If you ever wanted to be different, and to make heads turn while on the road, has an extra RM100k to spend, no worry about the exorbitant repair cost and lousy resale value, go get yourself the Jaguar XE. The classic UK brand, which is now Tata-owned, could have set the target audience for the XE completely wrong. The Jaguar XE is suppose to compete in segment where Mercedes C-class, BMW 3-series and Audi A4 has dig itself a big hole to jump in, effectively burying it. Selling at a starting price of RM321k, smart consumer will not want to buy it, and it is only for the those who would want to show off their British love and flirthy rich.
What are you getting for such a small luxury sedan for over RM300k? You get to enjoy the infamous Jaguar's aluminium architecture, which almost provide the car a 50:50 weight distribution. Don't ask how to enjoy the lightweight metal and don't ever get into an accident, as repairing the body panel could be difficult. Other bells and whistles are common among other luxury marques. Jaguar also boost its All Surface Progress Control cruise control that adjust itself in any road condition. However, I don't think it is of much use as one would want to have full driver control during harsh weather instead.
When the interiors of the Beemer, Merc and Audi bore you, the XE could be a further let down. The touch gear selection control could amaze some, but not all. Aside from this, there is nothing much to brag about.
The size of the XE is small, and wheel arch intrusion to the trunk is sizeable as well, leaving a small boot capacity. The powered boot lid is a nice feature, which also means additional repair cost when it fails during ownership of the car. The rear seat of the XE is cramp, thus making those who has family to ferry around an inconvenient. Choosing a German made brand could be a wiser choice.
With a wild cat badge, one would expect the car to perform like one. 7.7 seconds to the century sprint with a 2-litre turbocharged engine, capable to producing 200PS/280Nm of power. Not enough? Pay additional RM25k for the R-Sport version, which provide additional 40PS/60Nm of power. Want a rocket? The S version will come with a 3-litre V6, providing 340PS/450Nm for the little cat. However, this will need a debit of RM547k from your bank account. So looking at the numbers, especially the dollar and sense, there are plenty of better car out there.
