The Jaguar XE is a good sedan. Handsome. Good to drive. While it might not have the heavyweight sales of the BMW 3-Series and the Mercedes C-Class, it remains a desirable thing. Here’s the facelifted version.
It’s a mild tweak for the exterior, Jaguar using the F-Type as inspiration. Fine by us. There are new full LED head- and taillights, wider front apertures, and a new rear bumper. Like we said, mild. R-Design cars get sportier exterior accoutrements, along with sports seats and some interior chrome.
Ah yes, the interior—it’s where most of the updates have come, and where most sales will probably be clinched. Jaguar tells us the new XE is filled with lots of soft-touch materials and ‘premium’ veneers, new door trim, and even better storage.
The old rotary gear selector has been binned in favor of the shift lever used in that F-Type. Phew. The I-Pace donates its steering wheel and pair of high-resolution touchscreens to the little Jag, too, and you get something called ClearSight: a rearview mirror fed by a wide-angle rear-facing camera. Cool.
You get the option of a 2.0-liter ‘Ingenium’ gasoline engine in 247hp and 296hp states of tune (P250 and P300), or a D180 diesel with 178hp and 429Nm of torque, and promising 24.5km/L. All are fitted with an automatic gearbox, while you get the option of rear- or all-wheel drive beneath. The P300 with AWD will go from 0-100kph in 5.7sec, if you’re wondering which one’s quickest.
Nothing’s been changed, chassis-wise, so it’s the same aluminum-intensive architecture along with Dynamic and Comfort modes for the engine, gearbox, and steering. Base-spec cars are priced from £33,915 (P2.3 million).
As ever, pile in with your comments below. Think it’s enough to lift sales?
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
