Whoa! It's been 4 months I haven't blog any kinds of test drive and reviews. During that period, my schedule is always packed up with my family plans and other personal problems so I don't get the right time to post something new to my blog. But enough with that, today I'm going to give you a very long thoughts and expression towards the Jaguar XE, one of the newest C-segment luxury car made by Jaguar. Even I came to the launch too but I did not have time to post. To sum this up, I gonna split this post into two parts. One for the unveil of the XE and one for the drive report.
Before getting to know about the full drive report of the XE, I show you a little snippet for the drive.
So, last week, JLR of Petaling Jaya invited me for the drive.
4 Jaguar XEs were involved in the event (the blue 20t were not shown)
While waiting for the event to be started, I went around the dealer to take a closer look of the XE.
This one is a 25t
Now this is the perfect match, the Jaguar XE S. Powered by a 3.0 litre Supercharged V6. Too bad this one wasn't involved in this drive.
Feel excited now? Wait. Calm down. Let's get to know about the launch of the XE below.
During the Launch of the XE last January
It's never too late for me to post something old here. Well, here you have it. Anyway, the launching event was freaking awesome! And they do brought other Jags too.
This was taken on the 28th of January. The XE was launched at Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Resort at 9 p.m. Before the XE unveiled by JLR, they also showed most of the Jaguar models including this sexy-looking Project 7 in the event.
This was one of the best masterpiece in the event, the Jaguar Project 7, a sportier version of the F-Type that brought back the Le Mans vibe such as the old D-Type.
Only 250 were made and everything in the chassis are mostly aluminium.
This particular Project 7 was a left-hand drive because the right-hand drive version were already taken by a customer. So, JLR had to bring the LHD version for U.S market to display. Interior was obviously identical to its normal siblings.
See that hunchback looking rear at one side? It looks sweet.
To be honest, it's like I was in a night club.
People put their e-mails on iPads where they were interested in the XE and other felines.
There was a mini bar too. Don't worry, I didn't take any champagne, cuz haram. LOL.
See, just a blackcurrant sparkling drink. Halal kan?
The launch was fully packed like a club. I can't imagine there's a car launch like this!
An hour later, the unveiling of the compact luxury sports sedan was started. You can check out the video of the launching here as well as the pictures below too. After you watching the video, I bet you all were amazed by the show.
The event management of JLR Malaysia made an awesome job at that night. The opening, the songs played by the DJ, foods and drinks, and the performance, were seemed to be spot on to the theme of this feline brand.
After the launch of the XE, let me give you a closer look of the new XE starting from the top to the bottom.
The Jaguar XE is meant to be the legitimate successor of the Jaguar X-Type, one of the first compact luxury sedan by Jaguar that uses the CD132 platform which was similar to the Ford Mondeo. At that time, it was front-wheel drive, leading the X-Type was a major failure by Jaguar. So JLR went back to the drawing board to create their first modern day compact luxury sedan WITH rear-wheel drive, which makes more sense to every Jaguar purists, leading to a new dawn from the "meow" brand as they learned their mistakes back in the previous decade after having a relationship with Ford.
The unibody platform of the XE is completely new and designed by JLR, named it the D7A. On the other hand, the platform has no connection with any previous model that incorporates other older Jags. The chassis are mostly made of aluminium, which was previously introduced in the F-Type sports car. This enables the XE to have a better 50:50 weight distribution that create better performance in terms of power and handling, as well as fuel saving capabilities. Also, this platform will be used in upcoming JLR vehicles like the Jaguar F-Pace compact crossover and the second generation Jaguar XF.
As for our market, the XE has three different trims, the Prestige, R-Sport and finally the S, which was not unveiled inside the launch area.
The innocent, normal looking Prestige (20t)
The aggressively-looking R-Sport (25t)
The blue one has the same trim level as the red one.
During the unveil of the new Jag, my first thoughts of the car was that by just looking it far from the outside, it does look like an XF, but if you look closely, it's not. It does have the aura of a coupe a little bit. All of the lines and segments are matched to the Jaguar's DNA. Judging from the rear end, the XE has a strong language of sportiness. Seriously! By just looking the tail lamps and the bumper, it is closely looked like the F-Type when it comes to the back. However, for the Prestige (20t), it does look a little bland because there is no dual exhaust pipe like the rest of the lineup. When it comes to the rims, the R-Sport and the S look way better than the normal rims from the Prestige.
