Jaguar XE 2015 Review

If you wanted to take sales away from the world's best selling compact luxury sedan, you could do a lot worse than benchmark that very car, the BMW 3 Series. Certainly Jaguar seems to think so...

Launched in Australia this week and set to begin delivery to local buyers from September 1, the Jaguar XE is as close as any car will ever come to a 3 Series without actually wearing Munich's distinctive badgework on the sheetmetal.

There are plenty of tell-tales... even down to the bonnet and front quarter panels, when viewed from a low angle, ¾ front.

The 25t Jaguar engine – based on the same family architecture as the Ford Falcon EcoBoost four – is very similar in character to the N20 powerplant in the 328i. Both cars come with a snappy, sophisticated eight-speed transmission supplied by ZF. And then there's the new Jaguar's cornering – very neutral, safe, but engaging, thanks to a BMW-like 50:50 weight distribution.

For the local media launch we drove three examples of the new Jag on roads along the coast around Cairns, up to Port Douglas and back by a long loop. First up was the XE R-Sport with 25t (177kW) engine, followed the next day by the wonderful XE S with the 250kW supercharged V6 shared with the entry-level F-TYPE sports car. Stepping out of the XE flagship, we finished the drive program in the diesel-engined XE Prestige 20d – basically the new 'Ingenium' diesel, displacing 2.0 litres, in the entry-level luxury model (as opposed to a 'sport' model).

As noted already, the refined, turbocharged petrol engine in the 25T variant has a lot in common with the engine that powers the Ford Falcon EcoBoost – with one big difference. In the Jaguar it sounds really good... And again, there's that parallel with the 3 Series – the 328i, specifically. The Jaguar engine revs out cleanly, with a muscular note very much in the bespoke German style.

On a mostly gentle cruise out of Cairns towards Port Douglas the XE R-Sport posted an average fuel consumption figure of 7.8L/100km. More open-road cruising at a fixed speed and less tooling around in the upper reaches of the rev range would have seen a significantly better figure than that.

When it wasn't being flogged in a straight line, the XE was being hurled into bends on the road to Port Douglas. It impressed with its ride and handling balance, and its responsive but delicate steering. With its electrically-assisted system the XE treads a fine line between lightness and feel, but always feels precise and accurate in corners.

In other words, it's steering you can just as easily live with whether backing out of a tight parking spot at the local shopping centre car park or picking the best line for a nicely cambered bend on a stretch of road meandering off into the sunset.

Ergonomically the XE shares the same sort of layout common to other JLR products, including the trip computer scroll/reset button in the end of the indicator stalk, the rotary dial gear selector and the Terrain Response-style switchgear for changing the driveline (traction control) settings. Jaguar says, in fact, that this system – using a switch that could have come straight out of the latest Discovery Sport – owes a lot to development work carried out by Land Rover first, before Jaguar borrowed it for the XE. In short, all the controls and instruments are easy to use and are well located. High-resolution graphics are a feature of the infotainment touch screen in the centre fascia.

First impressions sitting in the driver's seat were that the seat was mounted quite low. By the next day that impression had faded. There was a sunroof fitted in the 25T R-Sport, which did encroach on headroom for taller drivers, but being of average height I was able to adjust the seat base a little higher without coming too close to the headlining. After reclining the seat a little and pulling back the steering wheel nearer still I had the perfect driving position for me. The seats in front were very well shaped, comfortable and nicely bolstered to hold the occupant in place during harder cornering.

In the rear too, there was some nice seat design, although accommodation back there was a little tight... tighter, in fact than I recall of the 328i tested three months ago. If the XE's spaciousness in front could be described as adequate rather than generous, in the rear it's marginal rather than adequate. I found headroom was compromised and kneeroom was fine for adults of average size, at best. There was room under the front seats for passengers in the rear to poke their toes, but the transmission tunnel was high, making the XE no place for a fifth passenger. I would personally say the rear-seat accommodation is the XE's principal flaw. If you never carry more than a couple of kids in the back, it won't be a deal-breaker, however.

