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Our Pick

THE Jaguar XE has picked up a glut of Auto Express awards. It’s landed our Best Compact Executive Car award at the New Car Awards for three years running, it was our Best Used Compact Executive Car last year – and it’s our champion again in 2018.

That’s because you can buy an XE from as little as £11,000, which is excellent value for a car that’s great to drive, rides nicely and offers sound efficiency.

We’d recommend spending a little more and going for a newer, lower-mileage car. The 2016 model we’ve chosen had covered just over 35,000 miles, but even then the Jag should still have plenty of life left in it.

It’s the 178bhp 2.0-litre turbodiesel Ingenium engine that’s the best bet. There’s a good spread of power, and although it’s noisy if revved hard, the eight-speed automatic gearbox shifts smoothly, keeping a lid on the engine and improving refinement.

The highlight is the way the XE handles and rides. The steering makes the car feel pointy and alert, but not nervous, while the suspension controls roll well and serves up acceptable ride comfort. Just watch out for cars fitted with larger optional wheels.

Smart styling even in Prestige trim means it looks great, so it’s difficult to tell its age, and in this guise the XE returns a claimed 67.3mpg, with CO2 emissions of just 109g/km. In practice you can expect between 45 and 50mpg, which makes it a frugal family machine.

You might struggle to find one at this price with much warranty left, and Jag’s reliability record isn’t great, but set a sum aside for maintenance and the XE should be a sound financial choice. There are also more highmileage XES starting to crop up, but we’d hold out for one that’s covered fewer miles; there are lots for sale.