Jaguar Ireland has launched the eagerly anticipated XE saloon just ahead of the '152' registration period, announcing that prices will start at a keen €37,995.
The headline entry-level price is for the XE in SE specification, powered by the company's new 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium turbodiesel engine in 163hp guise, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. Peak torque is 380Nm and the CO2 emissions rating is just 99g/km for an annual tax bill of €180. To upgrade to the automatic transmission it costs €2,415 extra, though emissions are still kept to 106g/km for €190 a year road tax.
SE cars come as standard with electric windows all-round, climate control, Jaguar's new eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Bluetooth, keyless entry and ignition, 17-inch alloy wheels, cruise control with speed limiter, a leather steering wheel and plenty of active and passive safety equipment, including Lane Departure Warning, Autonomous Emergency Braking with Forward Facing Camera and Pedestrian Contact Sensing - Deployable Bonnet. It's expected that the best-selling version will come from the Prestige range, which starts at €40,635. This model adds leather upholstery and a host of other detail interior improvements to the SE equipment count and is available with all the same engines.
Next up is the sportier looking XE R-Sport, priced from €41,750. This gains a body kit including boot spoiler, sports seats with unique upholstery and other detail changes inside and out to give the XE a distinct appearance. Above that is the luxury alternative, the XE Portfolio, which costs from €43,630 and adds bi-Xenon headlights with LED daytime running lamps, upgraded upholstery, electrically adjusted seats and more.
The V6 S model comes in its own unique specification and costs from €75,000.
Anything else?
The 2.0-litre diesel engine is available in 163- and 180hp guises in all trim levels. The latter emits 109g/km with a manual gearbox or 111g/km when paired with the automatic. Petrol options, unlikely to be popular in Ireland, are 200- and 240hp variants of a four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo unit (the higher power only offered in conjunction with the R-Sport specification) and the range-topping XE 3.0 V6 S, which has 340hp and 450Nm of torque at its disposal.
Jaguar Ireland is targeting 300 sales of the new XE for the remainder of 2015, which is about 10 per cent of the segment that includes established nameplates such as the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.