The 2016 Jaguar XE is without a doubt the main attraction at the Jaguar booth in the 2014 Paris Motor Show.
Just five years ago, Jaguar discontinued the X-Type and stepped away from the compact luxury sedan market. Now the British automaker is ready to jump back into that segment and put the bad memories of the X-Type behind them with the debut of the all-new XE.
The XE will compete with the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-class and Audi A4s of the world, as Jaguar hopes to make everyone forget about the misguided X-Type. Unlike the old X-Type (which was based on a Ford Mondeo platform), the XE is based on an all-new aluminum architecture unique to Jaguar. And the best news is that it's rear-wheel drive.
Powering the XE will be a new range of four-cylinder engines, except for the top of the line XE S, which takes it's supercharged V6 from the F-Type.
The exterior styling is conservative, but unmistakably Jaguar and inside is more of the same. The dashboard may be a tad simplistic, but is, at least, very easy to use.
The all-new Jaguar XE likely won't be available to North American markets until sometime in 2016. The XE launch comes with high expectations, as it tries to distance itself from the disappointing X-Type. There isn't much room for error, but at first glance Jaguar appears to have it right this time around.
