Jaguar World – July 2019

62 |JaguarWorld/July 2019

FIRSTDRIVE

XE250PS

theeight-speedautomaticasstandard,
whichchangesquicklyandefficiently.
Thesteeringwheel-mountedpaddles
remain,althoughthey’renowmadefrom
asinglepieceofaluminiumratherthana
plasticsocheapmyfingertipscameoutin
sores.Thepaddlesalsofeatureafirmer,
better-dampedaction,andIdiscoverthat
Changinggearnowhasthetactilityof
turningonaBosestereo.
TheXEhastheoptionoftheClearSight
rear-viewmirror,whichprojectstheimage
fromawide-anglerear-facingcamerainto
aframeless,high-definitionscreen.Initially,
Iwassceptical.Carshavehadmirrorssince
thedawnoftheautomobileandI’musually
ofthebeliefthatifsomethingisn’tbroken
don’tfixit.However,thescreenisasclear
asanactualmirrorandgivesthedriver
anunobstructedviewoftheroadbehind,
unhinderedbytallrear-seatpassengers,
poorlight,orrainontherearscreen.It
comesaspartofthetechnologypack(which
alsoincludeshead-updisplay,interactive
driverdisplayandwirelesscharging),soit’s
notacheapoptionat£1,820,butisoneI
canthoroughlyrecommend.
OnethingJaguarhasn’tchangedisthe
car’sdriverappeal.Whilethe250PS
doesn’thaveall-wheeldrive(anoption
forthedieselandstandardwiththe
300PS),thereisstilloceansofgripthat,
alongwiththealways-controlled
body-rollandsniper-preciseelectric
steering,meanstheXEremainsthesharp
sportssaloonitwasalwaysknowntobe.
Thesuspensionsettingisratherhard,
though,andanythingotherthan
marble-smoothtarmacmakesits
presencefeltinthecabin,althoughit’s
nevertooobtrusive.

TimewilltellwhetherthisupdatedXE

canultimatelymakeabiggerimpactinthe

premiumcompactsaloonmarket.Itwon’t

beeasy,becauseconsumersgenerallystick

tobrandslikepainttowallsorjamto

prettymuchanything.But,shouldany

Audi,BMWorMercedesdriversdare

tostepawayfromtheircars,they’llfind

thatJaguar’sexcellenttrackrecordfor

successfulfaceliftscontinues.PW

XER-DynamicS250PS

Engine1, 999 4cyl

Power250PS(247bhp)

Torque269lbft

0-60mph6.2secs

Topspeed 15 5mph

Economy36.2mpg

CO 215 9g/km

Listprice£35,505

Changing

gear now

has the

tactility of

turning on a

Bose stereo

XER-Dyn

Engin

Power 2

Torq

0-60m

Topsp

Econo

CO 2

Listp