News : Jaguar XE details announced in Geneva

Keith Adams

Jaguar XE (2)

The Jaguar XE will be JLR’s all-new mid-sized saloon, due for launch in 2015/16.  It will be the first product from the new advanced aluminium architecture which was showcased in the C-X17 Concept car in 2013, a first in the this market segment. Jaguar claims that the XE will be lighter and stiffer than its rivals for ‘unbeatable handling, performance, refinement and efficiency.’

The new car, which will battle with the Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series, will be offered in four- and rear-wheel drive form and should have a starting price of around £30,000.  The styling – from what we have seen – looks to be an evolution of the XF’s semi-fastback arrangement, but with detailing already seen on the C-X17 SUV Concept.

The Jaguar XE will be powered by the brand-new family of engines, dubbed the Ingenium, due shortly to go into production in the company’s new facility in Wolverhampton. The range is likely to start well below 2.0-litres, although probably not at launch – the new engine factory is capable of producing three-cylinder power units. Jaguar says it will be available in a wide range of capacities and outputs, all promising to use the latest innovations in fuel-efficient technologies without sacrificing drivability.

Jaguar says that the new Ingenium family of engines form the heart of the most flexible engine architecture ever produced by Jaguar Land Rover – with an advanced design configured to suit in-line and transverse installations for rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations, the new engines will be both efficient and powerful, with low emissions from less than 100g/km of CO2.

Ian Callum, Director of Design, said: ‘The new Jaguar XE is every bit a modern Jaguar; more compact in size but visually striking. Customers will expect a great deal from a mid-size Jaguar – it must be practical but premium. We never forget we are designing a Jaguar and that means it must be as exciting to look at and drive as it is brilliant to run and practical to own. We believe we’ve done just that with the Jaguar XE.’

Kevin Stride, Jaguar’s Vehicle Line Director for XE, said: ‘The engineering development of the XE has focused on delivering customers with the most advanced, efficient and refined sports sedan in its class. We are excited about our progress to date and are looking forward to soon being able to demonstrate what we have achieved.’

Jaguar XE (1)
Aluminium architecture give hints to the Jaguar XE’s styling
jag_xe_engine_image_040314_05
New Ingenium engines will be available in a number of engine capacities and power outputs
Keith Adams

39 Comments

  1. Looks great. Would definitely consider one to replace my 2013 Audi A4 in a couple of years time. Hope JLR also have an estate version waiting in the wings too.

    But… start price of £30k?? Assuming that’s for the 2.2D (surely JLR will have a four cylinder diesel in the launch line-up) that’s pretty bullish, compared to £25k for similar models from BMW/Merc. Would be embarassing to see JLR having to resort to price cuts and “giveaway” lease deals soon after launch.

  2. Looks very promising!

    However, quality must be a superordinate goal of this new model in order for it to succeed. I am tired of hearing from current X Type owners who are disappointed with the poor anti corrosion protection, poor quality paint finish, particularly in the engine bay and loadspace area, and even on the alloy wheels. Corrosion and wear on key areas such as rear suspension components is also of concern.

    The new XE really must push the boundaries in a number of key areas in order to steal sales from the likes of Audi and BMW, and even Volvo. I really do want it to succeed.

  3. Could steal old Saab owners – hopefully the sound system is a bit better than that of the 93….

  4. @David3500 – to be fair you are talking about a very old model that hasn’t been in production for years and one that was entirely developed under Ford using technology and engineering techniques from the 90’s. I haven’t heard of any bad press relating to Jaguar’s latest models so I see no reason to believe the XE will take some sort of backward step?

  5. @ James:

    A good point although remember that the X Type benefited from sharing numerous parts with ‘Ford’ technology to further keep both development and production costs down; something the new XE won’t benefit from.

    With a starting price of around £30,000 the XE will likely present a considerable price overlap with the current XF models, in the same way as the F Type does with the older, flagship XK8.

  6. They’ll get away with such a high start price because they are not after BMW/Merc volumes, nor will they achieve them. It’s a different proposition, a different product. I’d like to see more of a new design though, it’s too samey at the front end to XF and even F-Type. They also need to be careful with the size. The latest so called ‘compact’ execs are getting too big.

    I suspect XE will force XF up the price scale too, perhaps more so when it is replaced and it needs to be as really it’s getting a little old now.

    They also need to look to the class below as that is what Europe in particular is moving to. It’s not as profitable but have an adaptable platform and you get the volume which helps to bring prices down, or profits up! But you have to have your halo models and other aspirational products before you can do that.

    Overall though it’s good for JLR and good for the UK.

