Jaguar XE review

A facelift can fix just about everything except the XE’s chronic lack of space in the back or the absence of an estate version. Thus it remains one of the less practical cars in its class, and by quite a margin. But if you regularly travel alone or with only sub six-footers in the back, it should work well enough.

And up front it feels fantastic. You can set the driving position nice and low, while the updated XE’s posher materials and fancier stitching are immediately obvious, and its big dose of new technology welcome.

The upper and lower screens borrowed from the I-Pace both look great, respond well and give the XE a genuine air of freshness inside. Same goes for the rear view mirror that doubles as a screen, a feature that debuted on the mk2 Range Rover Evoque.

It takes some getting used to, but offers a brilliantly wide angle view that’s far more informative than the sliver of rear screen you’d traditionally get in a saloon car. But boy, does it get warm when you’re on the go for a few hours.

Perhaps that’s a teething problem of this early car we’re driving. Though given the XE we ran in the Top Gear Garage back in 2016 suffered numerous electronic maladies, a question mark hangs over the long-term appeal of cramming in so much screen-based tech. There’s wow factor now, at least.