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Jaguar has tested the safety and performance of its vehicle range – X-Type, S-Type, XJ Series and XK Series – at the Prodrivelive facilities. Two day-long courses are offered – a road-based programme and a road and track programme costing £250 (+VAT) and £350 (+VAT) respectively. The road-based course takes in about 150 miles on all road types with areas covered including: overtaking techniques, bend assessment and vehicle balance, braking, motorway driving, minimising the risk of accident involvement, hazard recognition, image, profile and responsibility, mental agility and reaction times and personal and vehicle security and safety. The road-based programme, which can be held anywhere in the UK to suit the driver, enables the motorist, partnered by an instructor, to learn how to refine overtaking techniques, bend assessment and vehicle balance to an art form safely. Drivers will also be able to explore the potential of Jaguar’s J-gate transmission in enhancing performance to test and challenge their skills – both driving and mental. All Jaguar Driver Development Programme instructors have extensive race and rally experience and are fully qualified for advanced driver training. Meanwhile, the road and track programme sees the road-based programme combined with the chance to discover the race-bred ability of a Jaguar on a 1.5-mile performance circuit. Drivers will be taught circuit driving techniques, dynamic vehicle handling techniques, use of ABS, oversteer/understeer, lift-off oversteer, use of traction control systems, skid prevention and control, limit handling and recovery. A company spokesman says: “Every Jaguar has an extraordinary capability that never normally approaches its limits. The advanced engineering that delivers effortless acceleration, poised handling and powered, safe braking in day-to-day driving is capable of far more. “The courses offer drivers a unique opportunity to experience excitement in its most extreme form, and to hone their driving skills to the very highest level.” However, should Jaguar drivers be involved in an accident, all vehicles in the range are fitted with the manufacturer’s world-leading Adaptive Restraint Technology System (ARTS) as standard. To optimise protection, ARTS senses the severity of a crash, the position of the driver and the usage of the seatbelts to provide tailored protection. The occupancy sensing system uses ultrasonic technology combined with a seat weight sensor to also detect the presence, position and size of a front seat passenger. ARTS uses this information to determine the airbag energy levels most appropriate to the individual occupants during a frontal crash and to control whether the two-stage airbags are deployed at all, or inflated fully or only partially. If the front airbags are deployed, they will be inflated fully or partially, depending on the severity of the impact and the data from ultrasonic occupant sensing. In a severe impact, the airbags will be deployed with full force. In other circumstances, for example a low-speed collision and with a small front-seat occupant in the car, the airbag will not inflate with full force because it does not need to, and because doing so could actually be more hazardous. That means that, in every case, the airbags in Jaguars provide the maximum level of appropriate protection, but not so much “protection” as may be harmful. The newest addition to the Jaguar range is set to be the marque’s first estate car – the X-Type Estate, which debuted at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show and is set to enter showrooms in spring next year. Active safety begins with an extremely strong bodyshell, energy-absorbing impact zones and classleading chassis dynamics, including Traction-4 all-wheel drive on the V6 versions.
For the Estate, with its revised roofline, the side curtain airbags have been modified to provide the same level of side-impact protection for rear-seat passengers as in the X-Type saloon. Front seatbelts have pre-tensioning and load-limiting functions, and the rear seats offer three three-point belts, and adjustable head restraints. Also for the X-Type Estate, rear seat mountings and release catch strength are designed to exceed all legislative requirements on luggage retention in case of an accident. Even the vertical luggage net of the load cover system is designed to keep the back of the X-Type Estate safe as well as tidy, and it meets all requirements for luggageretention performance. As with the saloon, there are “door open” warnings for both elements of the new tailgate. When the X-Type was launched in 2001, all models had Traction-4 all-wheel drive, but the addition of the 2.0 V6 and, more recently, the 2.0 litre diesel has seen the introduction of front-wheel drive. However, the Traction-4 full-time all-wheel drive of the 2.5 and 3.0 litre V6 X-Type Estates makes the new Jaguar a direct competitor to Audi’s quattro-equipped Avants. The compact and durable yet sophisticated allwheel drive system gives sure-footed roadholding at all speeds and in all weather conditions while retaining the positive feedback and precise steering feel that are fundamental to Jaguar driving dynamics. Meanwhile, Jaguar has announced 2004 model year revisions to the X-Type range that include front parkingaid sensors becoming a new option for the X-Type when rear park-distance control is fitted, helping prevent bumps against hidden obstacles such as bollards or high kerbs. And behind the foam-filled bumper is a totally new Bolt-On Front End structure that replaces the original welded-on steel cross beam with a bolted-on aluminium beam. This not only saves around 3.5kg in weight, but also reduces repair time in the event of a front-end impact at less than 15km/h by 3.9 hours. |
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