Just 24 hours before the Jaguar XE makes its public debut at the Paris Motor Show we've been to see the car and talk to its development team, receiving detailed technical specifications and a clue as to how the new BMW 3 Series rival range will look when it goes on sale in Ireland in March 2015. Prices are likely to start at or just under the €40,000 mark and the entry-level diesel version emits just 99g/km.
Mechanicals
The only engines that'll really matter to the Irish market are the two new 2.0-litre turbodiesel 'Ingenium' units, rated as 163- and 180hp. Torque outputs are 380- and 430Nm respectively, produced from 1,750- to 2,500rpm in both cases. A six-speed manual gearbox will be standard (the first in a Jaguar since 2009) and the tried and tested ZF eight-speed automatic transmission will be optional.
For the 163hp engine, emissions are 99g/km with the manual gearbox, or 104g/km with the automatic. Fuel economy on the combined cycle is 75mpg (3.8 litres/100km) - or 71.7mpg (3.9 litres/100km) for the auto. The 180hp engine doesn't fare much worse, with emissions of 109g/km with either transmission and economy of 67.3mpg (4.2 litres/100km).
Jaguar quotes 0-100km/h times as 7.4 seconds for the more powerful car, rising to 7.7 seconds on the 163hp version with an automatic gearbox - or 7.9 seconds using a manual transmission.
Anything else?
Browse through the image gallery and you'll see various trim levels referred to as Prestige, Portfolio, R Sport and of course the range-topping XE S with its 3.0-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine. Jaguar Ireland has yet to confirm a range structure.