The XE reminds you why petrol cars are so much more fun to drive. And it also reminds you that you don’t need to have a snorting crazy beast of a car to have fun
Cats are strange pets; they are not affectionate in the way dogs are. Most cats are on their own trip, can disappear for days on end and don’t care a damn. In the recent past, I have heard two stories of the same cat adopting multiple owners; please note that cats adopt their owners and not the other way around. So despite all this, why are there still cat people in the worldIJ Possibly because cats are individualistic and the extension of a personality in the way that dogs can never beIJ That is the only reason that makes sense to me.
And it made much more sense when I drove the Jaguar XE. The first thing you notice about the XE is just the “wow” factor. Forget words like “pretty” and “good-looking”, this car has serious sex appeal. This car has a “come hither” look that no other car in the executive sedan segment has. That is not to say that the BMW 3-series or the Mercedes C-Class don’t look nice, they are good-looking cars, but the XE says “come inside me now.” I know that sounds weird but Jaguar Chief Designer Ian Callum has done an outstanding job.
And it is rather nice inside as well. The continuous ridge that comes in from the front doors and wraps around the dashboard actually gives an airline cockpit feel to the car. The windsor leather seats wrap you in comfort and you notice the small things — the fact that the air-conditioning louvres have Jaguar embossed on them. The Meridian audio system is also quite nice with good sound quality even though the Burmeister systems on some Mercedes and Porsche cars have truly spoiled me.
Jaguar is not exactly on top of the game when it comes to the information systems, where Audi has stolen a clear lead on everyone with their “Virtual Cockpit”, but the system on the XE (also the forthcoming F-Type) is a marked improvement on the past. While the the rotary-gear system looked rather nice when it first came in JlR cars, turning a dial still does not have the same feel as moving a stick, even if it is an automatic stick. And since one is nit-picking, the paddle-shifters have a very small gap between themselves and their steering which led to a couple of accidental shifts. And rear leg-room is not quite as much as one would expect, and the new and larger Audi A4 entering the game soon, this is a weak spot.
So the driving experienceIJ let me put it like this. Recently a newspaper tried to cook up a controversy because Madam Speaker Sumitra Mahajan acquired a Jaguar XE Portfolio edition. This two-litre petrol engine is the top-of-the-line version of the XE, and has 230 horsepower. The only controversy about the lok Sabha Secretariat buying this car should not be the price but the fact that Madam Speaker is unlikely to drive this, because my god, it is fun to drive.
The XE reminds you why petrol cars are so much more fun to drive. And it also reminds you that you don’t need to have a snorting crazy beast of a car such as the BMW M3 to have fun with a petrol car. On the Gurgaon-Faridabad highway, where there is a mix of twisty sections, long stretches of straight road as well as a couple of horror spots, the XE was a wonderful drive. The test car did have a slight rattle at higher speeds which was probably due to poor wheel-balancing. Stuff like that happens with press cars due to the hard lives they lead.
But that brings us to the biggest problem with this car. No not that rear-legroom thing, although that is a problem. Or the fuel economy, which according to the car’s onboard computer was actually quite respectable. The biggest problem is that the XE costs a bomb. The Portfolio edition costs Rs 47.99 lakh. There are two other trim levels on the car, the basic “Pure,” which costs Rs 39.99 lakh and the “Prestige,” which is for Rs 43.69 lakh (all prices ex-showroom New Delhi) but they have a downrated engine with “only” 190 horsepower; which is still pretty good and better for fuel economy. But as noted automotive sage Jeremy Clarkson says “Powerrrrrr…,” more is always nice.
Don’t buy the XE if you worry about fuel economy, don’t buy the XE if you just want a luxury badge to get you from A to B. Don’t buy the XE because you’re a “Dog Person.” Buy the XE because you like sexy, you like nice things and you like having fun.