2020 Jaguar XE
For this week’s review we’ve gotten our hands on the brand new 2020 Jaguar XE, their entry level luxury sport sedan that just received an interior and exterior facelift. Is there any reason to pick it over it’s German and Korean rivals? Read more to find out.
Disclosure: Jaguar Canada provided me with the 2020 Jaguar XE for a week to test drive, and photograph. All photos in this blog post was taken by me. #JaguarXE
ACCELERATION: 7.75/10
P300 2.0 L 4 Cylinder: 296 HP / 295 lb-ft
P250 2.0 L 4 cylinder: 247 HP / 269 lb-ft
8-speed automatic - The shifts feel laggy and power isn’t delivered to me immediately when you floor it.
P300 - 5.7 second 0-100 km/hr
P250 - 6.5 seconds 0-100km/hr
Max speed 195 km/hr
BRAKING: 8/10
The brakes can come to a quick stop pretty fast but in slow traffic it can feel a bit grabby
HANDLING: 8.5/10
It excels at handling and has a sporty driving feel. It stays composed going through turns. It was entertaining to drive on twisty roads.
RIDE: 8.5/10
Suspension is setup just right. It’s not too harsh and not too soft.
CABIN NOISE: 6.5/10
It was on the noisy end due to wind and engine noise. When you push the car, the engine makes a ton of sound without giving immediate power.
FUEl ECONOMY: 8/10
P300 - 22/31/25 MPG ( City/Highway/Combined )
P250 - 24/34/28 MPG ( City/Highway/Combined )
EXTERIOR: 8.5/10
Overall body design choices and black on black colour scheem looks sleek and badass. It’s also looks quite low to the ground. The wider and lowered design is eye-catching and because it’s not as common as it’s German competitors it will turn heads for sure!
All LED front and rear headlights
INTERIOR FOR DRIVER: 8/10
Seats are really comfortable but has no massaging or cooling features.
The premium interior lives up to it’s luxury badge. It’s a really nice place to be.
Steering wheel is girthy and feels really nice to hold. The paddles also feel really nice! When I tried Jaguars before I always felt like I would cut myself on the paddles because they were cut with almost no bevel.
The ability to tilt and telescope the steering wheel is a bit strange. You have to turn this knob to unlock it like you’re turning the car on with a key. I don’t think I’ve seen that implementation before but once you know where it is you’ll get use to it.
Wireless charging bay infront of the shifter and it’s large enough to fit an XL phone!
The digital displays, and graphics are modern. I like how the buttons change their functionality like the heating knob controls the cabin temperature, seat temperature, and fan speed in 1 knob. The steering wheel also has buttons that will dynamically changed depending on what mode you’re in. It may take some getting use to but it is very intuitive to use.
I don’t like the placement of the volume knob being on the passenger side. It makes it harder for the driver to reach because the shifter is in the way.
In the past, when I tested out Jaguars it had this cylinder dial that rises out of the center console and you rotate it to select what gear you want to be in. I am happy to see it gone and changed to a more traditional shifter.
The rear window is pretty shallow but Jaguar combats this by having the rear view mirror have the ability to swap to a digital camera image to give you an unobstructed view. The image quality is very high res and clear.
The camera for this is mounted on the roof on the shark fin antenna.
INTERIOR FOR PASSENGERS: 5.5/10
Rear leg and head room is pretty bad especially if the front passengers are taller and have to move the seat further back. When I retracted the front seats all the way back to take a photo of the dash with the seats in the way, I could only fit my fist inbetween the seats. The middle seat is slightly higher so headroom is really poor there and there is a massive hump on the ground in the middle. My head was touching the roof and I’m only 5”6! The rear seats aren’t very practical if both front passengers are tall.
INTERIOR STORAGE: 8/10
15 Cu Ft with the seats up
Surprisingly the rear seats come fixed and you have to pay for an option to have 40/20/40. At this price point I would expect it to be already included.
Does not have ski pass through
INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM: 8.25/10
The infotainment is really modern, and perfect for tech savvy people.
The interactiveness of the system however is a bit laggy. It could really use a faster processor or more ram!
Supports Android Auto and Apple Car Play
OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE 2020 Jaguar XE:
Jaguar’s XE is an underrated luxury sport sedan that is overshadowed in a competitive segment dominated by german rivals like the Audi A4, BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. While I don’t think it will be dethroning it’s German competitors in sales, but due to it’s rarity on the road and it’s new facelifted styling is sure to make it stand out. The wider and lower look makes it look really good. In a sea of Audis, BMWs, and Mercedes the Jaguar XE and Genesis G70 are my top picks if you want to stand apart.