Jaguar ready for rivals' XE response
Jaguar is ready to respond if rivals such as BMW and Mercedes develop their cars to be more efficient or to have more performance than the new Jaguar XE, the firm’s director of group engineering, Dr Wolfgang Ziebart, has said.
The most efficient Jaguar XE, powered by a new 161bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine with 280lb ft of pulling power, will deliver average economy of 75mpg and emissions of just 99g/km of CO2 when equipped with the six-speed manual gearbox. When linked to the eight-speed automatic those figures are 104g/km of CO2 and 71.7mpg.
In contrast, the BMW 3 Series Efficient Dynamics model, for instance, is powered by a 161bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine with 280lb ft of pulling power, and averages 68.9mpg and emits 109g/km of CO2. However, rumours suggest the face-lifted BMW 3 Series, due to be launched next year, will achieve 99g/km when linked to an automatic gearbox.
‘There is no miracle to what we or our competitors do,’ said Ziebart. ‘It is more a question of how you spend your money in order to achieve your goals. Today, the XE leads its rivals - we have spent our money wisely. If our rivals respond then we look forward to some healthy competition. We are happy to be in the competition with these guys and absolutely not afraid of anything they will do.
