Consider for a moment the qualities that differentiate the Jaguar X-TYPE from the rest of the pack. Tough isn't it? Virtually every attribute of the X-TYPE is replicated in one form or another by its premium rivals - save for one area. None of its rivals can quite match the Jaguar's intimate, clubby feel and it's at its best when absolutely rammed with standard equipment. The top of the range 3.0-litre Sovereign offers the sort of aristocratic feel good factor that eludes Jaguar's German rivals.

Although the Sovereign model designation may bring to mind Arthur Daley and nightclub doormen, it's a far more refined proposition. Priced at £30,995 in 3.0 petrol estate form as tested here (though there are also a cheaper diesel versions), the car is based on the SE specification but with quite a few added extras. The interior features that classic British blend of walnut and leather. The veneers for the fascia and door trims are finished in a way that makes sense in a home grown product but which just appears a little contrived in a German car. Don't ask me why, that's just the way it is. The seats are trimmed in piped leather and feature a memory function for the driver's chair.

Elsewhere there are numerous features designed to make life easy. An advanced touch screen DVD navigation system is fitted as standard and it's incredibly simple to use. Unlike many systems, this one is quick to recalculate routes on the fly and conceals a lot of advanced functions behind its apparently straightforward user interface. The Sovereign's stereo system is also a real piece of work, featuring no fewer than ten speakers dotted about the cabin linked to an Alpine head unit. Most functions can be marshalled without your hands leaving the walnut and leather steering wheel thanks to the Sovereign's JaguarVoice system. Simply tell the system what you want it to do and after it learns your voice patterns it complies. It's like Knight Rider but without the black plastic disaster interior.

Building a luxurious compact executive car is fraught with pitfalls. Firstly, it has to be spot-on perfect first time in terms of styling and prestige, the most important aspects of new car appeal. That prestige will in turn stem from a favourable press reaction, after all nobody wants to be seen in a car universally derided as a dynamic duffer. Fortunately, the X-TYPE seems to have covered its bases in an unexpectedly comprehensive manner.

"It's without doubt a classier act for those that aren't particularly interested in cornering at ten-tenths."

Fire up that 3.0-litre engine and you'll be greeted with a muted growl before it settles to a distant rumble. Drop the shifter into drive and you'll initially feel that this is going to be a sporting drive, tilting at a 3-Series. Indeed, although the suspension is admirably supple in its absorption of ridges and ruts, there's not a great deal of body roll, the X-TYPE feeling taut and eager. When coupled with the automatic box it's easy to forget that 40% of the drive is directed to the front wheels.

The steering takes a little getting used to. Gone is the usual Jaguar steering feel, that remote, oily slickness that distanced drivers from the road. In its place is a ZF Servotronic variabe-ratio system that seamlessly reduces the amount of assistance as speed builds. It's a great system for motorway cruising, with just the right amount of feel around the straight ahead point, but get a bit enthusiastic into the corners and the tardy turn-in and odd feeling that you need to turn the wheel far more than is at first expected will take some getting used to. Likewise, the gearbox, even when switched into sport mode, can't really keep up with the demands of being pitched through a series of twisty bits. Still, that's what Jaguar makes the X-TYPE Sport Premium for. The chubby windscreen pillars restrict visibility through tighter bends, but otherwise the Jaguar is a genuinely impressive packaging job. For a British car it adopts a groundbreaking competence in ergonomics, with all switches, minor controls and access points being intuitive to operate. Rear legroom isn't the best, especially if there are long-legged drivers up front, but that's par for the course in this class.

Get a bit brutal with the right hand pedal and you'll despatch 60mph in 6.6 seconds, the X-TYPE launching off the line without drama whilst making a strident high-pitched yelp as the gearbox hangs onto each gear, peak power arriving at a stratospheric 6800rpm. The 231bhp engine will punch the car up to 146mph, although this sort of driving won't get you near Jaguar's combined fuel consumption figure of 27mpg. Despite it's stiff, no-nonsense chassis feel and tight suspension, the luxury accoutrements and unwilling steering and transmission of the Sovereign don't encourage press-on driving, all of which makes the Sport Premium variants far more satisfying. Nevertheless, if you appreciate the more refined appeal of the Sovereign, it's without doubt a classier act for those that aren't particularly interested in cornering at ten-tenths.

The Jaguar X-TYPE 3.0 Sovereign estate might seem a bit of a stretch for £31,000 but judged in context it's good value for money. Equipping a less powerful Mercedes C320 to this sort of specification would cost far more and you wouldn't get the all-weather security of four-wheel drive or the sense of occasion every time you dropped behind the wheel. It'll never be as technically sexy as the leading German offerings, but if you appreciate a compact executive car that really does come rammed with features, the Sovereign is massively appealing. Try one before you go German. You might just surprise yourself.

TOP 1 X-TYPE DEALS

The results below show the top X-TYPE deals on buyacar

	Jaguar X-Type 3.0 V6 Sovereign 2009 5dr Auto Estate
	ETR	Mthly £537	Saving £5,685	Price £26,555

typical 11.39% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000