Jaguar unveils facelifted XE 27 | 02 | 2019

    JAGUAR HAS LAUNCHED its facelifted XE saloon. Styled by Jaguar’s Scots design boss Ian Callum, the updated XE is available to order now from Scottish dealerships priced from £33,915. (Related: Jaguar I-Pace is Scottish Car of the Year)

    “XE’s uniqueness is its totality,” Callum, Jaguar Design Director, said. “Customers get a complete package of progressive design, innovative technology and extraordinary driving dynamics.

    “We don’t do ordinary and new XE personifies this. My team and I get huge satisfaction out of improving a car we’re all so familiar with; we’ve lived with it, we understand its character and it’s a wonderful opportunity to make a great car even better. With new XE, we’ve done just that in every way imaginable.” (Related: Taggarts opens new £12m Jaguar and Volvo showrooms)

    Boasting improvements to its exterior styling, as well as significant technology upgrades, the designers have also paid specific attention to updating the cabin.

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    Four years after it was first introduced, the facelifted version gets a reshaped grille that stands slightly prouder than before, and is housed within a completely new bumper with larger, aggressive-looking air intakes. Close inspection also confirms the sleek headlights are now 12mm slimmer; every new XE also benefits from LED ‘J-blade’ day-running lights and headlights as standard. (Related: Scots' Jaguar design to dazzle V&A Dundee)

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    And while the rear-end gets a new bumper and lights, its inside where the biggest changes have taken place. The steering wheel has been nicked from the I-Pace, with a virtual display now placed behind the wheel. The latest XE also gets Jaguar’s Touch Pro Duo infotainment system with a 10.2-inch upper screen, plus a new lower screen with pull-push knobs: anyone who has sat inside an I-Pace will immediately recognise the equipment.

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    Jaguar designers have also redesigned the centre console, but this time the inspiration has come from the sort F-Type. The trigger-style gearlever and driving modes switch are straight out of the two-seater sportscar. For the first time there’s also a wireless phone charging pad, while the options list includes the rear view mirror — which uses a camera positioned on the roof to beam a clear rear-facing image on to the mirror — first seen in the new Range Rover Evoque.

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    Out too has gone the old scratchy plastics from the first-gem XE, replaced by updated, higher quality soft-touch plastic. And the seats have been redesigned to not only be larger, but better accommodate the window, mirror and memory seat buttons. The dash and doors also get new carbon fibre and wood trims, plus aluminium speaker grilles for the Meridian sound system.

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    Jaguar has also the XE’s specification range into line with the that of the E- and I-Pace. That means two streams — regular and R-Dynamic — both with S, SE and HSE levels of spec. The entry-level S gets front and rear parking sensors, LED headlights and tail-lights, lane keep assist and 18in alloys as standard.

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    Engine choice has also been streamlined. The range now includes two 2.0-litre petrols with 247bhp and 296bhp — referred to as P250 and P300 respectively — plus a D180 with a 178bhp 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel, quoted as returning 57.6mpg. All models are fitted with Jaguar’s eight-speed automatic as standard.

    It’s expected it will be sometime mid-2020 before the XE range includes a selection of mild hybrid petrols, with the plug-in hybrid XE also unlikely to make its appearance this year.

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    “In developing the new Jaguar XE, we really focused on the things that mattered to our customers,” Rawdon Glover, Jaguar Land Rover MD, said.

    “XE remains one of the sharpest handling and best-looking cars in this class, so while we see subtle updates to the award-winning chassis and a more assertive exterior, our design team has made significant enhancements to the interior, completely transforming it from the outgoing model.

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    “Now packed full of technology, including the segment-first ClearSight system, XE’s cabin is not only cutting edge but extremely luxurious, too. Most importantly, the improvements over the outgoing XE don’t come at the expense of our loyal customers — in fact, the new XE is actually better value for buyers.”

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    Jaguar will be hoping the facelift does, indeed, attract more customers. Since the XE was launched in 2015, sales of the model have halved as rival manufacturers have introduced batter packaged and affordable alternatives.

    Related: Scots car group expands with Jaguar in Stirling

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    Jim McGill

     

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