This R-Sport had the appropriate wheels that matched the design.
Power-wise, the XE comes with three engine options, and it only applies to each three trim levels. Speaking of the diesel variant with the new in-house built Ingenium engine by Jaguar themselves, we are not lucky to get that because JLR had no plans to brought them in due to lack of demand.
The Prestige (20t) has the same 2.0 litre EcoBoost engine engineered by Ford which produced 200 hp at 5500 rpm. While the R-Sport (25t) got extra 40 hp from the same engine, which sums up to 240 hp at the same rpm. Similarly, the Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport have the same power output as the XE R-Sport as it shares the same engine like most Jaguar Land Rover lineup. And finally, the S trim. If you plan to go for the XE S, considered yourself lucky as it has the same engine that used in the base line F-Type, which is a 3.0 litre supercharged engine that produces 340 hp to the crank at 6500 rpm, making it the fastest XE across the range. All engines are mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission from ZF, providing better fuel economy and smoother gear changes.
Move along to the interior, the XE had a strong connection between sports and luxury. Blending them together, and you get the most practical, sporty, and comfortable ride for driver and passenger. The dashboard was all covered with leather with colour stitching that depends on the exterior colour. This is only available on the R-Sport and S line. However, the Prestige does not come with this, as it uses smooth and rough padded dashboard, and I forgot what material it was.
I can't say anything about the meter cluster, as it is a universal thing to JLR. So, no comment.
Even the steering looks sportier as it shares with the F-Type, albeit it is not a flat-bottomed steering wheel.
I kinda like the aircond vents which have the Jaguar lettering at the adjuster. Now that's what I've called luxury.
The XE comes with a new infotainment system made by JLR. This is one of the most responsive, and the most superb system from them compared to the previous JLR vehicles. First introduced in the facelifted Evoque. Pairing my phone via Bluetooth takes a shorter time like less than a minute I assumed. The old one took 3-6 minutes to configure them as the old one was a little unresponsive and buggy.
Swipe your finger to the left of the screen, it switches to another song at a fast rate.
Also, the XE does come with a 6 speaker Jaguar Sound System as a standard audio unit for Prestige and R-Sport. A 12 speaker Meridian Audio System is standard for the S trim line, but it is optional for other trim levels.
Like most cars, there are a few quirks too. The XE might not have a large boot space compared to other C-segment luxury cars.
However, it has a power tailgate as standard, and it is one of the luxury features that mostly applies to larger luxury cars. None of it's competitors have this feature. Really!
Even there's a legit space saving, cute looking spare wheel inside the trunk.
Another part that I do not like about the XE is the backseat. Sometimes when I tried to get into the back, my head always nearly hit the rooflines, which is a drawback for tall people. It's like getting inside a lowered coupe. I understand JLR, swooping roof is meant for aerodynamic purposes, but sometimes it's not really suitable for a sedan too. Even the headroom is also compromised as well. Legroom is also another issue as I have to slanting down little due to the same situation.
I was supposed to get a chance to test drive the XE, but suddenly heavy rain was started so I couldn't make it. Two days later, I managed to try the XE R-Sport at the nearest dealership and I did not have a full experience as the test drive route is very short. The only thing that I knew was the power-to-weight ratio is very comparable to the BMW 330i. Handling-wise, I did not get the full in depth to feel it as well due to traffic jam around the route.
Speaking of the price of the XE, starting price is just about RM 340,000 for the Prestige (20t), while the R-Sport (25t) costs around RM 365,000, and the most expensive S line has a sticker price of RM 580,000, making the XE is the most expensive car in the compact luxury car segment in the market. My suggestion is, get the R-Sport as the Prestige doesn't seemed to look really flashy and it was just a plain luxury-innocent looking car. Also, choosing the R-Sport was the most ideal choice as it has an extra 40 hp and nicer outlook for RM 25k.
Alright ladies and gentleman, you may proceed to the next part, which is mostly focus about the full driving experience of the XE that happened last week, by clicking the link below.
http://theguywithabeemerbag.blogspot.my/2016/04/real-legit-and-appereciating-drive-2016_14.html
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