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RPM TV Website | March 22, 2024

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Technical magic for the Jaguar XE sedan

Jaguar XE
Adam Schoeman

Jaguar is getting ready to release its most compact production sedan, the XE, into a segment that is already bulging with some of the best and most established brands the motoring world has on offer.

The BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-class and Audi’s A4 all offer something slightly different, but between them, they have the premium saloon market pretty well covered.

Not that Jaguar appears to be fazed by its competition, according to the latest corporate communication from the Leaping Cat, because the XE has been designed to incorporate some impressively advanced technical engineering.

At the forefront of this innovation is a brand new extendable platform, called the iQ[AI] architecture. The scalability of the platform is extensive, allowing Jaguar to build cars as small as the XE as well as the yet to be released C-X17 SUV, and a longer XF replacement.

It also means that the XE could be made available in a variety of rear-wheel and all-wheel drive configurations.

The way the platform has been constructed is also quite clever, using a combination of pressed aluminium sheets and other extrusions and castings, which are riveted or glued in place. This makes it fairly easy for the sheets to be replaced with another material, such as carbon fibre, in the future.

But at the heart of the XE is a new line-up of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. Jaguar says the engine family will cater for all needs, allowing some XE models to reach speeds of up to 300 km/h and others to achieve CO2 emissions ratings of less than 100 g/km.

Both petrol and diesel motors have been designed around turbochargers and superchargers, and will be able to accommodate either, or even a combination of the two. This level of from-the-ground-up engineering has made it possible for Jaguar to produce a high-performance four-cylinder unit that it claims is rated at more than 300 kW.

The XE is due for launch next year, and given Jaguar’s current love affair with fast models and futuristic interiors, we are very much looking forward to seeing and experiencing it in the metal.

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