Big Cat Diary

Jaguar is on a roll with the revamped XE saloon and the high-performance F-Pace SVR proving that the British brand has lost none of its flair

- Chris Pickering

Grace, space and pace. So reads the famous advertising slogan coined by Jaguar’s founder Sir William Lyons in the 1950s. It conjures up an image of iconic designs like the Jaguar Mk2 – a favourite of The Great Train Robbers, who famously put its space and pace to good use in their getaway.

Appropriately enough, Jaguar’s chosen venue for the launch of its two newest models is St Tropez – another favourite of the 1950s jet set (and perhaps the occasional train robber). It’s here that we’ve come to drive the freshly facelifted XE saloon and the bonkers 550PS F-Pace SVR.

THE CONSUMMATE EXECUTIVE

First, we head for the hills in the XE, roughly tracing the Route Napoleon – the road that the diminutive French general took on his return from exile. With mile-after-mile of fast sweeping bends and cliff-hugging hairpins, you couldn’t pick a much better showcase for the XE’s dynamic capabilities.

We start off in the 180PS diesel, which combines punchy performance with decent refinement and an impressive 57.6mpg. It’s also compliant with the very latest RDE2 emissions requirements, which means that company car drivers escape the surcharge that’s applied to most diesels.