Say Hello To The Jaguar XE: A Classy BMW 3-Series Killer With F-Type Punch

The BMW 3-series rival Jaguar very much needs - the XE - is finally here, and the British manufacturer has chosen to reveal it with the version which interests us most - the V6-powered S. Yep, that’s right, the ‘baby’ Jag is being offered with the same gloriously noisy supercharged V6 you’ll find in the F-Type.

The styling is certainly no surprise; we got a good look at the car courtesy of its cheeky chopper ride over London last night, and the family resemblance to the XF and XJ - particularly with that trapezoid mesh grille and the slender headlights - is plain to see. Not that we’re complaining, it’s a handsome brute, and those now-trademark lines look jolly good on a mid-sized saloon, particularly with the big intakes in the front bumper of the S model pictured here. It’s a little less inspiring from other angles, particularly with that somewhat under-styled flat rear end, but it’s a decent look overall.

It’s more than just a pretty face, too. The XE is the most aerodynamically efficient Jag ever made, with a drag coefficient of just 0.26. And most importantly, under the skin is an aluminium monocoque chassis, a first for the segment. With the V6 engine, the kerb weight is 1474kg.

The front suspension is a double wishbone setup, while Jaguar has foregone a conventional multi-link rear set up for ‘Integral Link,’ something usually found on bigger motors which should give “precise handling and a subtle ride.” Unlike the car’s predecessor - the front or four-wheel drive X-Type - the XE sends its power rearwards.

The XE has another Jaguar milestone which you may not be so pleased to hear about: it’s the first car from the company which has electric power steering. Jag’s engineers are confident that it’ll still be a responsive system while cutting emissions by up to three per cent, but we’ll reserve judgement until we get our first drive.

Other than the V6, there’ll be a range of four-pot petrol and diesels from Jaguar’s new ‘Ingenium’ series of engines. The first of these will be a 2.0-litre four-pot diesel, which, along with the petrol engines, will be available with an eight-speed automatic or six-speed manual gearbox. It has a claimed combined average economy figure of 75mpg, with emissions of just 99g/km. That means in the UK, it won’t cost you a penny to tax.

There’s no word on performance for the Ingenium engines yet, but the 3.0-litre petrol S will kick out 335bhp and 332lb ft of torque. It probably won’t be quite as outrageously noisy as it is in the F, but it’s a good engine to have under the bonnet. With it, the XE will do 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds, and top out at 155mph, but unlike the diesel, it’s only available with the auto ‘box. Boo. A hot XER-S is expected at some point, which could have anything up to 542bhp.

The interior is a bit of a mixed bag. You get a steering wheel which looks very similar to the one found in the F-Type - a good thing - and a dash which swoops down either side, as though pinching each of the furthest air vents. This is spoilt a little by the centre console the dash is garnished with, which - in the pictures at least - looks a bit naff.

Said centre console contains Jaguar’s all-new InControl infotainment system, the heart of which features an eight-inch touch screen. It has all the stuff you’d expect: navigation, smart phone integration and so on, but there is one aspect which stands out: remote control functionality. With this, you can remotely fiddle with the climate control, lock or unlock the car, and even start it. Endless entertainment.

On the tech front, the XE also comes with a clever laser head-up display, and a stereo camera set up which works with an autonomous emergency braking system. All Surface Progress Control (ASPC), meanwhile, has been developed for the XE. It works between 2 and 12mph, using the braking system and the throttle to get optimum traction in slippery conditions. In other words, show the XE a snowy road or a muddy car park, and it’ll be much less hopeless than a lot of other rear-wheel drive cars.

Prices will kick off at £27,000 when the car goes on sale next year. It’ll make its public debut on 2 October at the Paris Motorshow.