Intro
It’s now a decade since British sports activities automotive and saloon specialist Jaguar selected a motor present stand in Geneva, Switzerland, to inform the world that it was lastly taking up one its hardest assignments in fashionable instances: going after the BMW 3 Collection.
This time, in contrast to with the Ford Mondeo-based X-Kind, it will do this with a correct, rear-driven saloon price its salt. Later in 2014, the extensively aluminium-constructed Jaguar XE met the world’s motoring press in Paris, and manufacturing at Citadel Bromwich started the next yr.
And now – after for therefore lengthy making an attempt to compete with arguably essentially the most dominant and profitable govt saloon on this planet, and currently setting its sights slightly decrease – the XE is staring retirement within the face. By 2025, we’re advised, Jaguar’s modern reinvention as an all-electric brand will likely be up and operating – and each considered one of its previous combustion-engined fashions, this one included, could have been withdrawn from sale.
So now in its twilight years – and itself like some tribute to a time when Jaguar nonetheless harboured ambitions to strike out amongst Europe’s big-selling premium manufacturers, slightly than remodeling itself right into a zero-emissions luxurious participant because it appears now intent on doing – what does the XE have to supply immediately’s govt saloon purchaser? And it’d it’s price one last fling in a British-built, combustion-engined saloon, earlier than the lights lastly exit on Jaguar saloons as we’ve got recognized them?
Design
The Jaguar XE’s showroom fortunes inform a narrative of nice ambition, just a few questionable selections, and unhealthy timing on behalf of its maker.
It adopted the identical D7a platform chassis that serves beneath the XF, F-Pace and the Range Rover Velar and that confers an all-aluminium chassis design (in a category the place predominantly metal vehicles stay the norm), longways engines, double-wishbone entrance suspension, a number of hyperlinks on the rear, and a natively rear-wheel-drive format (with clutch-actuated, electronically managed four-wheel drive on some fashions).
Ten years in the past, that type of building was unique sufficient to match pretty favourably with the Mercedes C-Class, BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 of the time. However what’s actually attention-grabbing to look at is what has occurred to the compact govt automotive market since 2014, and precisely the place the Jaguar XE matches into it now.
As a result of though it was barely small by class requirements when launched, this automotive’s market positioning has crept down a market phase, whereas its authentic rivals have crept up. As we’ll discover extra totally later, via mannequin renewals and mission expansions, the BMW 3 Collection and its German equivalents have grow to be vehicles that it’s realistically inconceivable to pay lower than £40,000 for, with many big-selling variations ‘transacting’ a lot nearer £50k.
Whereas the XE was singularly failing to match the gross sales volumes of these govt rivals, although, it was slowly amortising its fastened prices, avoiding complication and embracing a relative worth benefit that now delivers it to market from little greater than £33,000 in entry-level diesel kind, and from beneath £37k at the same time as a reasonably potent, mid-range, 247bhp four-cylinder turbo petrol.
It’s most likely not by likelihood, then, that within the new range-topping P300 AWD Sport trim that we’re testing it in in 2024, the XE traces up as an nearly precise match on worth with Audi’s S3 Quattro saloon and the BMW M235i xDrive M Sport. Each of these Germans are, in fact, transverse-engined, natively front-wheel-drive opponents with essentially greater engine packaging, greater centres of gravity and fewer equal weight distributions – and each might be stated to be derived from hatchback platforms.
Might these be the glory days of Jaguar’s smallest saloon, then? Wanting again via its life, there have been actually instances when it had extra sound and fury. The demise of the AJ126-powered V6 XE S in 2017 is a specific disgrace – and the short-lived, herocially over-engined Challenge 8 super-saloon is particularly laborious to overlook.
Nevertheless you see it, Jaguar has simply minimize down the XE’s spinoff vary for probably one final time. There at the moment are solely 5 fashions left inside it in complete. Three rear-driven, mild-hybrid four-cylinder D200 diesels (R-Dynamic S, SE Black and HSE Black, every with 201bhp); one upper-mid-range, rear-drive, R-Dynamic HSE Black P250 petrol; and one last range-topping P300 AWD Sport range-topper. The final of these occurs to be the one XE now supplied with all-wheel drive, and it’s the one one which will get adaptive dampers as commonplace (Configurable Dynamics and uprated brakes are non-compulsory on lower-level fashions).
The range-topping XE we examined weighed in at 1740kg on Millbrook’s proving floor scales – 89kg heavier than its homologated kerb weight, however fitted with not less than some non-compulsory gear (panoramic glass roof, and so forth) to elucidate away the ballast.
Inside
The Jaguar XE by no means in contrast properly with its authentic competitor set for outright passenger house, however now that it finds itself with vehicles just like the Mercedes CLA, Audi A3 Saloon and BMW 2 Series Gran Coupé for firm on worth, what it gives appears much more palatable.
