Jaguar XE 2016 Test Drive 2016

Jaguar XE 2016 Test Drive 2016. Photos and Stories.

Jaguar XE 2016 Test Drive 2016

I received an email from Jaguar inviting us to come and experience the 2016 Jaguar XE Sport sedan.

Jaguar XE Promo Video

Always on the ready to 'experience' hot new cars, I fired off the acceptance response. This invite was not a personal or media event but a limited marketing to..... The emails had an interesting headline from the marketing department, "Your Starring Role With the New Jaguar XE". Marketing departments are always pushing different concepts at their employers and their target group. My approach to these invites is to just go along and see what happens.

Starting at the top, the Jaguar XE is listed at: Base MSRP from $34,900: We had a "35t" AWD 3.0 liter V6 340PS Supercharged Gas (Automatic) and All Wheel Drive. It had a Top Speed: 120mph and a 0-60 mph in 5.1 seconds. Not bad for a 4 dr sport model. The supercharger really makes these car jump at the slightest prodding of the loud peddle. The XE is designed and market-placed to compete with the more performance sport sedans from the likes of BMW or Mercedes Benz.

I will offer my conclusions of the day up front as well as repeat at the end. The XE is: Hot, Sporty, Gadget laden. A showoff. And at this price point it should be a winner on the showroom floor.

Jaguar had an interesting approach to selecting the location for this displaying of 'style and speed', The Streets of San Francisco, on the Water Front. San Francisco's water front has an eclectic mix of the large old once working dock warehouses and the now converted spaces into Tony bars and modern usages. Jaguars chosen space was one of the older open warehouse space that they section out into showroom, paddock, and speed track. Oh yes they also had a filming studio set up. More about that later.

The 'test drive' was short run down the crowded surface streets near the teaming tourist district of the famous San Francisco Fisherman's Warf Pier 39. We were guided over trolley tracks and through 4way stop intersections.

I was in the back seat for the first section. The back seat is comfortable for a small sedan. the door opening is very small at the bottom which requires some maneuvering to get out of. But this to be expected as this is a short wheelbase car with 4 doors. With this being a sport sedan the ride quality over the rough city streets and tracks I was bounced around in the back. And with Jaguars emphases on this being a performance car, the muffler sound was very apparent in the back seating area. But this car is not about the back seat.

Once I had the wheel the first thing I noticed was the steering 'feel'. Our ride along guide pushed some buttons and reset the electric motor assist system into a more aggressive setting and the vague feeling disappeared. The other thing that I was aware of during my very short drive was the abruptness of the brakes. This was not a bad thing, they were very positive. No question as to whether or not the car was being slowed down.

The overall layout of the seating/steering is acceptable and functional as far as I could experienced it. The one thing that caught my attention from the very first, was the drive selector which Jaguar calls The JaguarDrive&tm; Control. This is a cylinder which rises out of the center console once the start button is pressed. With this knob one must chose Park-Neutral-Drive-Sport by rotating it. Unless I missed something this requires careful attention as there is nothing that allows one to 'sense' what has been selected other than looking directly at it and taking ones attention away from all others. I questioned our riding guide and he said that this system was designed in this manner as a safety feature to address several conditions. In the end a trade-off, I presume.

Back in the water front warehouse, my only conclusion to this test drive was that we manage to negotiate the San Francisco downtown traffic without incident in a very capable car. However I am not solid on just what the car had to offer other than what I mentioned above.

The next step in the XE experience was riding along with professional driver Ken Hockenberry running a course laid out in the back of the warehouse.

This was an acceleration and cornering demonstration and it was impressive. The supercharger and the more than capable brakes allowed massive acceleration to the first 180 degree turn. The return side was a slight slalom demonstrating that the chassis could not be upset with quick left-right maneuvers. The XE has AWD and that makes all the quickness very smooth at pavement level.

My conclusions of the XE: Hot, Sporty, Gadget laden. A showoff. And at this price point it should be a winner on the showroom floor.

Back to the headline on my email; "Your Starring Role With the New Jaguar XE".

Above I mentioned they also had a filming studio set up in the building along side the cars. Clar and I was guided by the lovely Jaguar hostesses into one of the film-sets...

...where an equally lovely lady explained that we were going to have a crack at being actors in a James Bond type film segment. (All in fun and we would get a copy of our 'screen test').

The film clip was to show the XE involved in a serious live or die car chase involving sliding cars, rocket fire and flaming explosions while the XE smoothly escapes the danger.

Jaguar XE Promo Video

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Jaguar F Type 2016

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Jaguar XE 2016 Test Drive 2016

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