The 2020 Jaguar XE is a lightweight sports sedan that won’t provide much of a white-knuckle ride, but it will certainly stay in the pack with other luxury cars like the Audi S4 and Lexus IS. The Jaguar XE has been slightly refreshed for 2020. The LED lights have been slimmed down and there are some other minor changes to the exterior. The 2020 XE has abandoned a V6 powertrain and competes solely in the turbo four-cylinder category from now on. There are two model trims available. There’s the XE S and the XE R-Dynamic S.
There are certain expectations for a Jaguar sports sedan. It should have excellent steering and an upscale interior. The 2020 XE doesn’t disappoint in those areas, but it isn’t trying to change lanes either. The XE sports sedan has enhanced driving dynamics and premium leather seating. The XE also has a fuel-efficient powertrain, 20-inch wheels, and advanced safety features like automatic emergency braking.
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2020 Jaguar XE Exterior Style
If you closed your eyes and imagined a luxury sports sedan, you’d probably create a 2020 Jaguar XE. Jaguar isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here, just provide a sophisticated update to the familiar proportions that everyone already knows and loves.
The Jaguar XE might get confused with a 3 Series sedan at first glance, especially from the profile. It’s almost a carbon copy. The front fascia has updated LED lights and the signature Jag emblem in the center of a mesh style grille. The hood has attractive contours. The rear of the XE has dual chrome-tipped exhaust, but overall, lacks any style all its own.
The R-Dynamic model makes minor changes to the front fascia and adds signature 18-inch wheels with ground effects to the profile. If you’re looking for a more individual style, then take a closer look at the black exterior pack. It’s quite subtle, but effective. This premium package basically takes out some of the exterior chrome trim and replaces it with all black inserts. Add 20-inch chrome wheels and you’ve successfully elevated the tame exterior to something that rivals aftermarket custom jobs.
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Sophisticated Interior
This sports sedan favors the two passengers in the front seats when it comes to space management and aesthetics. Even though rear seat occupants might struggle to get inside the XE, they’ll find that the rear seats offer 35 inches of legroom. That’s comparable to the Mercedes-Benz C Class sedan.
The rear seats fold down. That’s useful when you consider that there is only 14.5 cubic feet of cargo space in the trunk. The R-Dynamic XE gets satin chrome paddle shifters, sport leather seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. However, it’s not a dramatic upgrade for the interior.
There are four standard color palettes of leather seating inside the XE. There’s black, beige, oyster and red. All these leather colors come in two different degrees of quality. For an additional $650, you can upgrade to Windsor leather seating. There are seven different types of accent trims. There are traditional wood grain trims, but there are options for carbon fiber and aluminum trim.
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2020 Jaguar XE Performance
This compact sport sedan has a 2.0 Liter turbo four-cylinder engine propelling the rear wheels. It’s well-tuned and pushes well when applying its power. The 2020 Jaguar XE can accelerate from zero to 60 MPH in 6.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 120 MPH. It produces 247 horsepower and 269 pound feet of torque.
The R-Dynamic model Jag switches to all-wheel drive and turns up the performance specs. It’s the same engine but it’s tuned to produce 296 horsepower and 295 lb. ft. of torque. That added boost translates to a zero to 60 time of 5.4 seconds. The R-Dynamic XE also gets 350mm front brakes for more stopping power.
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Transmission
There’s an 8-speed automatic transmission handling the shifts in the Jag. If you’ve seen the 2019 model of the XE, then you’ll notice that the rotary shift knob has been deleted from the 2020 Jaguar XE center console. The new shifter is a traditional stick shifter with paddle shifters on the steering column.
The transmission itself performs extremely well on its own, but you can toggle through several different driving modes. There are modes for comfort, eco, rain, snow, and ice. The dynamic and sport modes affect the driving experience the most by drastically adjusting the gear timing and steering response.
Ride quality and handling are highlights for the 2020 XE. The torque vectoring braking system propels the XE through turns and corners. The system constantly monitors and adjusts the steering and torque. It automatically pushes additional torque to the outside wheels and more braking power to the inside wheels.
Fuel Economy
Fuel economy is a high selling point for this vehicle. The 2020 Jaguar XE has a copious amount of lightweight aluminum built into the frame, suspension and chassis. This reduces the vehicles curb weight and that translates to fewer visits to the fueling station.
Base model XE Jaguars get 25 MPG riding around the city and 34 MPG on the highway. The R-Dynamic models get 22 MPG in the city and 30 MPG on the highway. So, even the high-performance models still get decent gas mileage.
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2020 Jaguar XE Technology
The main tech interface for the 2020 XE from Jaguar comes in the form of a 10.3-inch touchscreen display. Thankfully, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard. The interface works well to put audio, navigation and internet features within reach. There’s also a lower 5-inch touchscreen beneath the main screen that handles the climate controls.
Behind the steering wheel, there’s a 12-inch digital instrument cluster. Even the rearview mirror can be switched to a screen display using the rear-facing camera. That’s a lot of screens in one vehicle.
It’s not all visual eye candy in the XE sedan. The base model XE comes with a 6 speaker, 125-Watt sound system. However, you can upgrade the audio quality to an 825-Watt system with 16 speakers, subwoofer and superior audio technology.
There’s plenty of standard safety technology on deck with the 2020 XE. This Jag has automatic emergency braking, parking sensors and lane departure warnings. You can also add blind spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control.
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At the Finish Line
Additional features favor the interior of the XE. Like most luxury sedans, you can’t assume the quality level based on what you see from the vehicle’s exterior. Behind those tinted windows there might be carbon fiber inlays, premium leather, 16 speakers and tons of infotainment technology. The price can climb to $55,000 easily if you choose this route.
The 2020 Jaguar XE comes with a fantastic warranty. Jaguar offers 60,000 miles and/or 5 years of coverage. With the 2020 XE, Jaguar focuses on brand longevity. The Jaguar doesn’t attempt to win the race against the BMW 3 Series or the C Class from Mercedes-Benz. Jaguar is content to be in the same race and mimics many of their features on the XE.