Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has unveiled the Jaguar XE, the smallest member of its family, in an event held at London’s Earls Court.
Due to go on sale in 2015, with the S model at the top of the range, the rear-drive, aluminium-intensive Jaguar XE is the first model developed from Jaguar Land Rover’s new modular vehicle architecture.
The XE S is fitted with a 3.0-litre V6 engine that generates 340PS and 450Nm of torque. The Jaguar XE has an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shift controls, giving the driver immediate access to the vehicle’s reserves of power.
Accelerating to 0-60mph in just 4.9 seconds, the XE S has an electronically-limited maximum speed of 155mph.
The XE is also the lightest, stiffest and most aerodynamic Jaguar saloon ever built. It is also the first Jaguar to be equipped with electric power steering.
“Jaguar’s position as the leading premium manufacturer of aluminium vehicles allowed us to develop a light, stiff body structure that is ground-breaking in its class. It enables the XE’s advanced chassis technologies to deliver an unprecedented balance of agility and levels of refinement previously found only in vehicles from the segments above,” Kevin Stride, Vehicle Line Director, Jaguar XE, said in a statement.
The XE S will be joined by other models powered by 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines matched to six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmissions. The diesels – part of Jaguar’s all-new Ingenium engine family – provide exemplary fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from 75mpg and 99g/km.
The Jaguar XE is manufactured at Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull plant in an all-new purpose-built facility. Part of a £1.5-billion investment, this highly flexible, latest manufacturing site will create 1,700 UK jobs, the statement said.
The XE now completes the Jaguar saloon car range sitting below the XF and XJ models and will take on the likes of the Mercedes C-Class and Audi A3.
Full details of the entire XE range are to be announced at the Paris Motorshow in October, JLR said in a press release