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2017 Jaguar XE First Drive

For the first time in decades, the prize for the best-driving compact luxury sport sedan is very much up for grabs. BMW's 3 Series, the segment's longstanding archetype, has grown a bit soft, distant and pricy. Its Japanese rival from Infiniti, the Q50, lost the plot thanks to its video game steering and dated powerplant. The Audi A4 is due for replacement and the fantastic Mercedes-Benz C-Class skews luxury over sport. The Cadillac ATS? With an excellent chassis hobbled by middling powertrains and the devil's own infotainment system, it isn't selling. Unlikely as it sounds, the Lexus IS is probably the segment's best driver, but you've got to learn to love those turn-to-stone looks. So, where's a segment malcontent to look? Provided he or she is patient enough to wait for this car's spring 2016 arrival, allow us to recommend the 2017 Jaguar XE. Let's be honest. Jaguar really needed to come out with guns blazing. The last time the British brand battled in the compact premium sport sedan segment, its much-maligned X-Type slinked into the underbrush, tail between its legs after just a single generation. While the X was in some ways a better car than history will begrudge it, there's no getting around that Jaguar brought a front-wheel-drive-based knife to a rear-wheel-drive gun fight. This new XE will need to be a very different kitty, and it is. Internally known as X760, Jag's latest rides atop an all-new aluminum-intensive modular architecture wearing a handsome mosaic of aluminum and steel body panels. While the XE's design has struck us as very familiar since it first bowed in September, it's an attractive shape. Its longish, 111.6-inch wheelbase and wheels-at-the-corner stance gives the design a planted look emphasized by its wide rectangular grille and prominent lower air intakes. Jaguar claims a super-slick .26 coefficient of drag, but that's the skinny-tired overseas base model that we'll never see – ours will likely ring up a few hundredths higher. The aluminum body-in-white is itself an impressive piece of work, weighing just over 550 pounds. Vehicle engineering manager Jonathan Darlington says it's 20-percent stiffer torsionally than the XF, and "the lightest in the sector by far." What's more, the chassis incorporates liberal amounts of recycled aluminum (a claimed world first) and increased use of structural adhesives.

Jaguar working on 600-hp F-Type SVR

Thinking about buying a new Jaguar F-Type? You've got a number of supercharged engine options to choose from... and soon you'll have one more. According to Motor Trend, Jaguar and its Special Vehicle Operations unit are working on a new SVR version of the F-Type, and it's tipped to pack 600 or more horsepower. That's more than anything Jaguar (or for that matter Land Rover) has offered for public consumption to date, but follows a delineated progression of output. As it is, the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 offered at launch in the F-Type convertible was already churning out 500 metric horsepower. Then came the F-Type R coupe that bumped output up to 550, followed by the limited-edition Project 7 roadster with 575. Topping 600 would only follow naturally, then, but would give the F-Type a broad range of outputs, starting at 335 hp and nearly doubling once it hits the top. It would also handsomely eclipse the Mercedes-AMG GT S (503 hp) and Porsche 911 Turbo S (552 hp), rival the Aston Martin Vantage GT12 (592 hp), and give even the new Audi R8 V10 Plus (610 hp) a run for its money. The bigger question is what form the SVR model will take, and with what other equipment. Coupe or convertible, rear-drive or all-wheel drive, automatic or manual... it's too early to say at this point. But we can probably expect much of the equipment from Project 7 – active diff, carbon-ceramic brakes... the works – to reappear in the SVR as well.

Jaguar F-Pace 300 Sport, 400 Sport create new trims below SVR

Jaguar has introduced two new F-Pace trims in the UK, one of which we expect to make it our way. Dubbed the F-Pace 300 Sport and F-Pace 400 Sport, they also welcome Amazon Alexa integration to the whole F-Pace range. Both Sport trims come standard with gloss black roof rails, privacy glass, and the Black Pack that dresses the badges, bumpers and intakes, sills and greenhouse trim in gloss black. A set of 21-inch wheels is also standard, the Style 5105 design also in gloss black. A 22-inch Style 1020 forged wheel in either gloss black or with satin black inserts or gloss silver with contrasting inserts. Inside, the Sports get Ebony Suedecloth headliners lording over Windsor leather slimline performance seats and Satin Charcoal Ash veneers, plus premium cabin lighting with 30 available colors. The F-Pace 300 Sport is powered by the automaker's Ingenium 3.0-liter six-cylinder diesel mild hybrid with 296 horsepower (300 PS) and 479 pound-feet of torque. This is the one we don't expect to make land in the U.S. The F-Pace 400 Sport would be the one for us, assuming it leaps the Atlantic. The F-Pace Sport models follow the creation of the E-Pace Sport last year, and that trim on the smaller crossover didn't come to America, hence the uncertainty. Back to the matter: The F-Pace Sport 400 is powered by the Ingenium 3.0-liter straight-six gasoline mild hybrid with 395 hp (400 PS) and 406 lb-ft. Prices in the UK start at GBP62,250 ($80,900 U.S.) for the D300 AWD Auto 300 Sport, and GBP68,520 ($89,050 U.S.) for the P400 AWD Auto 400 Sport. The duo add Alexa voice control to their infotainment suites, the ability to request anything online or change the temperature in your second bedroom at home now officially an F-Pace thing. Jaguar says it will add Alexa integration to every F-Pace globally that's fitted with Pivi Pro Infotaiment via an over-the-air update. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are now also standard.   Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.