Wednesday 1st October 2014

Jaguar XE - the full range

Prices, weights, specs - get your fill here!

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Time to crunch some numbers with the Jaguar XE then. We've had the tech on the aluminium intensive chassis, the Ingenium diesel engines and the connectivity inside. Now we have specs and stats to pore over. And some more tech, obviously.

Right, so this is an XE Prestige...

The Jaguar XE range starts at £26,995 for the 200hp 2.0-litre turbo SE. The diesels begin at £29,775 for the 163hp 2.0d with a manual 'box. For reference that's £1,000 more than a 320d SE. The 340hp XE S is the fastest and most expensive XE at launch, costing £44,870.

Then we're into the quirks of specifications. Both diesels are available with every trim level (SE, Prestige, R-Sport and Portfolio), the 200hp petrol as an SE, Prestige or R-Sport and the 240hp petrol only as an R-Sport or Portfolio. The supercharged V6 gets its own 'S' spec. The diesels have the choice of manual or automatic 'boxes, the petrols are auto-only. Still with us?

Right. So if you opt for for an XE SE you'll get 'high-quality cloth seats' and 'black treatment for the door trim finishers' as well as standard DAB radio, sat-nav and cruise control. Prestige adds leather upholstery and aluminium trim. Portfolio is the most luxurious XE with softgrain leather, electric seats, Meridian audio and bi-xenon lights.

... and this is a Portfolio...

An R-Sport XE can be identified through a 'noble chrome treatment for the side power vents' (really). There's a small rear spoiler too plus standard sports suspension (no details on that yet) with sports seats too. Sporty. If the V6 noise doesn't mark out an XE S enough, it features a gloss black rear valance, 19-inch wheels and red calipers. And breathe.

Prices? Prestige adds £1,000 to SE, R-Sport is £1,750 more than the Prestige and Portfolio is £650 on top of the R-Sport. The automatic costs £1,750 on the diesels which are separated by £500 spec for spec. There's £3,350 between the 200hp R-Sport and the 240hp version.

And as we're on numbers we should deal with kerbweights as well. The 163hp diesel is 'from 1,474kg', the 180hp version a fair bit more at 1,550kg. The pair of 2.0-litre petrols are near identical (1,530kg for the 200 and 1,535kg for the 240). The V6 S is nearly 200kg heavier than the diesel at 1,665kg. Let's see what the road test scales say.

We would be here all day detailing the spec of each XE so let's focus on the 163hp diesel that will likely be the most popular. You'll need the manual to hit those headline 99g/km/75mpg stats, the auto adding another 5g/km and dropping the official EU combined to 71.7. The ZF gearbox takes two tenths from the 0-62mph time (down to 8.2 seconds) but top speed in both is 132mph.

... and this is an R-Sport. Got it?

Jaguar isn't quite done on the technology debuts either. The latest is All Surface Progress Control (ASPC) which Jaguar describes as 'akin to a low-speed cruise control' and a feature that will give the XE 'unrivalled all-weather capability' amongst its RWD rivals. It uses Land Rover tech to gain traction more swiftly than a driver can and functions between 2 and 19mph. Set it like cruise control and just focus on steering. Only if you have the automatic gearbox though.

The usual roster of driver assist systems feature in the XE with a few notable inclusions. The optional head-up display is by laser and the autonomous emergency braking uses a stereo camera to create a 3D view of the road ahead. Don't forget the XE app too that will allow you to open doors remotely, check fuel level, set the climate control and so on.

So that's the latest on the Jaguar XE. The driving impressions are coming as soon as possible, honest.

 

[if in doubt]

So after all the talk of an innovative aluminium structure it has ended up with a distinctly average weight.

[if in doubt]

Max_Torque said:

if in doubt said:

So after all the talk of an innovative aluminium structure it has ended up with a distinctly average weight.

Don't tell anyone right, but if you compare the specific strength (tensile strength/density) of modern "high grade" steels with that of alluminium, there's not much in it. ie, yes, aluminium has a lower density, but you need more of it to make up a part with the same load carrying capability as a high grade steel part. Back in the day, when the steel used for cars was any cheap rubbish, yes, aluminium had a significant mass advantage, but these days, with high grade steels and clever forming techniques like hydroforming and high pressure "super plastic forming" etc, there is not such a clear case. And of course, a lot of non essential body components are now plastic or composite anyway, so less of the car is actually made from "heavy" steel.
There is an argument to say that an aluminium BIW can have a higher specific stiffness, but tbh, modern cars are "stiff enough" even when made of out steel, so there is not really much advantage there either (despite what all the marketing nonsense about "doubled torsional stiffness over the last model" etc might spout!

Yeah, you can do quite a simple little calculation to show that aluminium cars are in general no lighter than their steel counter parts. I think it was mass / (length x width). I just get frustrated at the hype surrounding Aluminium and 'the miraculous weight savings'.

I do hope that this car gives Jag a decent chunk of revenue. It's impressive what they have acheived given the volumes the Germans ship in comparison.

Edited by if in doubt on Wednesday 1st October 13:30

[if in doubt]

xRIEx said:

What are the corrosion characteristics of aluminium compared to steel?

It doesn't. Well not under the sort of conditions you'll see on the road. It basically creates its own corrosion resistant coating in air.