5. Its cockpit will feel genuinely different – and won’t feel German!
In addition to aluminium architecture, Jaguar believe the cockpit design will clearly differentiate the XE from its German rivals. A leather-wrapped dashboard, and details as characterful as the XJ’s bulbous chromed vents or the XF’s pulsing starter button, will make the interior feel special. ‘Think of the XJ cabin: it’s a warm, luxurious place to be,’ said our insider. ‘And it’s a selling point that we’re not German, we’re British: that works well in China, the USA and Britain, of course. We have character, and we’re going to trade on it.’
6. It’ll have Jag’s trademark beauty
The XE’s sister car, the C-X17 SUV concept, reveals much of the design theme. The F-type-inspired rear lamps, muscular bonnet and rectangular grille are design motifs common to both cars, while the swooping LED ‘tick’ in the headlamps have been squared off for the XE. Muscular, sporty proportions are a trademark of design chief Ian Callum, and the sports saloon has a cab-backward stance, with a long nose and short overhangs. His love of big wheels ensures 17-20 inch rims pack out the wheel-arches. And the overall form? ‘It’s a sleek, three-box saloon, not something pretending to be a coupé. It’s not an Audi A5 Sportback.’
The three-box shape gives Jaguar the freedom to add a four-door ‘coupé’ in due course, and a four-seat convertible. A five-door estate is also conceivable.
But which badge will sit on the rump? Jaguar have got global clearance for their chosen name, XE. The company has also trademarked XQ and Q-type, though neither is confirmed: we expected an ‘X’ badge in the XF mould rather than a ‘-type’ suffix, which could be too reminiscent of the underperforming X-type and S-type.
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