Jaguar XE - 2.0d Prestige
Discussion
Ok, if you're reading this it's probably because you are thinking about getting one as a company car....
It's the middle-ish of the range with the 161bhp engine and, importantly, the manual gearbox - which leads to 99 g/km emissions! Great for BIK tax.
Here's a pic (can't find the one I took)
I had this for a week so see below for my initial thoughts and little things that aren't common knowledge - hopefully it'll help others in the decision making process.
Looks:
So, first impressions - It's a looker. A little bland on the sides and back (looks like an A4) but otherwise a handsome car. I even like the colour. This has the optional 17" lightweight wheels and doesn't come with any fancy body kit etc you get with the R Sport. It only comes with 17" wheels in the 161bhp to keep emissions low. Personal opinion, the R Sport looks better.
Inside:
Lovely place to sit. Great interior, however some cheap switchgear. An example is the shiny “piano black” surrounds on the transmission tunnel. Proper nasty stuff. The second you try and clean it, scratches appear. Also the HVAC switches are pants. Akin to a 1990’s Alba stereo, none of the soft touch damped buttons here. When you press them, you get a tinny “click” sound.
Some other cheap materials and lack of left leg “cushion” is a shame. Also, the door cards are very hard! This mean that when you rest your right arm on the door when driving, it’s actually quite hard and sore! Plus there are multiple levels of rest on the door. One is too high, one is to low…it’s strange but you can get comfortable after a while.
Excellent seats. Even in the non-sport version the seats are supportive and comfortable and the leather feels good quality.
Visibility is mixed. Front is ok, sides ok, but the rear visibility is poor. It’s like looking through a letterbox!
Kit:
Wow, loads of kit. Leather, heated seats, dual zone aircon, cruise, speed limiter, Bluetooth (including streaming, unlike the German’s where it’s an expensive option!), DAB, sat nav, lane departure warning and speed limit sign reading (which appears on the instrument cluster). All this is standard!
But….unlike the Feeder song:
- He’s got a brand new car – Tick
- Looks like a Jaguar – Tick
- It’s got leather seats – Tick
- It’s got a CD player – FAIL! The bloody thing doesn’t have a CD player for God’s sake! Being all modern and funky, you can stream, you can attach your phone/ipod/aux but you can’t listen to true CDs. Hmmm. But I don’t want to talk about it anymore….
So, another feature that comes as standard are the “apps”. So, if you connect your phone (Android or iPhone) via a cable in the storage area under the armrest you can run certain apps on the car, powered by the phone. For example – you can view your calendar or read the news. It’s pretty pointless if I’m honest with you but might be better in the future.
The other function is to remotely communicate your car via your phone. You can see where you parked it, flash the lights and sound a beep so you can find your car in a car park and….bizarrely, you can lock and unlock your car too!?! Now, this only unlocks the driver’s door and only for 45 seconds but I still don’t see the point. It’s not instant, takes a few mins to complete therefore it’s just a gimmick. Could be useful in some circumstances though.
The other thing it allows you to do is view the remaining fuel and tracks your journeys to give distance, time, MPG, av speed etc. Now, that might seem cool, but there’s a reason for it….the trip computer in the car is very simple and they’ve countered this by providing functionality via the app but it only works when you’ve connected your phone. The trip computer is pretty poor in comparison, only basic settings, doesn’t give you the duration since set-off or other stuff you get in Merc/Audi/BMW.
The infotainment system is pretty good, touch screen that requires a good prod to do something but otherwise ok. DAB as standard and reasonable standard stereo too. Upgrade to Meridian for £500, but only 360W, with a sub in the boot. Annoyingly….heated seats (standard) can only be operated via the screen. Idiots.
Tyre pressure monitoring system is a full blown hypochondriac. 1 PSI out and it’ll warn you that your tyres are flat, you’re going to crash and die. t
t.
Overall, much much better than rivals. They don’t come close for standard kit. Yes, I’m sure you could spec them up but the price would be ridiculous.
Practicality:
Yeah pretty practical. Quite a high transmission tunnel therefore some people on the larger side might find it a little cramped – but for a 6” skinny guy, it’s spot on. Mrs was comfortable in the passenger seat and managed to fit 2 full size real people in the back. A bit cramped but not the end of the world. Being RWD, the transmission tunnel does steal leg space for the middle passenger, should you have one.
Boot is ok, not large and quite narrow and you don’t get split fold rear seats as standard. You’ll need them.
