Jaguar World – July 2019

July 201 9\JaguarWorld|6 1

FIRSTDRIVE

XE250PS

AGUARHASafine
trackrecordinmidlife
facelifts.Fromthe2.4
totheMk2,theXJ6
Series2toSeries3,the
XJ40toX300andthe
X350totheX358,theywereallsensible
improvementstoextendthecars’
lifespananddesirability.EventheX250
generationofXFlookedbetterafter
itsmild 2010 refresh–simplyslimmer
LEDlights.
AlotridesontheXE’srefreshforthe
2020 modelyear.Despitethepraisethat
hasalwaysbeenlaudedonthecar,ithas
nevermanagedtobreakthestranglehold
thatthebigthreeGermanmanufacturers
haveonthecompactsaloonmarket.
Willthissubtlefaceliftbeenoughto
changethat?
Theupdateisn’thugeandIdoubt
anyoneotherthantheexpertswillnotice
thenewbumpers,thenarrowerfrontLED
headlights,therearlightswiththeirnew
‘chicane’graphic,oraslightlywider,but
slimmer,grille.Yet,together,theyimprove
thecar’sappearance,givingitaslightly
meaner,moreassertivelook.
However,it’sthecar’sinteriorthathas
receivedthebiggestBotoxtreatment.The
cheapplasticspreviouslyusedthroughout
theXE,andwhichcameundertheheaviest
criticism,have–thankfully–beenreplaced
withbetter-qualitymaterialstomatchthe
car’supmarketappeal.
Evenmorestrikingisthedigital
ventilationcontrolpanelinthecentre
console.Itsmodernandcontemporary
designisexactlywhatwasneededtolift
theXE’spreviouslydowdyinterior,evenif
itwassourcedfromtheI-PACE.Iespecially
likethewaythetemperatureisshownin
thetwolargedials,resultinginasimple,
cleandesign.Thesteeringwheelisalso
new,againsharedwiththeall-electriccar,
andfeatureshidden-until-litgraphicsand
capacitiveswitchesforeasycontrolof
keyfunctions.Finally,Jaguar’sPistolshift
gearleverreplacestheformerrotary
selector,itsadditionbeingaclearsignthat

Jaguarispositioningthecaratayounger,

sportieraudience.Thesearesmallchanges,

but,liketheexterior,theydomuchto

improvethecar’sappeal.

TheXEnowhastheoptionofthree

2.0-litrefour-cylinderengines:a1 80 PS

(177bhp)diesel,andpetrolswitheither

250PS(246bhp)or300PS(295bhp).

HavingrecentlydriventheoldXEwith

the300PSforthelaunchoftheSport

model–atrimlevelthat,sadly,hasn’t

survivedthefacelift[seeJW,February

2019 ,p 48 ]–andwithdieselsnolongeras

popularastheyoncewere,thegorgeous

CaesiumBlueexampleIhaveherehas

thesmallerpetrolengine.

Althoughithasalwaysreceivedsecond

billingnexttotheheadline-grabbing300PS,

the 250 stilloffersasolidperformance:

60mphisreachedinameresixseconds

andithasatopspeedof 15 5mph.But,the

figuresonlytellhalfthestory.Whatthey

don’tsayishoweagertheengineis,how

itsaccelerationisstrongandimmediate

whileremainingquietandrefined,yetstill

offeringadeliciouslyraspyexhaustnote

whenpushedhard.

Thedreadfulsix-speedmanualgearbox

hasbeendeletedasanoption,leavingjust

J