Jaguar sharpens its baby cat’s claws once again

Jaguar, after unwrapping the extensively updated XF, has unveiled the more subtly revised XE after introducing an initial batch of tweaks last year.

Building on the mentioned facelift, Coventry has focused on the interior, which now boasts the new ten-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Pivi Pro software, over-the-air updates, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an optional wireless smartphone charger, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 5.5-inch climate control display, the I-Pace inspired steering wheel, upgraded materials, new Heads-Up Display and a gear lever in place of the rotary dial selector.

Once again offered in S, SE and HSE trim levels with all having the option of the R Dynamic or new R Dynamic Black styling pack, the latter consisting of red brake calipers with 355 mm front and 325 mm rear discs, gloss black interior inlays, alloy pedals, privacy glass, 19-inch gloss black Venom or satin grey propeller 20-inch alloys, the XE’s engine line-up has been streamlined to include a single mild-hybrid Ingenium turbodiesel and a solitary non-electrically assisted Ingenium turbo-petrol, both with a displacement of 2.0-litres.

Carrying the D200 insignia, the 48-volt oil-burner replaces the previous D180 and as per its name, produces 200 PS or 147 kW with torque remaining unchanged at 430 Nm. The mentioned petrol engines are carried over and deliver 184kW/365Nm in the P250 and 221kW/400Nm in the P300. All are paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox with the P300 coming as standard with all-wheel-drive whereas as the former pair are rear-wheel-drive only.

Pricing in the United Kingdom kicks-off at £29 635 (R631 925) for the P250 S and ends at £40 140 (R855 929) for the P300 HSE R-Dynamic AWD with delivers starting in early 2021. The updates are set to be rolled-out in South Africa soon after, but possibly without the diesel and only with rear-wheel-drive.

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