Nice and easy to park – has rear parking sensors and the passenger dips so you can see the kerb – nice touch.
Yes - you can fit 2 child seats in the back and have a small amount of space in the middle! Nice and easy ISO fix attachments but Audi still tops it.
Drive:
This is the 161bhp model therefore it is never going to set the world alight. Key thing for people to be aware of….the manual transmission. It’s great. Like, really great. Nice weighting, short throw, accurate and genuinely a pleasure to use! I am very impressed. Just like a BMW M Sport but much lighter. The gear lever is clad in nice soft tough leather and the top is real metal, which will get cold in winter though.
I’ll be honest, the engine is a little gruff. It doesn’t sound that refined on start-up and is noticeable when you drive. You can also tell it’s a turbo because you can hear the turbo whistle and whine when you accelerate! But…it’s not a pleasing sound and wouldn’t expect it in a car of this quality. Disappointed.
Nice clutch weighting, but the biting point is a bit high and…..the pedals are not set up for heel-toe. Shame. Brakes are over servo’d in my opinion and a bit “audi”. There’s feel but they’re just too sensitive.
Suspension – a revelation. Great, supple but stable ride. Hardly any body-roll but can be noticed when pushing hard as the tyre walls are huge (50’s) on the 17”.
The best way I can describe the power delivery is “relaxed”. It is very much like a Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost. Bear with me here. It’s obvious that this car has been fitted with the biggest flywheel in the world, for the sake of economy. To put it into context, it’s got no turbo lag, but because of the large flywheel there’s always a delay in pulling away, changing gear etc. Another example is – cruising at about 50mph in 6th, lift off and the car will roll but barely reduce speed!
The impact is that it’s quite slow pulling away and when you’re trying to get the gap on a roundabout you have the rev quite high to get a good take off. I’m a bit disappointed. In comparison to a BMW 1/3/5 20d, it’s a bit of a slouch away from the line. When in gear, it’s a nice relaxed cruiser, very quiet and refined on the motorway.
Having said that, it does like to rev and sounds a bit like an old school 1.6 petrol when near the rev limit. You’ll see when I mean….
I rate the ride and handling above a 320d, but not the power delivery. I wouldn’t say it’s an exciting car as the power delivery kills it. It’s a real shame. It’ll be much better in the 177bhp car though. For some people, this might be a deal breaker – I’m one of them.
Economy:
I averaged approx 62 mpg over 800 miles of mixed driving, which I thought was pretty good. One thing Jag don’t announce is that fuel tank sizes are different on each model! Cheeky buggers. As this is the “economical” car – it’s only got a 47ltr tank, but the others have 50 and 60 ltr (ish) tanks. This does mean that even though you can go far, you can’t go quite as far as you would have expected due to the small tank size!
Also, there’s an AdBlu top up point when you open the boot which is another reason why it’s been able to dip under the 99 g/km barrier. Which does mean it needs topping up.
Overall:
I like it. If you can get over the poor/relaxed power delivery and the slightly small rear, it’s a good car. Lots of kit, nice to drive and something a bit different. I feel there’s going to be a lot of these on the road very soon indeed.
After jumping straight back into a 120d, the BMW is much more fun to drive. You can chuck it around and better power delivery – but despite this, I’ve ordered the R Sport version. Will update when it arrives!
Happy to answer any questions anyone might have - sorry for lack of pictures!
It's the middle-ish of the range with the 161bhp engine and, importantly, the manual gearbox - which leads to 99 g/km emissions! Great for BIK tax.
Here's a pic (can't find the one I took)
I had this for a week so see below for my initial thoughts and little things that aren't common knowledge - hopefully it'll help others in the decision making process.
Looks:
So, first impressions - It's a looker. A little bland on the sides and back (looks like an A4) but otherwise a handsome car. I even like the colour. This has the optional 17" lightweight wheels and doesn't come with any fancy body kit etc you get with the R Sport. It only comes with 17" wheels in the 161bhp to keep emissions low. Personal opinion, the R Sport looks better.
Inside:
Lovely place to sit. Great interior, however some cheap switchgear. An example is the shiny “piano black” surrounds on the transmission tunnel. Proper nasty stuff. The second you try and clean it, scratches appear. Also the HVAC switches are pants. Akin to a 1990’s Alba stereo, none of the soft touch damped buttons here. When you press them, you get a tinny “click” sound.
