Top 3 Jaguar XE features that stand out from the competition.

Taking on the German 3

While the Jaguar XE has been selling reasonably well in many overseas markets since its arrival in 2015, this model is still struggling to find traction in South Africa. This isn’t through any fault of the car itself, however, but is instead as a result of changing market conditions and local buyers’ unflinching loyalty to the Audi-BMW-Mercedes triumvirate. It certainly has enough clever engineering behind it to merit consideration...

Related: What’s changed during the Jaguar XE’s 2019 facelift?

 

1. Aluminium body construction

While aluminium isn’t an uncommon material for the body shells of top-level luxury- and sports cars, the Jaguar XE is still the only mid-sized sedan to employ aluminium to this extent, let alone bring a new construction technique to its market segment. Inspired by aircraft design, the XE’s body type differs from most aluminium-bodied cars as well. 

The usual approach is to create an aluminium spaceframe from extrusions, which are then welded or bonded together to form a frame structure. Jaguar’s technique combines the best of both steel and aluminium construction, with riveted and bonded aluminium pressings instead of welded steel stampings, to make up the car’s “skeleton”. 

Surprisingly, though, the aluminium XE is about 100 kg heavier than an equivalent (mostly steel) new BMW 3 Series. This can be ascribed to increased use of newly-developed high-strength steel and lightweight composites in the newer car – things that only came into vogue in the mass market fairly recently. So, if having a car with some technical novelty appeals to you, the Jaguar XE has to be on your short list.

Related: What are the top 4 safety features in a Jaguar XE?

 

2. Race car suspension

We’re not even just talking about “track inspired” here: The front suspension system in the Jaguar XE is lifted from the F-Type sports car (a car known for its communicative and grippy front end) and then improved even further. It works just as well in the XE sedan, and endows the British saloon with impressive handling dynamics.

How special is the suspension? Well, most of it is made of hollow-cast or forged aluminium, with optimised geometry and progressive mounting bushes to allow a very supple ride combined with impeccable handling and entertaining dynamics. Put that lot together with an optimal 50/50 weight distribution, and it soon becomes clear why the Jaguar XE has such polished dynamics.

Related: For more info about the Jaguar XE’s full model range, have a read-through here. 

 

3. Cutting-edge in-car technology

All current Jaguar XE models ship standard with “Touch Pro” – a 10-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system with navigation and smartphone mirroring. At this level, the really cool thing is still an option, though, and it’s one worth ticking just to put that last bit of polish to the XE’s futuristic dashboard design. 

This nice gadget replaces the standard rotary- and static touch controls for the climate control with a high-resolution colour display (still with two rotary main controllers, though), which can be configured with driver-selectable shortcuts for things like the seat climate controls and entertainment functions. Doing so will allow the lower screen to show, for instance, audio info while the upper screen is dedicated to the navigation display.

Optional in base “S” trim (but standard further up the range) is another display screen, this time to replace the standard analogue gauge cluster with a full-sized digital display. Once again, this can be configured to suit the driver’s requirements, and it is a necessary upgrade if the head-up display is also in line to be checked on the options list. Add Jaguar’s InControl Apps to the equation, and you’ll even be able to access your car’s information (such a location, lock status and fuel level) from your smartphone.

Related: Jaguar XE vs Alfa Romeo Giulia vs Lexus IS – which one is the best value for money?

 

It’s advanced underneath, gets plenty of its mechanical bits from a sports car, and boasts the latest available cabin technology. If more buyers knew about these stand-out features in Jaguar’s smallest sedan, they’d probably show more interest in the showrooms.... or maybe they’ll just walk right past, buy an E-Pace or F-Pace, and allow the pretty, great-driving XE sedan to wither on the vine in the process. Sadly, the latter option seems more likely, and that’s a real pity.

 

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