  7. This car really is something to look forward to and expectations are high. Still dont know where these reports of quality issues with the old X-Type come from. I manage a large fleet from all manufacturers and hand on heart can rate the X-type as one of the top three of the more reliable cars and had no issues with quality even on much older and higher mileage models. When I am asked what car to buy used, the X-Type is always the first to get a mention.

  8. Looks good, with a signature Mark Two curve to the rear door window.

    It needs a powerful 6-cylinder engine at launch if it is to gain mindshare with enthusiasts against the usual suspects. After all, every B** 320d driver is imagining that they are really driving a 330d.

    The £30k price is just a bit of introductory bull. After all the XF range starts around here today. They will soon launch a cheaper model maybe even as low as £25k and hope everyone things “Wow what a bargain”. Instead of launching a ~£25k model at the start.

  9. Looks well worth the wait and an antidote to the bland BMW 3 series etc.

    Stunning frontal aspect too.

  10. Given the Jag will probably come with things like Leather and Sat Nav that are all expensive extras in your 318d SE I guess it will end up looking competitive compared to the £32K 320d MSport that most 3 series seem to be.

  11. Im not surprised about the price tag. My wife has an older BMW318. While it is a BMW and it handles well and goes well and is generally a good car, the interior is disappointingly cheap. I don’t know what the newer Beamers are like, but I would be disappointed if the Jaguars made their baby “cheap”. keep up the good work Jaguar. Alex

  12. PS I think it looks great, I think the current ZF looks a little too much like a Subaru Legacy or an old Lexus. none the less they look good still. alex

  13. personally i would n’t like to see jag go much smaller than this with a saloon, but JLR do own the rover moniker !

  14. That’s quite a bit of money, although it would be good for the Germans to have another proper competitor, not sure if Lexus are quite there yet. Probably nudging into second hand Maserati Ghibli prices though.

  15. Looks nice. They shouldn’t base it too closely on the XF look, so the styling has some life.
    X types falling apart? Mine is now humming along nicely at 198,600 miles. I must admit, the 2.0D estate I borrowed recently felt a bit tired; but it had done 343,000. The owner keeps getting pestered by people wanting to buy it!

  16. Just what Jag needs, about time too!

    Regarding the X-Type issues, I’ve had two. I must say, although I’m biased, they’re the best cars I’ve ever had. No quality issues, paint all good and the perfect antidote to dull Audi and B*W stuff around. The Merc E class I had was a complete duffer. Confirms my view that it’s an urban myth that they are better cars.

  17. Considering the X-Type has not been made for many years, and was in production for many years, it is not surprising that issues are appearing, EVERY car thats upwards of 20 years old will have issues, so, to make wild comments about that and place them against a brand new car is totally daft.

    The XE will start have an ORP of slightly higher than £25k for the base model, and will be better equipped than base models from ANY other brand, in the same way the XJ and XF does, The XF will not have a higher price point, as it will price itself out of the valuable BIK fleet sales.

    We have owned a number of Jaguar products and everyone has been reliable, comfortable, economical (for its segment), cheap to insure and service, and the dealers have been more than good.

    The XE will be on the drive on day one, I already have an appointment to see my dealer to place an order, 2015 cant come soon enough.

  18. Another supporter of the x-type here – I have one of the last ones and it is beautifully built and better than my 75 was. I do understand that there were problems with some of the earlier ones for rusty sills but other than niggly things they are pretty solid.

    I like the look of the XE and will consider it when I get round to changing the x-type but the XF is my current likely choice.

    Can’t wait to see the new XF, XJ and XK when they are revealed.

  19. This will probably be a huge let down and thrashed by every BMW going like every other JLR product.

  20. @4 New engine, new factory, no carry over from the PSA/Ford DW12 diesel or the Ford GTDi

    @20 So which BMW is it that competes with the Discovery? Valentine’s day 2014, to be remembered as the day BMW finally lost the plot and announced the FWD 2-Series.

  21. @David 3500, What on earth are you talking about?!? I’m an X-type owner myself and I know some other PPL who own one, none of them are having the problems you describe. I’ve also never seen corrosion on an X-type, ever. (it’s not a Mercedes you know…)

    As for the XE, looks promissing, maybe in a few years time, second hand 😉

  22. @20 – thrashed by BMW? Yes in German car magazines which tend to be extremely biased always ensuring that German cars win any comparison.

    Wish JLR all the best with this one and if they can carry on the momentum for quality products they have at present should be a winner.

  23. @24

    Surely: British car magazines which tend to be extremely biased always ensuring that German cars win any comparison.

