Making Britain Great Again

A new interior and a cleaner engine. Has Jaguar done enough?

- Aadil Naik

If I’m being completely honest, I am a little partial to British cars and their approach to design. I think Aston Martin and McLaren are the only ones making pretty sportscars, and I love the Jaguar F-Type. I prefer simplicity and elegance. I was quite fond of the previous Jaguar XE, too, and felt it was the only vehicle amongst its competitors that didn’t feel dated. And with the updated Jaguar XE the British marque has thankfully refrained from changing what isn’t broken. And for the majority of what has changed, Jaguar has done a good job.

So, the smooth flowing lines from the previous XE are still the same and you’d be hard pressed to tell the new car from the old. The headlights are narrower because there seems to be some unsaid rule that headlights must get thinner every year (no wonder the Tesla Cybertruck just went for slits), and the front grille is slightly different. If you walk around to the rear, you will see the old car. This particular specimen gets the optional ‘Black Pack’ which replaces almost all the chrome with a dark glossy black. Looks very cool, so I’m not complaining at all.

The interior is a whole different story, though. The previous car did feel old in this aspect and Jaguar has suitably updated it. The steering is great to hold now with large paddle shifters. The buttons on the wheel, though? A little plasticky, but that’s okay because the stalks behind looks fantastic with the brushed-aluminium ends. The paddle shifters, too, are aluminium and are larger than you expect to see in a stock car. The primary display is fully digital, as expected, with a touchscreen infotainment screen in the centre console, too.

"Once past 3000 rpm, it sounds glorious as it snarls to the redline"