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 4-cylinder, 16-valves 150hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 157hp engine designed by Jaguar.

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, 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.

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Rover as a brand displays somewhat better results, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, 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. Some independent research have also placed 75 as average reliability-wise, and X-Type is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Rover 75 rank it on average as 3.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 5.0 out of 5.

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.

Jaguar 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... No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for 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™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.