    Then, when you browse these publications in the dentist waiting room, you see why. Open cover, first thing you see is a 2 page glossy ad for some german brand who spent a good chunk on that placement.

    It’s obvious. If your business relied on income from a certain beneficiary, you’re going to do all in your power to keep that beneficiary sweet, even if it means showing bias for their products.
    It’s almost a form of sponsorship/product placement.

    Branding now is all about the marketing over the product.

    As for the XE, from the single photo it looks great, interesting tech, could replace my newly purchased Saab in a few years time…

  24. Hope it does well for JLR, the styling could be a little further from the XF, but hey ho.

    As for X types, my best mate had 2 and brother in law another as company cars. All were pretty good and ran up big mileages with very few faults.

    I have not heard many bad stories about them generally either. Remember the oldest ones are 13 years old now!

  25. Reliability-wise, I haven’t seen any headline-grabbing issues highlighted about the RR and RRS’s new SUV platform, or about the new petrol V6 engine that has proliferated across the JLR ranges. Had either of them been underdeveloped, JLR would have had a huge PR/warranty nightmare on its hands. This new compact platform and ‘Ingenium’ engine probably won’t be the bane of JLR’s existence.

  26. I wish Jag all the best with this car, and if the front is anything to go buy it will be a curvaceous and pretty motor in a group of cars hit by the ugly or bland tree. My only concern is that they get the engines and reliability right. If they do, and the performance matches the promise then BMW might just get their knuckles burnt. Is that why they just launched that pig ugly FWD motor?

  27. Looks good from this initial image. Seems to retain the family XF/XJ look which is good. i always thought the X Type should have a successor and this car could be it. Hopefully the start price might be a tad under £30K…

  28. I’d like to see a floorplan that could be utilised to develop a still smaller model in due course.

  29. Meastrego at 20, your on the wrong forum mate. I’m sure you meant to post that comment on the BMW herd followers forum, byeeeeee.

  30. People are going to be very disappointed if they expect a 3-series rival.

    As I understand it it’s actually more like an updated Jaguar RD-6.

  31. Time will tell if this car propels Jaguar into the big league. There is much riding on this car. It will look stunning of that I am sure and I hope its as good to drive as they say it. Good Look to all the guys at JLR!

  32. Jaguar quality: …didnt Jaguar top the USA JD Power ownership quality survey last year?. We should be celebrating rather than worrying about the alledged cons of a nearly 20 year old model like the x-type! 🙂

    (…only in Britain…!)

  33. Alas, according to Autocar, the XK is not long for this world.

    http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/jaguar-xk-be-axed

    Though it is probably a given that there will be a coupe based on the XE and perhaps another one based on the XF or XJ, serving in the role of BMW’s 4-Series and 6-Series respectively. If they’re introducing SUVs, coupes are near-certain to arrive soon. At long last, Jaguar will have a proper demarcation between the specialised sports cars (ie. F-Type) and the luxury grand tourers.

  34. The Xk is going, and thats a shamme, as there will not be a replacement for some considerable time, if ever, the platform that the XE will sit on, can not go any smaller, so a brand new platform will have to be either developed in house or a share with someone else, maybe a tie in with Lexus for a small car, that would make there baby more viable.

    as for competing against the BMW’s it is only kids and people that really dont know that want to continually compare other cars to BMW’s. What BMW do, is fine for them, AUDI does it differently as does Merc, and Jaguar will do things differently, any buyer of a car in this range, does not consider a BMW because it looks better, or handles good.

    No one really takes a car and pushes it to the extremes to see how good a car really is, people buy cars on a few main points, locality of dealership, colour, price, toys and lastly comfort, thats the real buying points, not 0-60, or top speeds, these are kids info, not real world buyers info.

    The X-Type has gone to the great scrap yard in the sky, it was a really great car, and was, at the time, Jaguars all time best seller, they canned it because Ford failed to invest in a replacement, and when TATA took control there was no replacement in sight, so with the XF, XJ ad XK all needing funds, the X-Type had to go, which is a real shame, as you still see loads on the roads and some are very early ones at that.

  35. Really looking forward to the launch of this car. It is likely to be a real contender to the usual German stuff. However, I have one niggle, the range price from £29/30k is too high, a recent trend with all JLR models.
    Looking at the A4/3Series/C Class starting at £24/25k, the XE is handicapped from the start unless it is heaving with additional kit over it’s rivals?

  36. if Jaguar wants to be a winner with this car,
    need an 1.6 lt turbo engine that contains 200 hp.(PSA)

    And outside need a serious body kit (with some carbon fiber) parts like BMW aero pack

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