Photo: screenshot from Youtube
For the latest video of Head 2 Head, Jonny Lieberman travelled to Spain to find out if the new Jaguar XE is truly better than the reigning king of the compact sport sedan segment, the BMW 3 Series. In this regard, he got both of the cars, in their top spec guises and went out on the road to see how they feel.
Testing the BMW 3 Series against a newcomer is not a new thing. The car has been doing this for six generations and over the course of 40 years, it managed to fend off every single one of them. Therefore, we were expecting the same to happen here. Maybe it would’ve if this were a fair comparison backed by facts and not just subjective reporting.
The thing is, there are a couple of clues in this video and the way it was shot that make us question the reporting Lieberman is doing. First of all, he’s comparing the top spec models but he got them wrong. How come? Well, the 335i is no longer the top of the range model.
What we found rather peculiar was that the journalist didn’t even mention the facelift that is coming out this year. He should’ve known that the 340i will be taking over and that it’s coming with plenty of improvements to prove its worth to everyone. Instead, no word about it was mentioned and all the attention was on the 335i.
On the other hand, the XE S uses a supercharged engine that makes 340 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque. The proper rival for this one, even from the pre-facelift F30 3 Series range, would’ve been the M Performance model that would deliver 320 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque along with some improvements done to the suspension and brakes. To be fair, Jonny does say that the BMW he was driving wasn’t fitted with adaptive dampers but the stock ones but that is nowhere near what he should’ve pointed out.
So, what we have here looks like a test done by Jaguar of one of their top-spec models (that has every possible option on it) against a rental 335i that is riding on the standard suspension and all that. If he wanted to be fair, the complete specs and prices of the two would’ve been revealed as well as an instrumented test, to see exactly what the differences are. Maybe the Jag did feel better for him but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is.
Either way, what the Brit doesn’t have is a long-standing tradition behind it. To put it differently, the 3 Series withstood the test of time, with its six generations. It managed to show the world what can be done and how a sports sedan should look and feel like. Can the Jaguar do the same? We’ll find out in 15 or 20 years. Until then, it could be the better car but we need a proper test to find that out.
The thing is, there are a couple of clues in this video and the way it was shot that make us question the reporting Lieberman is doing. First of all, he’s comparing the top spec models but he got them wrong. How come? Well, the 335i is no longer the top of the range model.
What we found rather peculiar was that the journalist didn’t even mention the facelift that is coming out this year. He should’ve known that the 340i will be taking over and that it’s coming with plenty of improvements to prove its worth to everyone. Instead, no word about it was mentioned and all the attention was on the 335i.
On the other hand, the XE S uses a supercharged engine that makes 340 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque. The proper rival for this one, even from the pre-facelift F30 3 Series range, would’ve been the M Performance model that would deliver 320 HP and 450 Nm (332 lb-ft) of torque along with some improvements done to the suspension and brakes. To be fair, Jonny does say that the BMW he was driving wasn’t fitted with adaptive dampers but the stock ones but that is nowhere near what he should’ve pointed out.
So, what we have here looks like a test done by Jaguar of one of their top-spec models (that has every possible option on it) against a rental 335i that is riding on the standard suspension and all that. If he wanted to be fair, the complete specs and prices of the two would’ve been revealed as well as an instrumented test, to see exactly what the differences are. Maybe the Jag did feel better for him but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is.
Either way, what the Brit doesn’t have is a long-standing tradition behind it. To put it differently, the 3 Series withstood the test of time, with its six generations. It managed to show the world what can be done and how a sports sedan should look and feel like. Can the Jaguar do the same? We’ll find out in 15 or 20 years. Until then, it could be the better car but we need a proper test to find that out.
Google News