Offer a kid his favourite candy and he will break into a smile. Offer him two, and he will be grinning from ear to ear.
No matter what mode you choose to drive the Jaguar XE 2.0l Diesel Portfolio on a Monday morning to work — be it just gliding in the Eco Mode or zipping through the thin air on the highway in the Sports Mode — your smile will be intact, and by the end of the ride, you could be grinning too. That pretty much sums up our opinion of Jaguar XE. Sheer luxury met with consistent driving performance, no matter which conditions we opted for our numerous drives.
HOW IT FEELS
With the press of a button, the rotary gear selector pops up. But rather than an eye-pleasing sight, it’s more ear-pleasing as the engine fires up. Switching between the different modes, we could immediately make out the differences between how peppy the engine is. Such simple pleasures are priceless.
Our joy was doubled the moment we got off the mark and the JLR platform has its class stamped all over the car. Rather than hitting the highway straight away, we headed for city roads instead, and we turned heads.
We chose to drive the car in Eco Mode for the most part to enjoy the driving pleasure. The car was gentle in all possible ways. The engine firing was quiet and so was the omnipresent sound of AC along with soft music emitting through MeridianTM Sound System (380 W) that Portfolio version comes with. Having said that, there was not a single dull moment in the performance, with one disclaimer. With Maximum Torque of 430 at 1,750- 2,500, we could pick up the pace even on the straights of the city.
All saloon cars have really low ground clearance, 103mm in this case. Hence, we had to be really careful on the roads with speed-breakers of varying heights and lengths so as not to damage the floor of the car.
Having put the car in Sports and Dynamic mode, we experienced the true power of the 1999cc 2ltrs engine. It’s not just louder firing, but the entire car feels more sporty, the one you can throw around the corners. 0-100 is easily achievable in 8.1 seconds, which we did achieve in a safe environment.
But, we enjoyed the sporty feel of the car more, having unleashed it on the highway. Zipping through the thin air one can certainly be Michael Schumacher in their own head as the car handles itself extremely well.
MODERN DESIGN
Every time we took out the car for a ‘spin’, the driving pleasure was made even better with the interior design of the car. All modern cars these days are leaning towards clean and crisp interiors and Jaguar XE passes the test with flying colours.
The dash board is centrally located with an 8-inch capacitive touchscreen at the heart of it. One can control the entire infotainment system through it with all available modes of connectivity — Bluetooth, Memory Card, AUX. With the touch display, one moment, it allows you to control the climate inside the car and the next moment it becomes the parking aid with a surround camera system.
And all the while, the tan leather seats which can be adjusted to your utmost comfort make sure that your ride is a pleasant one no matter whether you are sitting in the front or the rear.
PRICING
The ‘Baby Jag’, as it is fondly called, is the entry-level Jaguar and comes in three models each in petrol and diesel variants — Pure, Prestige and Portfolio. 2.0 l Pure version is priced at `40.61 lakh (ex-showroom) for petrol, while the diesel one is priced at `41.34 lakh (ex-showroom). On the other hand, the top-end model, which is Portfolio, costs `46.52 lakh (ex-showroom) for petrol and the same model which runs on diesel is priced at `47 lakhs (ex-showroom).
The pricing is competitive compared to other luxury saloon car brands in the market but this TATA owned brand has its own niche audience which will be very pleased with what ‘Baby Jag’ has to offer.
KEY SPECIFICATIONS
- Engine
Engine Capacity: 1999cc
Max Power: 132 at 4,000
Max Torque: 430 at 1,750 - 2,500
- Driving Dynamics
8-Speed Electronic Automatic Transmission with Jaguar Sequential Shift
Intelligent Stop/ Start, Cruise Control and Speed Limiter, Hill Start Assist
- Exterior Features
Rain Sensing Windscreen Wipers
Sunroof - Panoramic, Spoiler Style, Electric Blinds
- Interior Features
Perforated Windsor Leather Seats
10-Way Electric Front Seats, 4-Way Electric Lumbar Adjust, Driver Memory
