RE: Jaguar XE S: Driven

[David87]

Give it the 380bhp F-Type engine, AWD and a Sportbrake body and I'm in. That said, I bet the 2.0-litre diesel with the auto is all you'll ever need.

Does anyone know if the I4 petrols in the XE / new XF are Ingeniums rather than the Ford unit as used by the RR Evoque?

[kambites]

David87 said:

Does anyone know if the I4 petrols in the XE / new XF are Ingeniums rather than the Ford unit as used by the RR Evoque?

Yes, the four-pots are all Ingenium engines.

[unpc]

According to the telegraph the petrol is still the Ford unit from the Focus ST.

[kambites]

unpc said:

According to the telegraph the petrol is still the Ford unit from the Focus ST.

I'm fairly confident (but not certain) that they're wrong. Does anyone know for sure?

ETA: Hmm, actually maybe they're right. I remember reading an article saying that it would use solely Jaguar engines but everything post-release seems to talk about Ford petrol engines. Maybe the Ingenium petrol isn't ready yet?

Edited by kambites on Monday 27th April 11:37

[V88Dicky]

There's no Ford involvement at all with these new engines. They roll out in the XE and eventually will find their way into most Jags and LRs. The current Evoque will eventually get it.

[J4CKO]

Vee12V said:

Sounds like they're where it's at but it looks horribly outdated already and at the time I saw it at the Brussels motor show the quality of used materials in the cockpit was shockingly bad. Hope they've improved in the mean time but I'm still sceptical.

Horribly Outdated, in what way ? looks like a modern saloon car to me and given the constraints of the format, a pretty good looking one, not sure what any other manufacturers are doing that doesn't look outdated ?

[Slinky1989]

kambites said:

I'm fairly confident (but not certain) that they're wrong. Does anyone know for sure?

ETA: Hmm, actually maybe they're right. I remember reading an article saying that it would use solely Jaguar engines but everything post-release seems to talk about Ford petrol engines. Maybe the Ingenium petrol isn't ready yet?

Edited by kambites on Monday 27th April 11:37

Petrol engine is still a Ford unit. The assembly plant for the petrol engine is still being built with production due to start next year.

All the Diesels are Ingenium.

[DonkeyApple]

Still find it strange to see the Jaguar brand being compared to BMW and Audi instead of just Mercedes.

[JaguarsportXJR]

Vee12V said:

Sounds like they're where it's at but it looks horribly outdated already and at the time I saw it at the Brussels motor show the quality of used materials in the cockpit was shockingly bad. Hope they've improved in the mean time but I'm still sceptical.

I appreciate that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but to me your "horribly outdated" comment seems so wide of the mark that I'm genuinely struggling to come up with a response.

As for the materials quality, does anyone know if the motorshow example was production spec?

[RobGT81]

JaguarsportXJR said:

As for the materials quality, does anyone know if the motorshow example was production spec?

No, the Paris show car was pretty old. Even the pre production cars the media drove in January had pretty shoddy panel gaps. The volume cars are very nice though

[jamieduff1981]

alpha channel said:

jamieduff1981 said:

Just about every car since the mid-nineties has had some form of speed sensitive variable power assistance.

I suppose the merc I had could've been a lemon in that regard, as it was so intrusive/unpredictable that I damn near kerbed the things alloys three times as the steering weight shifted unexpectedly (saved only by a combination of the tyres and the angled kerbs themselves). This however doesn't sound too far removed from that unfortunately.

Either the Mercedes was broken or you are a completely incompetent driver.

[8bit]

Shambler said:

Bloody Heavy old thing for all that aluminium

This will come with more kit as standard than the Germans, so by the time you spec up a 3 series or an A4 to the same level as this comes standard the gap is probably much closer.

[GTEYE]

Pricing looks a little out of kilter versus the BMW and Audi rivals, and no one pays anywhere near list for them.

Doesn't quite look like to have the presence of a near £50k car IMHO.

[RobGT81]

GTEYE said:

Doesn't quite look like to have the presence of a near £50k car IMHO.

Have you got pics of the near £50K cars you are comparing it to?

[8bit]

GTEYE said:

Pricing looks a little out of kilter versus the BMW and Audi rivals, and no one pays anywhere near list for them.

Doesn't quite look like to have the presence of a near £50k car IMHO.

Again, the XE will have a number of things as standard that you have to select as options on the German alternatives, by the time you spec one of those up with the same toys the XE has as standard you're probably looking at much closer figures.

Having said that, I was playing with the XE config tool on Jaguar's website and was a little surprised at how many options there are.

[dukebox9reg]

8bit said:

GTEYE said:

Pricing looks a little out of kilter versus the BMW and Audi rivals, and no one pays anywhere near list for them.

Doesn't quite look like to have the presence of a near £50k car IMHO.

Again, the XE will have a number of things as standard that you have to select as options on the German alternatives, by the time you spec one of those up with the same toys the XE has as standard you're probably looking at much closer figures.

Having said that, I was playing with the XE config tool on Jaguar's website and was a little surprised at how many options there are.

All car makers are going that way. Amazed when I looked at the config for the new Mondeo the other day I was amazed how poorly specced a Titanium is now.

[Limpet]

It needs to crack the company car market if it is going to succeed, and it certainly delivers on the CO2 (BIK) front. The critical point will be lease costs. It can be the best car in its class, but if it costs £100 a month more to lease on a like-for-like basis than a 3-series or an A4, it simply won't appear on company car choice lists in the numbers needed.

I love the look of it, and I love the idea of something genuinely new challenging the ongoing dominance of the Germans in this market. I really hope it succeeds. One thing that does seem to be coming through from the early reports is that it doesn't need the adaptive suspension option ticked for decent handling. This is a big advantage over the 3-Series straight away.

[DonkeyApple]

8bit said:

Again, the XE will have a number of things as standard that you have to select as options on the German alternatives, by the time you spec one of those up with the same toys the XE has as standard you're probably looking at much closer figures.

Having said that, I was playing with the XE config tool on Jaguar's website and was a little surprised at how many options there are.

Seems a silly tactic in a world where having the lowest headline figure is vital for marketing hence why everything is an optional extra.

Why would Jag not strip out these items you reference and allow a cheaper core unit price so as to fake looking cheaper just like everyone else in this segment?

[alpha channel]

jamieduff1981 said:

Either the Mercedes was broken or you are a completely incompetent driver.

I'd say the former then, it had been messed about with at some point in it's life with, apparently, some quality, if probably poorly set up, shocks (and that was the most visible mod, didn't help that the dealer supplied mismatched itch finders either) and I've got a feeling that who ever did the messing did so with full gusto. I frankly didn't care enough about the thing to bother to go to all the trouble (and cost) to put everything back to factory. I chopped it in for the Alfa in the end, just couldn't gel with, found it totally characterless (but love the Alfa despite its flaws).

[GTEYE]

RobGT81 said:

GTEYE said:

Doesn't quite look like to have the presence of a near £50k car IMHO.

Have you got pics of the near £50K cars you are comparing it to?

£50k would get you a pretty decent spec 5 Series/E Class/A6/XF from the class above.

This XE looks perhaps too similar to the £30k 2.0d XE's which are aiming at the sales rep market. And yes, the same comment also applies to 3 Series/C Class/A4 etc etc