Passenger house feels a shade extra comfortable in each rows than is the manager class norm, however the identical might be stated for its new opponents. Taller drivers would possibly simply run out of head room behind the wheel, whereas totally grown adults might not be too eager on travelling within the again for very lengthy – though house again there may be nice for smaller ones, and for teenagers.
Boot house, in the meantime, is broadly just like what you’ll discover in most compact saloons for loading size, width and peak, in keeping with our tape measure. A Mercedes CLA 250e gives just a few centimetres extra space right here and there, however not sufficient to make a significant distinction.
Jaguar modified only some particulars of the inside’s design and specification for the 2024 mannequin yr: the grade of leather-based on the steering wheel, for instance (it’s not clean, not perforated) and the type of the treadplates on every door sill.
And right here, the XE feels prefer it’s acquired off frivolously relative to what was executed to the interiors of the Vary Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport on the similar time. The XE retains chunky rotary heater and blower rotary controls, its bodily switchgear for the management of something from audio quantity, to ESC, to lane retaining, and its usefully massive centre console storage cubbies. Nothing’s been taken away for the sake of ‘reductive design’ or neatness or sustainability.
And what a superb job that’s. As a result of whereas it’s not fairly as spectacular as within the greater XF, the XE’s materials high quality is pretty good – higher, at any fee, than it was once – and the cabin feels reasonably expensively executed out. The use of satin chrome and high-gloss black is a bit spinoff, but when that’s the largest compromise made right here for the sake of an interesting worth proposition, you’d fortunately settle for it.
The digital instrument binnacle stays properly rendered and nearly configurable sufficient, and its Pivi Professional touchscreen infotainment system (which arrived in 2021, albeit with out the freestanding show you’ll discover in an XF and F-Tempo) manages totally wi-fi smartphone mirroring and is pretty slick and straightforward to make use of.
Efficiency
The XE’s line-up of four-cylinder Ingenium engines actually don’t give it the lusty, attractive mechanical allure that Jaguar’s conventional massive saloons of so many a long time in the past had, however they do ship moderately refined, versatile and economical motoring within the case of the diesels, and a that bit extra urgency for those who go for the range-topping petrol.
Our P300 AWD Sport check automotive got here with a claimed 0-62mph of 5.9sec and, in dry check situations, fell narrowly however notably in need of reproducing that on the observe (0-60mph: 6.3sec). Utilizing a extra conventional torque-converter computerized gearbox than not less than a few of its transverse-engined rivals, it doesn’t have a launch management mode and so – four-wheel drive or not – it doesn’t get off the road fairly as neatly as it’d.
It’s inconvenient for Jaguar that the identical excuse can’t be used for roll-on acceleration. From 30mph to 70mph via the gears, the XE wanted 5.7sec (4.2sec for the Audi S3 Sportback in 2020). Kerb weight could also be a part of the issue right here, the XE being a deal heavier than so many compact premium choices regardless of its aluminium building. However the different unmissable truth is that the automotive’s range-topping petrol engine by no means actually fairly feels prefer it’s making all of its marketed 296bhp.
There’s a barely gravelly character to the two.0-litre turbocharged unit that makes for much less of an audible distinction with the once-saloon-default four-pot diesel than you would possibly anticipate. Jaguar’s explicit combustion management expertise makes this much less clean than some petrol engines, whereas it’s additionally rather less free-revving than some harder-working turbo petrol alternate options – though turbo response is mostly fairly good, and mid-range torque ample additionally.
The eight-speed ZF computerized gearbox shifts easily in regular use, however just like the engine, it doesn’t appear to understand being hurried into service or labored laborious. It’s slightly sluggish to interact drive at instances, is likewise a bit sluggish to alter ratios in paddle-shift handbook mode, and in some way combines with the engine to offer the XE’s efficiency a barely treacly really feel, as if there have been merely extra driveline friction than the norm for the automotive to beat.
Nevertheless, most of this is able to solely be any impediment or disappointment for many who may be drawn to the XE as some junior govt sport saloon. Throughout regular day-to-day driving, the P300 powertrain works agreeably properly, albeit maybe with the odd vaguely irritating second of gelatinous latency (though, as properly come on to later, it isn’t essentially the most gasoline environment friendly petrol engine of its form).The automotive’s controls are rigorously and progressively tuned, making the brake pedal progressive in its really feel, whereas the XE’s brakes themselves (in uprated kind, as examined) are pretty highly effective and resist fade properly.
The XE’s diesel engines, in the meantime, have confirmed impressively refined and real-world economical on latest acquaintance. Whereas they could now not make financially viable choices for many fleet automotive drivers in 2024, they need to nonetheless be properly price contemplating for personal consumers with greater mileage in thoughts.
Trip and dealing with
A number of the Jaguar XE’s engines might not be the lures upon which it may as soon as rely – however the chassis stays a strong advert for the automotive, in some methods maybe much more so immediately than it was when it was new nearly a decade in the past.
