Can smaller be better? I love the XF, driving it is a real pleasure and long journeys are smooth and luxurious. So will a smaller version be just as good? Well that depends on what you want, or need.
The opportunity to test the XE for a few weeks made me think about what could be wrong with a smaller Jaguar? This made me kinda nervous. First impressions…… it’s smaller. So I needed to get over that and the cabin doesn’t actually feel any smaller than my “C” Class daily driver. Now I didn’t bother to measure anything, because perception is reality and no matter what the dimensions, I didn’t think it was smaller. Driving position is good, you do feel like you’re in the driving seat and not sitting on the couch. The interior feels good, some nice touches, a few plastic panels mixed in, but it’s not an XF so I just need to accept it. The touch screen infotainment and sat-nav unit is smart and I’d say it’s one of the best there is, while remaining easy to use. But don’t try and use it while the car is moving and like me, you have fat fingers. The standard six-speaker sound system you get is one of the better standard set-ups you’ll see, while the Meridian system gets 11 speakers and two subwoofers for some brilliant sound quality. The Meridian set-up is well worth having if you’re an audiophile like me.
Driving the 2.0ltr Diesel with the Auto box was a pleasure. This is an engine that they’ve developed themselves. The power delivery and smoothness was a credit to the Jaguar development and the engineers who made the engine. I’d love a wee shot of the V6 petrol, but that’s for another story. I had a lower 161 BHP unit, with 99 g/km, but you would only pick this if the g/km was a deal breaker for your tax code as a wee bit more poke would certainly help.
Playing around with the modes gave me a fair few miles of fun, winter mode came in handy this time of year. It smoothed out my acceleration and calmed all the winter conditions out. The other end of the scale is Dymanic mode, which was fun for a while, but I’d save that for nice dry day if I have another go.
Overall this car has impressed me. It offers a great spec’ at a price to rival the other “Executive Saloons”. It no longer feels like a Mondeo with a different dress on. In summary, no it’s not and XF, but it’s better if you’re doing a varied daily commute. It manages to provide something to suit long motorways and then, the back roads into Edinburgh, before giving you the city driving experience with the start/stop and smooth eco driving that gets you there and back. There are very few cars in my budget that I’d trade my C Class in for, this is one of them.
PRICE: £28,815
ENGINE: 1999cc 4-cylinder, diesel engine
POWER: 147 KW
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 147 mph, 0-62 mph 7.7 secs
CONSUMPTION: 38 mpg (combined)
CO2: 106 g/km
TT Rating: 
