Jaguar XE Revealed: Entry-Level Kitty With Plenty Of Tech
Jaguar has taken the wraps off its latest sports sedan, the Jaguar XE, hitting European roads in 2015 and then North America the following year. The company's entry-level four door, the XE range will be topped with the 340 HP XE S, with 332 lb-ft of torque, an eight-speed paddle-shift transmission, and a 0-60 mph time of 4.9 seconds.
All of the XE line – which Jaguar will detail closer to commercial availability – will use a front engine, longitudinal rear-wheel drive layout, with the option of all-wheel drive.
Aside from the Jaguar XE S' 3.0-liter V6 engine – shared with the F-Type – the rest of the powertrain options haven't been detailed. That line-up will be dubbed Ingenium, an in-house modular design new from the ground up, Jaguar says, and manufactured in the UK.
They'll be paired with a lighter version of ZF's 8-speed auto, with a rotary shifter and paddles on the wheel.
Outside, the XE takes a leaf from the XJ's book, with plenty of aluminum in the body to keep things light. Short front and rear overhangs also borrow from the bigger car, and there are daytime running lights, and hints of the E-Type in the rear light treatment.
Underneath, there's a double-wishbone front suspension with aluminum front spindles, and an integral link system at the back. Electric power steering is standard, for the first time on a Jaguar, with the company preemptively arguing with the purists by point out that it can be tuned more precisely than a hydraulic system.
Inside, there's the usual leather and a choice of gloss black, textured aluminum or wood veneer dashboard trim. Multi-color ambient lighting is an option, and there are two infotainment systems – offering features like Bluetooth, USB, navigation, iOS/Android app support, and WiFi hotspot sharing – while various Meridian audio systems handle the loud stuff. Things are controlled from an 8-inch touchscreen.
Everything from a 250W 11-speaker system, through to a 825W, 15-speaker system will be possible. Meanwhile, from the XE's companion smartphone app there'll be support for remotely locking/unlocking the car, starting the engine, and even presetting up to seven days of climate control. Voice control works inside the car.
All Surface Progress Control kicks in between 2 and 19 mph, automatically managing breaks and engine in slippery conditions, while there's autonomous emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, and lane departure warnings through a new stereoscopic camera built into the front of the car.
Adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, semi-autonomous parallel and perpendicular parking, and reverse traffic detection are also supported, among other things.
There's still some time to go before the full line-up is detailed, which Jaguar says will happen at the Paris Motorshow in October. US pricing isn't confirmed yet, but the XE range is expected to kick off at around £27,000 ($43,500) in the UK.
