This hotly contested segment has its benchmark in the Lexus ES 300. It blends comfort, style, luxury, and sport into an efficient package at an affordable price. ES 300 manages to offer a little more luxury than others in the class.

We Recommend the Acura TL, Audi A4, and new Infiniti G35. All offer comfort, speed, and nimble handling at attractive prices. The sporty and Euro-flavored BMW 3-Series is Recommended as a rear-drive alternative. The "3" has enough bodystyles and engine choices to suit anyone. At the other end of the near-luxury spectrum is the posh and comfortable Buick Park Avenue--an old-school luxo-cruiser from Detroit.

X-Type sales were fairly strong until quality glitches cropped up to turn off buyers, prompting parent Ford to offer cut-rate lease deals. But even that couldn't restore the initial momentum, forcing Jaguar to trim production for a time. U.S. X-Type sales totaled some 33,000 units in 2002, the model's first full calendar year--creditable, all things considered--yet Jaguar still lost some $500 million on worldwide operations for the 12 months. Just as bad, say some observers, the X-Type has cheapened Jaguar's blue-blood image while reviving memories of the bad old days when "Jaguar" and "reliability" were mutally exclusive terms.

Despite this wobbly start and stern cost-cutting pressures from Ford, Jaguar is plowing ahead with an X-Type wagon and hot R-models. The wagon reportedly bows overseas in spring 2004. U.S. sales should begin very soon afterwards, probably with the same V6 powerteams offered in sedans. Like the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes C-Class wagons, the X-Type emphasizes luxury and sporty handling over outright space and utility. Structure is reportedly the same as the sedan's from the rear doors forward, but the roofline tapers down to a trim liftgate with separate opening window.

The X-Type R should be here by early 2005, assuming it's not delayed for some reason. A sedan is assured, a wagon version possible. Chief attractions are a supercharged V6 with upwards of 330 hp, plus firmed-up suspension, less exterior chrome, a mesh grille, and standard 19-inch wheels and tires, but no garish rear spoiler or "aero" body skirts. British guesstimates have the R-model sedan doing 0-60 in just 5 sec and 160 mph all-out, though Jaguar isn't out to top the BMW M3 and Mercedes C32 AMG.

A final X-Type rumor concerns the current 3.0-liter V6, which reportedly gives way to a more potent 3.2 sometime soon, perhaps as early as model-year '04. We'll keep you posted.