With revamped styling, new interior materials and a technology upgrade, Jaguar's revived XE needs to recapture some ground lost to the model's German rivals. We talk to the man responsible for its design, Ian Callum, to find out exactly how it could succeed.
What makes the new Jaguar XE special?
“We believe it’s the total package: progressive design, innovative tech and great driving dynamics. My team and I have taken huge pleasure out of improving a car we already know very well. We’ve lived with it, we understand its character, and now we’ve made it better.”
Why was it necessary to give an already good-looking car more presence?
“We think the car looks great, but there’s no question that in this market you have to be seen to be heard. Proportionally, we reckon the XE is already the best car in its class, but feedback from customers, from our marketing guys and even our own impressions as we used the car made it clear we needed to dial up the assertiveness.”
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Tuatara
From the front end, it's
From the front end, it's seems to resemble his brother's design of the Mustang. Must be getting increasingly difficult to produce unique designs.
scrap
So classier interior trim has
So classier interior trim has only just become available has it? Wow, even for Autocar it is staggering you let him get away with that one.
Personally, I don’t prioritise perceived quality so highly, but after getting the first gen XF cabin so right, Jaguar really dropped the ball. Drivers of cars like these spend a lot of time in them and want a really nice interior.
streaky
scrap wrote:
And you are so right - every time I see a first-gen XF I wonder what happened with the interiors of all subsequent jags.
TheBritsAreComing
Progressive
Progressive is the most cancerous word of the 21st century.
Timeless would be a better goal.
Car looks alright though.
typos1
Someone forgot t mar this as
Someone forgot t mar this as an edvertorial I think.
Steve, you forgot to ask Callum why all his designs are unimaginative crap.
XXXX just went POP.
abkq
Time and again Ian Callum
Time and again Ian Callum likes to praise the proportions of the XE. But the long bonnet-short cabin approach makes no sense in a compact saloon where you want to release as much cabin space as possible on a small footprint. A cab-forward design is the only solution. But Jaguar doesn't care about packaging.
TheBritsAreComing
Your Perfect Car
I found you a new car!
https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/vauxhall-zafira-tourer.jpg?itok=QtDFcDWY
TheBritsAreComing
Your Perfect Car
I found you a new car!
https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/vauxhall-zafira-tourer.jpg?itok=QtDFcDWY
JazzBlueHemi
Not again!!
I love Autocar and I have huge respect for Steve Cropley, but please, please, please can you stop doing these grovelling interviews with Ian Callum and Jaguar. They are just not objective and no tough questions ever seem to be asked. The XE has many good qualities and the new version looks better, at least from the front. But the generic design was a mistake from the start, not bold enough and too safe. And there's no getting away from the fact it's been a sales flop, and mid-life makeovers generally don't help much in that respect.
Next time you do a JLR interview, please send a journalist who isn't mates with everybody there, and is prepared to ask the hard questions.
rmcondo
What this design says is
What this design says is “modern saloon”. it doesn’t scream at 100 metres, “Jaguar”! It should and based on his own car, he probably knows it.
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