2020 Jaguar XE P250 S Review – Close, but No Cigar – The Truth About Cars

Ever since Jaguar launched the XE a number of years in the past, I’ve held excessive hopes for it. As a lot as I, like most auto journalists, dig the BMW three Sequence, I’ve at all times pined for extra compact luxurious sport sedan competitors.

Mercedes has the C-Class, positive, and Lexus’ IS has usually been a strong challenger, particularly in sure trims. However the extra the merrier, I say, and this specific Jag had an opportunity at competition.

At the very least, that was my thought based mostly on a restricted drive at a media occasion, though I didn’t get an awesome bead on dealing with, since this mini-junket happened close to downtown Chicago. I do keep in mind considering the inside design, particularly the gauges, regarded outdated and cheesy – too outdated and cheesy for a luxurious automobile, even one which’s comparatively reasonably priced.

Quick-forward a bit. The XE’s insides have been up to date and modernized, and the powertrain lineup has been enhanced. I lastly had my fingers on one for per week, as an alternative of 20 minutes, and I used to be curious to see the place the XE match within the luxurious sport-compact sedan class.

We don’t have the assets for instrumented testing right here at TTAC, sadly, however I can report that on public roads, the XE performs properly. It’s swift to speed up, sharp to deal with, and the trip is sports-car stiff. It does flirt with the tough facet of the road.

[Get new and used Jaguar XE pricing here!]

It felt a tad lighter on its toes than the all-wheel-drive 330i xDrive I’d pushed beforehand, little question partly as a result of my XE tester was rear-drive. Certainly, the XE is lighter than each the rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive 330i. Gee-whiz electronics involving the assorted drive modes little question helped, and sure, Dynamic mode is extra enjoyable. Oh, by the best way, you Canuck readers can solely get the XE with AWD.

I used to be having a tough time discovering fault with the XE, even with the bottom engine – a 2.0-liter turbo 4 that makes 247 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque. An eight-speed automated will get the ability to the rear wheels.

The Jag even appears to be like glossy and attractive, an actual head-turner, even in gray. Jag has constructed a winner, I assumed.

Then my household ruined the thrill.

See, this was pre-pandemic instances, and I needed to drive my dad and mom throughout city. Together with some stuff. At that time, I noticed how cramped the rear seat and comparatively low on house the trunk is.

That’s an issue, as a result of sports activities sedans, even compact ones, nonetheless have sedan within the identify. Consumers have youngsters, and pets, and in-laws, and pals to haul round. In addition to the stuff all of us accumulate in trendy life. Pet carriers, automotive seats, groceries, baggage, the standard. Jaguar designers appear to have been so centered on making an excellent driver’s automotive that they forgot concerning the passengers. It’s not only a seating difficulty, because the cargo house is lower than what BMW presents.

The numbers, on paper, are shut, no less than in the case of rear-seat room, however that didn’t appear to assist in the true world. To be honest, I didn’t have rear-seat passengers with the final 330i I drove, but it surely did really feel a bit roomier after I parked my tall and chubby body again there to take pics.

At the very least the inside is modernized, bearing the extremely digital expertise that has turn out to be acquainted throughout JLR’s lineup over the previous few years. A well-integrated infotainment display screen sits on prime of a largely digital HVAC show, with two large knobs for temperature changes and a quantity knob being the one knobs in sight. It’s an excellent look, and never terribly tough to be taught, however I do surprise how costly repairs will probably be as soon as the guarantee expires.

The gauges are additionally digital, and the steering wheel buttons are haptic contact and light-weight up solely when wanted. It’s a bit corny, but it surely works, aesthetically. Once more, I do have considerations about future restore payments. And never simply due to the historical past of electronics and British vehicles.

It’s a reasonably little factor, with sloping, rounded strains and a minimalism that retains issues easy. It’s a cliché to speak about Jaguar sports activities vehicles trying like jungle cats on their haunches, able to pounce, but it surely type of suits right here. It’s a sleeker look than what the three Sequence presents, and I fairly like the three Sequence’ basic strains. Extra importantly, it doesn’t go too far within the route of bro racer, because the IS arguably does.

My take a look at automobile got here with customary options akin to 18-inch wheels, torque vectoring, moonroof, leather-based seats, dual-zone local weather management, push-button begin, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, USB, lane-keep help, and driver-condition monitor.

A Expertise Pack ($1,950) added a rearview-mirror digital camera, head-up show, and wi-fi cell-phone charging. A Drive Pack ($1,700) introduced forth blind-spot help, adaptive cruise management, and high-speed emergency braking, whereas a Dynamic Dealing with Pack ($1,615) tacked on a rear spoiler, adaptive and configurable dynamics, 350-millimeter entrance brakes and purple brake calipers. One other bundle ($1,365) added navigation, Wi-Fi, traffic-sign recognition, and adaptive pace limiter. Keyless entry and an influence gesture-activated trunk have been a part of yet one more bundle ($1,200), together with an electronically adjustable steering column and additional energy shops. But an alternative choice pack included a heated steering wheel ($620), and a unique bundle added parking aids akin to a 360-degree digital camera ($600).

Different choices included black exterior styling touches ($375), satellite tv for pc radio ($300), premium audio ($800), 19-inch wheels ($1,400), power-folding mirrors ($360), the gray paint job ($610), heated and cooled entrance seats ($1,500), and uplevel leather-based seats ($650)

All informed the automotive value $55,940, together with the $995 vacation spot price.

The XE is a glossy sporty sedan that does lots proper, and will function a substitute for the standard suspects – except you could haul rear-seat passengers or quite a lot of cargo usually. It’s an excellent automotive with one large flaw.

Flawed as it might be, its on-road dynamics make up for it fairly a bit. Maybe not sufficient to maneuver this Jag into critical competition for compact-luxury class supremacy, but it surely’s not an also-ran, both.

That will probably be ok for some. Which can be ok for Jaguar.

[Images © 2020 Tim Healey/TTAC]

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