Some other cheap materials and lack of left leg “cushion” is a shame. Also, the door cards are very hard! This mean that when you rest your right arm on the door when driving, it’s actually quite hard and sore! Plus there are multiple levels of rest on the door. One is too high, one is to low…it’s strange but you can get comfortable after a while.
Excellent seats. Even in the non-sport version the seats are supportive and comfortable and the leather feels good quality.
Visibility is mixed. Front is ok, sides ok, but the rear visibility is poor. It’s like looking through a letterbox!
Kit:
Wow, loads of kit. Leather, heated seats, dual zone aircon, cruise, speed limiter, Bluetooth (including streaming, unlike the German’s where it’s an expensive option!), DAB, sat nav, lane departure warning and speed limit sign reading (which appears on the instrument cluster). All this is standard!
But….unlike the Feeder song:
- He’s got a brand new car – Tick
- Looks like a Jaguar – Tick
- It’s got leather seats – Tick
- It’s got a CD player – FAIL! The bloody thing doesn’t have a CD player for God’s sake! Being all modern and funky, you can stream, you can attach your phone/ipod/aux but you can’t listen to true CDs. Hmmm. But I don’t want to talk about it anymore….
So, another feature that comes as standard are the “apps”. So, if you connect your phone (Android or iPhone) via a cable in the storage area under the armrest you can run certain apps on the car, powered by the phone. For example – you can view your calendar or read the news. It’s pretty pointless if I’m honest with you but might be better in the future.
The other function is to remotely communicate your car via your phone. You can see where you parked it, flash the lights and sound a beep so you can find your car in a car park and….bizarrely, you can lock and unlock your car too!?! Now, this only unlocks the driver’s door and only for 45 seconds but I still don’t see the point. It’s not instant, takes a few mins to complete therefore it’s just a gimmick. Could be useful in some circumstances though.
The other thing it allows you to do is view the remaining fuel and tracks your journeys to give distance, time, MPG, av speed etc. Now, that might seem cool, but there’s a reason for it….the trip computer in the car is very simple and they’ve countered this by providing functionality via the app but it only works when you’ve connected your phone. The trip computer is pretty poor in comparison, only basic settings, doesn’t give you the duration since set-off or other stuff you get in Merc/Audi/BMW.
The infotainment system is pretty good, touch screen that requires a good prod to do something but otherwise ok. DAB as standard and reasonable standard stereo too. Upgrade to Meridian for £500, but only 360W, with a sub in the boot. Annoyingly….heated seats (standard) can only be operated via the screen. Idiots.
Tyre pressure monitoring system is a full blown hypochondriac. 1 PSI out and it’ll warn you that your tyres are flat, you’re going to crash and die. t
t.Overall, much much better than rivals. They don’t come close for standard kit. Yes, I’m sure you could spec them up but the price would be ridiculous.
Practicality:
Yeah pretty practical. Quite a high transmission tunnel therefore some people on the larger side might find it a little cramped – but for a 6” skinny guy, it’s spot on. Mrs was comfortable in the passenger seat and managed to fit 2 full size real people in the back. A bit cramped but not the end of the world. Being RWD, the transmission tunnel does steal leg space for the middle passenger, should you have one.
Boot is ok, not large and quite narrow and you don’t get split fold rear seats as standard. You’ll need them.
Nice and easy to park – has rear parking sensors and the passenger dips so you can see the kerb – nice touch.
Yes - you can fit 2 child seats in the back and have a small amount of space in the middle! Nice and easy ISO fix attachments but Audi still tops it.
Drive:
This is the 161bhp model therefore it is never going to set the world alight. Key thing for people to be aware of….the manual transmission. It’s great. Like, really great. Nice weighting, short throw, accurate and genuinely a pleasure to use! I am very impressed. Just like a BMW M Sport but much lighter. The gear lever is clad in nice soft tough leather and the top is real metal, which will get cold in winter though.
I’ll be honest, the engine is a little gruff. It doesn’t sound that refined on start-up and is noticeable when you drive. You can also tell it’s a turbo because you can hear the turbo whistle and whine when you accelerate! But…it’s not a pleasing sound and wouldn’t expect it in a car of this quality. Disappointed.
Nice clutch weighting, but the biting point is a bit high and…..the pedals are not set up for heel-toe. Shame. Brakes are over servo’d in my opinion and a bit “audi”. There’s feel but they’re just too sensitive.
Suspension – a revelation. Great, supple but stable ride. Hardly any body-roll but can be noticed when pushing hard as the tyre walls are huge (50’s) on the 17”.
