New 2019 Jaguar XE: Improved In All The Right Ways

Jaguar fans rejoice as the XE gets a phenomenal and much-appreciated facelift

New and improved interior

One of the criticisms of the pre-2019 XE was that it’s just too plain. The body was perceived by some as rather indistinct and the same goes for the lacking interior. Well, Jaguar have done their very best to change those opinions, even somewhat owning up to not putting enough into the interior last time around.

“If we’re being honest we focused too much on making the previous XE fantastic to drive and that had a detrimental effect on the interior. This time around we’ve still got a wonderful handling car but we’ve been able to spend time on making the interior right.” – Alister Whelan, creative director, Jaguar Interiors.

The new interior includes features found in other, more luxurious models. For instance, the new Touch Pro Duo infotainment system and 12.3-inch interactive gauge cluster are shared with the all-electric I-PACE SUV. They make the inside of the car look and feel incredibly modern and advanced.

On top of that, the steering wheel is from the I-Pace as well and is much less cluttered with buttons. Instead of 20 different individual buttons, the wheel uses hidden-until-lit buttons which are flush with the wheel.

Also found in the new XE is the SportShift gear selector and JaguarDrive control which can also be seen in Jaguar’s luxury sports car, the F-Type.

Furthermore, Jaguar have also updated the trim with carbon fibre, wood and some very neat “Est. 1935, Coventry” tags on the seats. It’s the little things, right?

What’s new on the outside?

The front lights are now 100% LED and are 12mm skinnier than before. On the front, the air intakes are larger and rearrange and the grille is slightly rounder.

As for the rear, the bumper is slightly lower, the lights are less round and more square and most importantly, the indicators now have the “scrolling” effect which is found on many other modern indicators.

Paven Patel (design manager of Jaguar Exteriors) had this to say:

“This facelift is all about giving the XE more a purposeful look,”

“We tried to make the car look lower and wider and to give it more of a swept-back appearance – and the headlights are key to that.”

Amazing standard spec

There are 3 trim levels: S, SE and HSE. Even when choosing the S spec, the car will include an automatic transmission, 18-inch wheels, electric leather seats, all-LED headlights and tail-lights with updated signature graphics, front and rear park aid, rear camera and lane keep assist. That’s not bad at all and when prices start at £33,915 the Jaguar XE should hopefully be capable of reviving the rather sluggish sales figures.

Additional option packs are available as well which offer a wide variety of amazing tech, cool customisation options and practical features.

Convenience Pack: Gesture Bootlid, Keyless Entry, Electric Steering Column Adjustment, Additional Power Sockets.

Technology Pack: Head-Up Display, Solar Windscreen, Touch Pro Duo, Interactive Driver Display, Wireless Charging, ClearSight Interior Rear View Mirror.

Cold Climate Pack: Heated Windscreen, Heated Steering Wheel, Headlight Washers.

Dynamic Handling Pack: Configurable Dynamics, Adaptive Dynamics, Performance Brakes, Coloured Brake Calipers, Bootlid Spoiler.

Premium Interior Upgrade Pack: Illuminated Treadplates, Bright Pedals, Configurable Ambient Lighting.

The XE is now an even better luxury saloon then it was before and Jaguar have made all the right moves in improving and refining this car to become an incredible offering for anyone in the market for a 3 Series competitor.

Let us know what you think of the new facelift in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe to keep up to date with all the latest motoring news!