The cat’s out of the bag with the new Jag XE
Saturday October 10 was hot and about to become hotter still as a small group of invitees to the Jaguar Nelspruit showroom were about to set out on a drive to Sabie and surrounds in various derivatives of the new Jaguar XE. The Jaguar, a car of which the design seems to be timeless, is for many the personification of what British manufacturing stands for. The other British icon is of course, the Land Rover.
On offer was the XE two-litre petrol, the two-litre diesel and the supercharged three-litre V6 which, as you can imagine proved to be the one that everyone wanted to get into but not out of. On hand to make sure everybody stayed within the limits and the rest, was Jaguar’s team of advanced drivers/instructors.
They had also prepared a short circuit at Makro where participants, on our return from the long drive, had the opportunity to experience the XE’s active steering, awesome emergency-braking capacity and of course, “hands-free” parking – something which takes some getting used to though. The XE, however, proved that it could be trusted on this. The important lesson here though, is that you have to experience these exercises hands-on at least once because it creates a greater awareness of what is possible when you find yourself in an emergency situation.
My driving partner and I drove the two-litre petrol first and although its performance proved adequate – and I say this with reservation because for most owners it would be more than they can handle – we loved the two-litre diesel better. And, I am not about to go on a rampage with adjectives to describe our sentiments. Just go and drive it and you will understand.
Being rather tall, the design of the A-pillar of the Jaguar did present us with a challenge in terms of visibility though. Both of us prefer a higher seating position that will allow a clear view across the steering rather than from behind the steering. Then we drove the V6 (0 to 100km/h in 5,1 seconds) and my partner noticed the seemingly extra wind/road noise in the cabin. “There is a way around this of course,” I replied. “Just kill it with the exhaust note.” (It is awesome and irresistible.) And we did!
But the Jaguar is not just about power and prowess – it offers much in terms of luxury, safety, comfort and stiff-upper-lip style and the best person to tell you about all of the latter is of course, Mbombela’s own Mr Jaguar, Clinton Lauren. Our conclusion after driving the different derivatives on the day was that for general driving, the diesel wins hands down. If you have an itch and can afford the fuel bill and traffic tickets, then you buy the V6. The equally brilliant two-litre petrol has its place, but we’ll give it a pass.
I conclude with a quote from Sir William Lyons, “The car is the closest thing we will ever create to something that is alive.” Really?
Whether you agree or not, the Jaguar XE is alive and well! Go drive it…
