Jaguar XE review

The Jaguar XE’s exterior is a crisp, thoughtful distillation of the design language the company has been evolving for a decade now. In other words, no big surprises, but nice enough. What is new is the chassis, which is 75 per cent aluminium, giving the XE a genuine USP in this ferocious market segment. It also has aluminium suspension, with double wishbones at the front and a beautifully engineered 'Integral Link' multi-link set-up at the rear.

All of which translates into a supple, oiled sort of driving experience, that stakes out the mid-ground between the sharper 3-Series and the softer C-Class. The S uses the same charismatic supercharged 335bhp 3.0-litre six-pot as the F-Type, but is much less extroverted. The heart of the range are the oil burners; the 2.0-litre diesel starts with 161bhp, and a pokier version makes 178bhp, and while the all-new Ingenium engine is competitive on CO2 emissions and consumption, it’s a whisker more rumbly than its keenest rivals. All use Jaguar’s new fully electric power steering, which is impressively linear and precise if not wholly feelsome.