Fit and finish in the XE is to be applauded. In the R-Sport the seat upholstery was an interesting two-tone theme, and the materials were of a quality standard; even when Jaguar had to resort to hard plastics for durability there was a textured finish to them. Doors closed with a Germanic finality and the one build-related issue noted was the constant squeak from a plastic trim piece in the centre fascia of the XE S driven on the second day.

The XE's cabin was properly isolated from NVH. On occasional gnarly stretches of blacktop the XE's tyres could be heard, but the cabin of the small Jag was mostly quiet and serene. While the engine sounded sporty, it was generally subdued, even at higher revs. I feel Jaguar has nailed the driveline NVH in the XE. It's there for the driver's enjoyment when giving it heaps, but neither of the petrol engines tested could be heard at any other time, and the diesel was very quiet and smooth by the standards of a four-cylinder oiler.

There were some packaging issues that might affect some buyers. Not everyone wants a space-saver spare, for instance, such as the one in the back of the XE.

Nor will all customers appreciate the two 'organ stops' in the boot to release the latches holding the rear seat squabs in place. There are no latches in the cabin or actual levers in the boot to lower the 60:40 split-fold rear seat.

And the roofline over the front doors is arguably too low. Driver and front passenger could conceivably do themselves a mischief climbing in – knocking the head on the door frame.

If the four-cylinder petrol engine was pleasantly refined, the V6 in the XE was a much snarlier, defiant piece of work. At full throttle and climbing through the rev range the supercharged 3.0-litre mill sounded like a hive of bees grooving with a hammer drill. Lifted from the 250kW F-TYPE, the supercharged V6 liked to rev, but also delivered accessible power in a genteel, progressive manner with the merest squeeze of the accelerator. Its responsiveness and flexible nature made it the ideal partner for the XE's chassis. The driver could feed in precisely as much or as little power as desired or needed to make the Jag dance. Fuel consumption averaged 10.2L/100km, which was reasonable, given the full-bore exploitation of its performance potential on occasion.

Steering was heavier than the four-cylinder models', but the compensation rests in its slightly better quality of feedback, which was marginally more tactile than the R-Sport's. Ride comfort in the flagship model remained unfussed and comfy, despite the car's dynamic ability.

The diesel-engined XE Prestige 20d offered steering that fell somewhere between the R-Sport and S for weight. With different suspension calibration, it felt less lively than the two petrol variants (both with sports suspension tuning of course), but the difference wasn't huge.

Some turbo lag was present – mostly from standing starts, although nothing like the lag evident in the 2.2-litre Ford/PSA diesel set to be replaced shortly in the XF and Range Rover Evoque. The ZF transmission appears to be calibrated for relatively high stall, allowing the diesel to lift immediately to 2000rpm the moment the driver stamps on the go pedal. Turbo boost builds from there, delivering linear performance right up to the redline. There was no hint of torque or power falling away in the last 500 revs or so this side of the redline and, unlike some diesels, the XE's engine was ready to go when the driver demanded acceleration out of corners, even if the turbo was idling on the way into the corner.

While driveline NVH was not quite a match for the two petrol engines, the diesel came close. At cruising speeds the diesel was undetectable from the driver's seat and it would go as low as 1300rpm in high gears with barely a murmur of vibration. Give the diesel some stick and it would rev out with almost no audible clues that it was a diesel. Fuel consumption was 6.4L/100km, according to the trip computer.

The transmission was very responsive to driver input using the shift paddles. Two sharp tugs of the left paddle dropped the ZF transmission back two gears, without any problem at all – and no waiting.

Between the drivetrains and the underpinnings, the XE has drivers covered. But the question remains whether it is a sufficiently convincing package in other respects to sway buyers in the prestige mid-sized sedan sector. Considering its primary safety, its level of standard equipment and refinement, the XE is a car that can win over those who would not have contemplated buying a Jaguar in the past. It's that good.

2015 Jaguar XE S pricing and specifications:
Price: from $104,200 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6
Output: 250kW/450Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.1L/100km (ADR Combined),
CO2: 194g/km auto (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: TBA