By: IOL Motoring Staff
Earls Court, London - Jaguar is plunging straight into the heart of the executive car park with its new XE, a brand new saloon that will take on heavy hitters such as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class.
Revealed to much fanfare at a star-studded event at Earl's Court in London on Monday night, the XE is a neatly-chiselled evolution of Jaguar's latest design themes, in many ways resembling a sharpened, downsized XF.
While it might be Jaguar's 'entry-level' sedan, it has absolutely nothing in common with the old X-Type, which many feel cheapened the Jaguar brand. For starters, the XE is not a Ford Mondeo in drag - it's a blue-blooded Jaguar crafted around an aluminium-intensive monocoque structure and it's the stiffest and most aerodynamic Jaguar saloon ever made.
In fact, Jaguar is positioning it slightly above those aforementioned rivals, with a UK (indicative) starting price of £27 000 (R466 000), versus £26 855 for the cheapest C-Class and £23 550 for the least expensive 3 Series.
POWER CHOICE
As with its XF bigger brother, the XE sends its power through the rear wheels and customers will have a choice of various petrol and diesel engines.
Topping the range for now is the XE S, featuring a supercharged three-litre V6 that pushes 250kW and 450Nm and, according to claims, sprints from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds. At the very other end of the scale, Jaguar will be offering a 120kW/380Nm two-litre turbodiesel that forms part of the new 'Ingenium' engine family and emits just 99g/km of CO2 on the combined cycle.
In between those two Jaguar will launch other two-litre turbodiesel and turbopetrol variants, for which it has yet to announce output figures. These engines will be mated to a ZF eight-speed autobox, while the diesels will also be available with a six-speed manual.
DYNAMIC LEADER
While the car's lightweight architecture is impressive in its own right, Jaguar went to further lengths to perfect the road holding by opting for a double wishbone front suspension and Integral Link rear set-up, which is superior to conventional multi-link axles.
Jaguar Director Kevin Stride enthused: "Jaguar's position as the leading premium manufacturer of aluminium vehicles allowed us to develop a light, stiff body structure that is ground-breaking in its class. It enables the XE's advanced chassis technologies to deliver an unprecedented balance of agility and levels of refinement previously found only in vehicles from the segments above."
COMFORT AND CLASS
Despite its smaller size, Jaguar promises a cabin with "outstanding" levels of comfort and spaciousness along with "exquisite" materials and finishes that would befit the Jaguar brand.
On the gadget front, the XE is fitted with Jaguar's InControl infotainment system linked to an eight-inch touch-screen and featuring numerous 'InControl' apps. The system also allows iOS and Android users to control a range of vehicle functions - even pre-setting the climate control - while away from the vehicle.
The XE's active safety gadgetry includes All Surface Progress Control for proper low-speed traction in slippery conditions, a laser head-up display that projects high-contrast colour imagery, an auto-braking system, adaptive cruise control and reverse traffic detection.
Jaguar promises to provide further details of the entire XE range when it shows this new baby off at the Paris Motor Show in early October. Expect to see it in South African showrooms in 2015.