firm, composed suspension made the car a joy in a fast turn, and a comfortable host on rough pavement.

Braking, courtesy of four-wheel discs and an antilock system, was splendid. The safety package covered all the bases, including side-impact air bags.

What was particularly memorable about the test car was its interior, a glorious wedding of soft leather and glossy veneers. The S-Type makes it clear that there is still no one in the business that can create an interior ambience like Jaguar.

2000 JAGUAR S-TYPE

Base vehicle: Rear-drive, 4-liter engine, five-speed automatic transmission, variable-assist power steering, power disc brakes, antilock braking system, 16-inch alloy wheels, P225/55HR16 all-season radials, traction control, front and side air bags, climate control, power sunroof.

Test model: Heated front seats, anti-slide system, variable shock damping, 17-inch alloy wheels, P235/59ZR17 performance tires, navigation system, ergency messaging system.

Base price: $48,000.

Test model: $56,680 (inc. shipping).

EPA city rating: 17

Test mileage: 16.5

Warranty: Four years/50,000 miles bumper to bumper, roadside assistance.