The P300 AWD Sport we examined, operating on 20in wheels and with its Configurable Dynamics adaptive dampers as commonplace, supplied particular Regular and Sport mode damping, steering and powertrain settings accessed through Jaguar’s Dynamic-i menu, in addition to top-level Consolation, Eco and Dynamic drive modes.
Left in its default settings, although, it struck a really efficient dealing with and journey compromise that made it flat, balanced and composed in its cornering manners at pace, in addition to supple over harder surfaces, with none notable trade-off on outright physique management. It’s that well-tuned dynamic compromise that exhibits that Jaguar’s chassis growth engineers nonetheless higher perceive the calls for that UK highway surfaces will make of an govt saloon than so a lot of their German and Italian opposites.
The XE has an affinity for a British nation highway – because it rises and falls, cambers and crowns, and throws up hidden ridges and damaged asphalt – of a form that so many fashionable sport saloons lack. It doesn’t really feel fairly as firmly sprung as some and its suspension appears to have larger progressiveness and dexterity to work with a altering floor, with out diverting the automotive’s steering or disturbing its grip ranges.
The fluent, comfy, composed, fast-striding cross-country gait that the automotive can undertake, when the chance presents, feels as spectacular immediately because it did practically a decade in the past. It steers with well-judged weight and a few really feel, and stays true to a cornering line even over mid-corner lumps and bumps. The one fly within the ointment is that Jaguar’s four-wheel drive system for the automotive does appear to boring the chassis’s throttle-on dealing with stability barely, inflicting the beginnings of traction-related mid-corner understeer for those who exit a nook shortly.
Trip isolation was pretty good in our 20in-rim-equipped check automotive – barely quieter at 50mph, by our decibel meter’s reckoning, than a Mercedes CLA 250e saloon, with room for it to be quieter nonetheless on smaller wheels and tyres.
MPG and operating prices
With costs ranging from little greater than £33,000 – a determine that buys solely a mid-range Volkswagen Golf in 2024 and is made to look all of the extra attractive in contrast with the figures requested for electrical govt vehicles of comparable measurement – the Jaguar XE has grow to be a automotive with an actual worth promoting level. Though maybe small in contrast with the typical govt saloon, it’s loads of automotive for that type of outlay and stays equally interesting in all however its very priciest spinoff guises.
Jaguar has sweetened gear ranges on the automotive as soon as extra for the 2024 mannequin yr, so even entry-level Dynamic S diesels include a ten.0in Pivi Professional touchscreen infotainment system with wi-fi smartphone mirroring, digital devices, heated leather-based seats, 18in alloy wheels and a full suite of driver help methods.
Mid-level Dynamic SE Black fashions add 19in rims, exterior black physique trim, a Meridian premium audio system and a wi-fi cellphone charger. Dynamic HSE Black trim provides Windsor leather-based seats, ebony veneer cabin trim, an electrically adjustable steering column and a powered bootlid. Solely on the XE Sport do the adaptive dampers and braking upgrades you could pay additional for on different fashions come as commonplace.
Our P300 AWD Sport check automotive managed a touring-test gasoline financial system return of slightly over 42mpg, however its check common results of 30.3mpg exposes what will be fairly a thirsty four-cylinder compact saloon when not being pushed pretty conservatively. The mild-hybrid D200 fashions, against this, are about as real-world environment friendly as any comparable diesel saloons in our check expertise (55mpg for those who actually put your thoughts to it).
Verdict
It was Jaguar’s nice ‘moonshot’ to take goal on the BMW 3 Collection when it launched the XE saloon in 2014. With regrettable predictability, from a enterprise perspective if not a important one, the automotive fell significantly in need of its mark.
With out the type of business success that has fuelled so many successive generations of its German-made rivals, this Jaguar merely couldn’t develop on the similar fee as its equal BMW, Mercedes and Audi rivals has these previous 10 years. That’s why there isn’t now a second-generation XE with a contemporary plug-in hybrid powertrain, and why the automotive – and, to an extent, its mum or dad model – faces such a dim and unsure future.
Nevertheless, it’s to Jaguar’s credit score that it has efficiently retained a spot within the automotive marketplace for the XE so a few years after it was launched – albeit extra of a distinct segment place than the one for which it was initially meant. As a result of when you think about this automotive purely as a non-public purchase, and as an alternative choice to the ‘compact premium’ govt saloon choices in opposition to which it’s priced in 2024 – the Mercedes CLA-Class, BMW 2 Collection Gran Coupé and Audi A3 Saloon – it finds a renewed type of attraction.
Simply because it did 10 years in the past, the XE’s chassis and steering nonetheless stand out for the fluent, interesting journey and dealing with they ship. For practicality, inside high quality and gear, it’s extra aggressive with its new opponents than it ever was with its previous ones. And whereas its upper-tier petrol engines aren’t a match for these multi-cylinder ones the XE as soon as had, they do respectable job – and its diesels a greater one nonetheless.
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