Paris 2014: Jaguar XE India launch in Early 2016

Big news coming in from the Paris showground! The Jaguar XE will be coming to India by early 2016 to take on the likes of the BMW 3-series, new Mercedes-Benz C-class and the Audi A4. Till now Jaguar didn’t have a sedan in this range to take the fight to the big German three in a segment that has potential for high numbers. Come 2016, the new XE will be here and with an exciting range of new engines as well to power it.

The new engines we are talking about are from the Ingenium family, that Jagaur says have inherently low levels of vibration due to low friction all-aluminium construction, stiff cylinder blocks and twin balancer shafts. JLR has invested about Rs 5000 crore in a new engine plant in the UK to produce this engine where one unit rolls out every 36 seconds on a flexible assembly line.

A 2.0-litre diesel will be the oil burner powering the XE. It comes in two states of tune. The base version is a 163PS/380Nm unit that which boasts of just 99 g/km of CO2, which could make it a very popular option. In the UK, cars are taxed by their levels of emissions, but the interesting bit for us is the 75mpg fuel efficiency figure. It translates to 26.55kmpl under standard test conditions! The 2.0-litre diesel will also come in an 180PS/430Nm state. 

The petrol unit is a 2.0-litre turbocharged one with two states of tune as well. The base petrol is a 200PS/280Nm output and the XE’s more powerful version is a 240PS/340Nm mill. If there’s more you seek then the XE in sporty S trim is more likely to please you. The XE S has a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 under its hood. The 345PS/450Nm delivering unit can propel the baby Jag from 0-100kmph in 4.9 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 250kmph.   

The design of the Jaguar XE is truly modern and attractive. It has a good mix of Jaguar family design cues in all its major elements. The front grille for instance resembles the XJ and the updated XF design and the long bonnet and gills are elements inspired by the gorgeous F-Type. The XE has a sporty stance in side profile accentuated by the sloping roofline and attractive alloy wheel design. The rear gets a lip for the boot lid, taillamps that don’t do justice to the rest of the design and split circular exhaust. Design tough is subjective so please feel free to draw your own opinions as you browse through our gallery.