REVAMPED, REVITALIZED JAG ROARS INTO MODERN ERA
The facelight the XE is getting for 2020 means a better luxury all-around sedan
NICE, FRANCE It’s gone. The rising, rotary-dial shifter in Jaguar sedans of yore has been replaced. Also missing in the 2020 Jaguar XE are the many tiny and hardto-see interior buttons for so many settings, including climate controls, that were part of the outgoing car. Erased, too, are the ho-hum instrument-cluster graphics.
This is a Jaguar interior? Why, it looks properly modern — cutting-edge, even. How could that be for a brand that, for the past decade or so, has trailed the bigger German and Japanese automakers at the technology table, in part held back by custom and tradition, but also, until recently, the absence of an ownership that allowed for the investment needed to stay ahead?
And yet here we are with a surprisingly fresh exterior and interior on the 2020 XE that hints not only of what Jaguar is capable of, but where the automaker absolutely needs to be if it wants to stay competitive with the heavy hitters in the segment — the Audi A4s, Mercedes C-Classes and BMW 3-Series, not to mention upstarts like the Genesis G70 or the Kia Stinger.
And so Jaguar has given its XE a thorough freshening three years after the model was introduced to North America in 2016, raising the level of standard equipment and properly nipping and tucking the exterior to trim the excesses of age on a Ian Callum designed sedan that’s always had a pleasing all-aluminum shell. Slimmer LED headlamps, skinnier LED tail lamps with Mustang/Audi-like sequential LED signals, new bumpers front and rear, and some angry-looking air intakes truly make the XE more attractive.
Looks, of course, only go so far if the engine is unwilling to get outside and play, but such is not the case here. The company is dropping, for better or worse, its diesel and supercharged gasoline V6 engines in favour of just one turbocharged four-cylinder engine, reducing the number of XE derivatives from 11 to two.
Those two cars are both SE models in Canada, and both come with AWD as standard equipment. The entry unit is the SE P250 starting at $49,900, the latter an SE P300 R-Dynamic starting at $55,800. To confuse matters, horsepower numbers do not match the model designation: the P250 delivers 247 horsepower from its 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder, while the P300 gets 296. Torque is rated at 269 and 295 lb.-ft, respectively. But the engine is surprisingly stout, given such small displacement and modest power figures.
Feeling plenty quick off the line, the P300 hustles briskly through the mid-range, too, though some turbo lag is evident and downshifts are not exactly bolts of lightning. Those accustomed to the supercharged V6 will not be cheering the loss of two cylinders and forced induction, but the turbo-four isn’t such a poor cousin after all, able to hit 100 km/h from rest in 5.7 seconds, while the P250 requires 6.5. The supercharged V6, for what it’s worth, required 4.8 seconds. But with most of the power going to the rear wheels most of the time, and a near 50/50 weight balance, the ride is highly composed and comfortable, with very good feedback at the wheel.
Fuel consumption should also see an improvement. Of course, given that the engine is a four cylinder, it’s a bowl of cold porridge at startup. But the P300 emits a positively terrific snarl when rowing the gears through the new electronic shifter that replaces the rotary dial, or via the paddle-shifters that harness the car’s recalibrated ZF eight-speed automatic, the only gearbox available.
Some of that engine sound is piped in via the car’s speakers, but it is not artificial, Jaguar says. It’s just harnessed from the exhaust that would otherwise hardly be heard under the new levels of insulation and noise-reduction efforts.
Indeed, the car’s noise, vibration and harshness levels are all greatly reduced, the XE benefiting from acoustic glass and increased sound deadening, mimicking the feel of a solid German sedan, even if it’s British. The interior is, by far, the biggest gainer of the facelift, receiving a digital climate control panel with big rotary dials and touch-capacitive buttons that actually work on command.
The climate controls look smart and sit just below a big, 10-inch infotainment touchscreen that’s neither difficult to operate, nor is it hard to find the things a driver might want to adjust on the fly — although the volume control is oddly placed at the two-o’clock position of the shifter, and the wipers on both models acted wonky in the rain. Apple CarPlay and Android auto are now standard, as is a large suite of safety features.
A head-up display is an option, as is a “Clearsight” rear-view mirror that, instead of reflecting objects, uses a camera in the roof-mounted shark fin antenna to electronically display whatever is behind the car. Such mirrors are ideal for SUVs, trucks or vans that can have cargo obstructing the view; this is a Jaguar, but personally, I find these mirrors disorienting.
Much better is a new toggle switch to activate the drive modes to get us into the Dynamic that sharpens the throttle and transmission. And way better is the new, 12.3-inch high-definition instrument panel that presents information in a way that’s pleasing to the eye. New door panels, better storage, and a new steering wheel borrowed from the I-Pace add a layer of sportiness to an interior that steps up the quality and fit materials.
Which is exactly what the XE needed.
No, it’s not as high-tech as a Mercedes. No, it’s not as futuristic as an Audi, or as quirky as a Lexus. But does it all work together to bring the XE into the modern era and make it worthy of the Jaguar badge? Yes.