Jaguar has confirmed its all-new XE will consume as little as 75mpg (3.8L/100km) in base diesel form, making the mid-size luxury sedan more efficient than its key rivals and Toyota's hybrid icon, the Prius.
The British car-maker has previously confirmed the new Ingenium 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine in the XE, which is depicted by French artist Dingo in various famous Parisian locations in a series of images released this week ahead of its Paris motor show debut tomorrow, will emit as little as 99g/km of CO2.
Now it has announced the XE, which goes on sale in Australia in the third quarter of next year, will initially be available with two versions of the Ingenium diesel, the base engine producing 120kW/380Nm, consuming 3.8L/100km and emitting 99g/km – making it Jaguar's most efficient vehicle yet.
Although those figures apply to the entry-level six-speed manual version (a similarly efficient eight-speed automatic variant is likely to be the cheapest XE sold here), they compare favourably with the Prius (100kW, 3.9L/100km, 89g/km) and its most direct competitors.
They include the Audi A4 (130kW/380Nm, 5.3L/100km), BMW 320d (135kW/380Nm, 4.5L/100km) and Mercedes-Benz C 250 BlueTEC (150kW/500Nm, 4.5L/100km).
Jaguar says the higher-output XE diesel will offer 132kW/430Nm but is yet to reveal fuel consumption or CO2 emissions figures.
Designed in-house by Jaguar, both Ingenium diesel engines meet Euro 6 emissions regulations and feature variable exhaust valve timing, a diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration, cooled low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology.
The two XE diesels will be joined from launch by the XE S, powered by a 250kW/450Nm supercharged 3.0-litre V6 from the F-TYPE sports car.
It will accelerate to 100km/h in a claimed 5.1 seconds but, as Jaguar's answer to the likes of BMW's M3 and the Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG, the range-topping XE SVR will be even quicker.
Also available will be two 2.0-litre direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines, specifications for which are yet to be announced.
Beyond the sedan, Jaguar's new aluminium-intensive rear-wheel drive XE is expected to be produced in long-wheelbase, wagon, coupe, convertible and, wearing another name, SUV body styles.