The best way I can describe the power delivery is “relaxed”. It is very much like a Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost. Bear with me here. It’s obvious that this car has been fitted with the biggest flywheel in the world, for the sake of economy. To put it into context, it’s got no turbo lag, but because of the large flywheel there’s always a delay in pulling away, changing gear etc. Another example is – cruising at about 50mph in 6th, lift off and the car will roll but barely reduce speed!
The impact is that it’s quite slow pulling away and when you’re trying to get the gap on a roundabout you have the rev quite high to get a good take off. I’m a bit disappointed. In comparison to a BMW 1/3/5 20d, it’s a bit of a slouch away from the line. When in gear, it’s a nice relaxed cruiser, very quiet and refined on the motorway.
Having said that, it does like to rev and sounds a bit like an old school 1.6 petrol when near the rev limit. You’ll see when I mean….
I rate the ride and handling above a 320d, but not the power delivery. I wouldn’t say it’s an exciting car as the power delivery kills it. It’s a real shame. It’ll be much better in the 177bhp car though. For some people, this might be a deal breaker – I’m one of them.
Economy:
I averaged approx 62 mpg over 800 miles of mixed driving, which I thought was pretty good. One thing Jag don’t announce is that fuel tank sizes are different on each model! Cheeky buggers. As this is the “economical” car – it’s only got a 47ltr tank, but the others have 50 and 60 ltr (ish) tanks. This does mean that even though you can go far, you can’t go quite as far as you would have expected due to the small tank size!
Also, there’s an AdBlu top up point when you open the boot which is another reason why it’s been able to dip under the 99 g/km barrier. Which does mean it needs topping up.
Overall:
I like it. If you can get over the poor/relaxed power delivery and the slightly small rear, it’s a good car. Lots of kit, nice to drive and something a bit different. I feel there’s going to be a lot of these on the road very soon indeed.
After jumping straight back into a 120d, the BMW is much more fun to drive. You can chuck it around and better power delivery – but despite this, I’ve ordered the R Sport version. Will update when it arrives!
Happy to answer any questions anyone might have - sorry for lack of pictures!
Edited by arun1uk on Friday 18th September 17:41
I had a look at these on the Jag web site and as a private buyer the 2.0 petrol looks like a good option, it's a fair bit cheaper than the less powerful diesels. With regards the switchgear being poor, I thought the same of the wife's Evoque, the cruise control switches on the steering wheel are really clicky! Thanks for the review though, may give it some more thought!
I had the XE-S on test last week, absolutely sublime car. IMO kicks the 335i into the weeds in every way bar economy, but let's face it if you bought the 3.0 Supercharged V6 model economy isn't front and centre in your mind.
What amazed me is how it rides better on 20's than most 3ers on 17's. Incredible. And I loved the interior.
What amazed me is how it rides better on 20's than most 3ers on 17's. Incredible. And I loved the interior.
Thank you for a very good write up, OP. Much appreciated
I went on a factory tour of Land Rover Solihull yesterday, so obviously there were loads of XEs about and they really do look something special in person. Think I saw every colour and all looked fantastic. As soon as I can get shot of my wife's dreary Qashqai baby wagon it's off and the XE is in!
I went on a factory tour of Land Rover Solihull yesterday, so obviously there were loads of XEs about and they really do look something special in person. Think I saw every colour and all looked fantastic. As soon as I can get shot of my wife's dreary Qashqai baby wagon it's off and the XE is in!
so roll me further bh said:
h said: Going to look at one tomorrow, its on my wifes company car list along with a c class merc , volkswagon cc, volkswagon Passat, and a 3 series. It looks the best spec on her list. It is also as said above, the cheaper on tax. I like the look of them myself
Out of that list, I'd go for the XE if you could get the sporty looking one, otherwise the 3 Series.Glad the info is helpful - it certainly helped cement my decision.
Depends what your wife is after? Nice easy drive, practical etc, or is she interested in dynamics?
You'll certainly get more kit in the XE, compared to the 320d Sport. Having said that, she might find the BMW a better drive? XE delivery is around 10 weeks, so probably better than BMW too
Depends what your wife is after? Nice easy drive, practical etc, or is she interested in dynamics?
You'll certainly get more kit in the XE, compared to the 320d Sport. Having said that, she might find the BMW a better drive? XE delivery is around 10 weeks, so probably better than BMW too
Edited by arun1uk on Monday 21st September 08:53
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff