The standard S-Type Jaguar, with its 2.5-litre V6 engine, obviously doesn't provide anything like the blistering performance of the supercharged 4.2-litre S-Type R we tested recently, but the thing to bear in mind about the entry-level version is its price.Jaguar sometimes refers to this as the Classic model, and sometimes as just the S-Type 2.5 V6 with no additional handle. Whatever it's really called, it kicks off the S-Type price list at £24,950, a very competitive placing against the car's direct rivals. Of course, most Jaguar owners go for automatic transmission, and that's a £1250 option, fitted to the test car.The S-Type has always looked good, and most people have now got used to the retro styling elements without automatically thinking: "Inspector Morse, Jaguar Mark II". Some cars in this class are veering towards the Euro-bland, but there's no sign of that at Jaguar.There's no doubt that the S-Type looks better than the smaller X-Type, which could do with a re-think of its front-end (and especially headlamp) design. That long crease running along the entire length of the bodywork, from just behind the headlamps, under the doorhandles, and all the way to the rear light cluster, is a strong styling feature which helps to give the S-Type a definite identity of its own.Inside, it's a relief to see that the original "Hollywood" approach has been ditched. Like all the latest models, the standard car has a far more appealing cabin, with the kind of fascia layout and standard of trim that Jaguar owners world-wide really appreciate. This is the area where none of the S-Type's competitors can match it: coherent, high-quality, feel-good interior design in which everything either matches or complements what's beside it.Look around some of the S-Type's rivals, and you may get the impression that whoever designed the central console was never introduced to the fellow employee who designed the door trim. Jaguar just doesn't make that kind of mistake.The S-Type offers plenty of front and rear cabin space, and here you see the effect of the difference in overall size between it and the X-Type.Actually, Classic is really the name for the interior styling theme, which in the entry-level car features cloth upholstery and rather attractive bronze-stained bird's-eye maple trim. When you compare this kind of treatment with what's offered on some cars in the same price range, you realise that "wood effect" is very much a second-best.Even at this point in the range, the S-Type comes with traction control and dynamic stability control as standard. The CATS system (Computer Active Technology Suspension) is a £975 option, but I really don't think I'd bother. In any case, you have to upgrade to more expensive 17" or 18" wheels if you want CATS, and these cost from £960 to £2300 per set.On its standard 16" wheels and non-active suspension, and taking the power output into account, it seems to me that the 2.5-litre already has a well worked-out balance between handling and ride. In fact, there are situations, out on country roads, maybe up on the moorlands, where it can feel nippier than its three-litre big brothers. And if you're a 70mph cruiser on motorways, an engine with something like 200bhp feels as relaxed as one with a lot more.The automatic transmission option? The S-Type is the first car in its class to use the latest six-speed ZF design. In most situations it does give the seamless changes Jaguar promises. It's linked with the familiar J-gate selector, with P-R-N-D settings to the right and 2-3-4-5 manual holds to the left. That's right. There's no "6", because Jaguar reckons, quite reasonably, that by the time you want top you'd be as well going back to the automatic side.Does the latest J-gate work any better than what's offered on Jaguar's rivals? For me, the answer is still no. Some obvious German competitors have vastly better selector action. Jaguar is away off the pace here. Engine 2497cc, 6 cylinders Power 198bhp Transmission 6-speed automatic Fuel/CO2 27.4mpg / 249g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.9 seconds Top speed 140mph Price £26,200 Details correct at publication date
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