We are here considering two somewhat similar cars, but we can't deny some of the obvious differences. For a start, they are not even classified under the same segment, with the Rover being a luxury car and the Jaguar representing large family car vehicle class. The first one has a Rover-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 150hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 157hp engine designed by Jaguar.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. The first vehicle is a luxury car and that gives it a marginal advantage over the large family car competitor, at least that's what statistics show. On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, X-Type offers a marginal difference of 4% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Rover as a brand displays somewhat better results, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Rover with an average rating of 4.5, and models under the Jaguar badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank 75 7% below average, and X-Type 12% below the first one. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Rover 75 rank it on average as 5.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Jaguar is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.3 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 207 kilometers per hour, 4km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Rover 75, averaging around 8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (35 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 16% difference compared to X-Type.

Rover appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In this case though, it seems that both cars show similar levels of passenger protection all together, so that won't break a tie. But one thing that actually could is the performance, with Jaguar being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the Rover. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.