Jaguar unveiled the brand new XE sedan - a replacement for long since discontinued X-type.
The X-type was intended to compete with the German executive saloon "holy trinity" - Audi A4, BMW 3-series and the Mercedes C class.
Judging by how sparse the X-type is on streets these days, this intended rivalry didn't exactly play out according to plan. The first generation "baby Jaguar" was often criticized for its mundane roots - skeptics saw it as no more than a dressed-up Ford Mondeo with leather and wood.
The XE, however, is a proud new design from what seems to be a proud new era for Jaguar. Since acquisition by TATA group in 2008, the mix of British know-how and Indian money and ambition has yielded some loud new designs - the XF, the new XJ, F-Type and Range Rover Evoque.
XE, while entirely new, is very orthodox in its looks and fits well into Jaguars design language. The front is reminiscent of the XJ, while from the back, if it wasn't for the lack of signature chrome line across taillights, it could be mistaken for an XF. The side profile is similar to the F31 BMW 3-series - perhaps its fiercest competitor.
From the outside, XE seems to be a mix of best attributes of it's bigger siblings, and I have yet to find an angle from which is looks less than flawless. One could only fault it for being "too conservative", even though the more striking features of XJ perhaps are less appropriate for a smaller, more fleet-market oriented executive saloon.
The looks are a hit, and it is up to mechanical side to make or brake Jaguars second attempt at disrupting the German hegemony in small executive saloon market. Engine selection, at launch, will start with a 2 liter diesel, which will likely power vast majority of XE, and upscale all the way to the XE-S with a high output supercharged V6 - the same V6 seen in the F-Type.
There, of course, is a distinct possibility that Jaguar could also fit its V8 engine in the XE platform. After all, this "baby jaguar" is a lot more grown up in dimensions than its ideological predecessor from the Ford era.
