Whitley, West Midlands - The development engineers at Jaguar must be very proud indeed of their updated F-Pace, XF and XE models with new Ingenium four-cylinder engines, because they just couldn’t wait to put them in showrooms.
The 2018 models are already available to order in the UK, and a selection will be available in South Africa before mid-year, as will the 2018 F-Type.
The F-Pace - Jaguar’s first SUV and now its biggest selling model - is now available in Europe (but not for South Africa) with a new 120kW / 380Nm turbodiesel four, in a manual-gearbox, rear-wheel drive format that makes it the most fuel-efficient model in the range; Jaguar quotes 4.18 litres per 100km on the nominal NEDC rating.
The existing 132kW turbodiesel four is now available for the first time in rear-wheel drive with an automatic transmission.
Jaguar F-Pace
There’s also an all-new two-litre twin-turbo Ingenium diesel - badged as the 25d - that’s good for a claimed 177kW and 500Nm, driving all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission, which the Whitley whitecoats reckon will hit 100km/h off a standing start in 7.2 seconds at a nominal 5.8 litres per 100km .
But even that is overshadowed by the 183kW two-litre, twin-scroll turbo, variable-valve petrol four - the 25t - also motorvating all four via eight self-shifting ratios. Jaguar quotes 365Nm from just off idle at 1200rpm and 0-100 in 6.8 seconds, at a cost of 7.4 litres per 100km.
New safety kit includes forward traffic detection and forward parking assist, while F-pace Prestige and Portfolio customers now have the option of upgraded front seats with power-operated head restraint height adjustment and manually adjustable head restraint wings, as well as Jaguar’s dual-view centre screen that shows different displays to the driver and front passenger.
Jaguar XF
Jaguar’s midweight sports sedan introduces three new engines, including 147kW / 320Nm (20t) and 183kW (25t) Ingenium turbopetrol fours for the first time. The baseline 20t will not be released in South Africa, but the the 25t is available in the UK - and will come here - with an automatic transmission and a quoted 0-100km/h launch time of 6.6 seconds.
Along with the existing 120kW and 132kW models, the XF is also available in the UK with the new 176kW 24d twinturbo diesel; it comes with either rear or all-wheel drive architecture, and will hit 100 in a claimed 6.5 seconds - and it’ll be here by mid-year.
Configurable
Even on models without adaptive suspension, you now get to set up the steering, engine and gearbox responses through Factory, Normal or Dynamic modes, while the adaptive suspension option allows you to adjust the ride characteristics as well.
A new Touch Pro infotainment setup adds a stopwatch, g-meter readout and accelerator and braking graphics to the dual-view central touchscreen display, so you and your navigator can see just how hard you are pushing your XF.
New luxury front seats (optional on Portfolio models) offer 20 way power adjustment - including the head restraints - but forward traffic detection and park assist are standard, as is wiggle-your-foot hands free boot opening and closing, on models with keyless entry and rear park assist.
Jaguar XE
Jaguar’s 3 Series challenger is now also available in the UK (but not for SA) with the 20t turbopetrol, as a rear-wheel drive automatic, and the self-shifting 25t, with either rear or all-wheel drive. Interestingly, the all-wheel drive’s better traction makes in a tenth better (6.2 seconds) to 100km/h than the lighter RWD version.
The three-litre V6 XE S has also been upgraded (and will be from mid-year in South Africa), in line with the similarly-engined three-litre F-Type, from 250kW to 280kW. None of the new XE diesels are slated for realease in South Africa, however.
The XE also gets the configurable dynamics program for standard-suspension variants, as well as the track-day features on the optional Touch Pro infotainment set-up, the hands-free boot lid, and pedestrian detection capability for the autonomous emergency braking system.
New options include a 31cm virtual instrument cluster with four visual themes to choose from, including full-screen navigation display.
And now for something completely different…
Jaguar XE, XF and F-Pace drivers will soon be able to use the touchscreen of their car to pay for fuel at Shell service stations in the UK with a new in-car cashless payment system.
Once you’ve installed the Shell app, all you do is drive up to the pump, use your car’s touchscreen to select how much fuel you need and pay for it. Then you fill up, after which a receipt pops up on the touchscreen, and is also sent directly from the pump to your e-mail address so you can add it to your accounting software.