Jaguar’s baby XE to sip less than 4.0L/100km

JAGUAR is promising frugal diesel fuel economy of less than 4.0 litres per 100km from its all-new Jaguar XE sedan, that it says will make extensive use of recycled aluminium in its lightweight construction.

In the latest drip-feed reveal of technologies behind the new competitor for BMW’s 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class, the British luxury car manufacturer says the XE’s new modular architecture will have a mix of high-strength steel and aluminium, bonded and riveted together in a first for its class.

Revealed in a new head-on photograph released this week ahead of its full reveal next month, the XE employs a newly developed recycled aluminium alloy – dubbed RC5754 – in 75 per cent of the body to “dramatically” reduce energy consumption while delivering world-class driving dynamics.

As GoAuto has already reported, the XE will also use Jaguar’s new Ingenium engine family, which includes a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel.

In its latest media release, Jaguar says the diesel engine will deliver XE fuel consumption of less than 4.0L/100km on the European combined test cycle, which should put it ahead of rivals such as BMW’s 320d (4.5L/100km) and Audi’s A4 2.0 TDI (4.8).

Mercedes-Benz’s new C-Class promises to beat the 4.0L/100km mark with its C300 Bluetec Hybrid – expected to be about 3.9L/100km – but the official fuel consumption figure for its most frugal diesel model, the 1.6-litre C200 BlueTec, is yet to be revealed.

Apart from sub-4.0L/100km consumption, Jaguar is also saying the diesel XE’s carbon-dioxide emissions will slip below 100 grams per kilometre. Toyota’s benchmark petrol-electric hybrid Prius is rated at 89g/km.

Jaguar promises that despite the lightweight construction methods, the body will be highly rigid for benchmark levels of ride and handling of a “true driver’s car”.

Its media release stopped short of saying how much the new XE weighs, saying only: “This gives us a body structure with unrivalled low weight: it’s light but also immensely strong with extremely high levels of torsional stiffness.

“We’ve made sure our aluminium-intensive body structure exceeds all global safety standards without compromising on vehicle design or refinement.”

Jaguar says its use of the new aluminium alloy is a world first, making “a significant contribution to Jaguar’s goal of using 75 per cent recycled material by 2020”.

Jaguar has employed a flock of British celebrities, including fashion design Stella McCartney and actor Jude Law, to help its new model that will be revealed in London on September 8.

The launch will include an audio-visual spectacle on London’s River Thames.

The XE is due to go on sale in Australia next year, becoming the brand’s entry level sedan below the mid-sized XF and flagship XJ.