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2020 Jaguar XE First Drive Review | The outlier's unusual charms

ST. TROPEZ, France — It's tough out there for compact sports sedans, even top contenders like the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Jaguar resorted to a big-winged, bestial XE Project 8 that toppled a Nurburbring record to try and gain some attention, but the regular 2020 Jaguar XE will have to attain relevance on its unwinged charms against stiff German competition. We piloted the updated underdog through jagged hills above coastal France to see how its improvements stack up. For 2020, the XE receives a few subtle but effective styling tweaks — a resculpted front bumper, a wider and more purposeful grille, and a rear bumper with slimmer LED tail lamps that make the backend appear wider and more aggressive. Aerodynamic efficiency is slightly improved or equal to the previous model, depending on equipment. But the cabin receives more critical updates, specifically a much-needed upgrading of interior materials and trim. While higher-quality materials lend the XE a distinctly more luxurious feel, also welcome is a 12.3-inch driver display screen, Jag's familiar InControl Touch Pro Duo infotainment system (optional), and modern features like a wireless phone charging pad and a new steering wheel with updated illuminated controls. Small touches like wider, softer armrests, posher seat coverings, and more spacious door pockets also elevate the passenger experience — although the rear seats are tight at the knees and head for my 5'11" frame. Speed freaks and diesel fanatics will be disappointed to learn that the XE's engine options have, in Jaguar's words, been "rationalized" for 2020, dropping the 380-horsepower supercharged V6 and 180 hp four-cylinder turbodiesel. The only available engines for 2020 are both carryover units: the turbocharged 247 hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder (dubbed the S / P250), and the R-Dynamic S / P300, which is essentially the same mill with a bigger turbo producing 296 hp. Expect 0-60 mph times of 6.2 and 5.4 seconds, respectively. All-wheel drive is optional in the P250 model ($39,900 or $41,900 with AWD), and mandatory with the P300 ($46,295). Click the gear selector into Drive, and the cabin feels quiet and well insulated as the XE accelerates. There's a noticeable, but not enormous difference between the P250 and P300's acceleration.

Jaguar Land Rover to cut thousands of UK jobs

LONDON — Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to cut thousands of jobs as the company faces lower demand in China and a slump in sales of diesel cars in Europe. The central English firm builds a higher proportion of its cars in Britain than any other major or medium-sized carmaker and has also spent millions of pounds preparing for Brexit, in case there are tariffs or customs checks. Britain's business minister Greg Clark said on Thursday it is clear why a no-deal Brexit would add to the problems with further costs and disruption. JLR lost 354 million pounds ($450 million) between April and September 2018 and had already cut around 1,000 roles in Britain, shut its Solihull plant for two weeks and announced a three-day week at its Castle Bromwich site. Its Chief Executive Ralf Speth warned in September that the wrong Brexit deal could cost tens of thousands of car jobs and posed a threat to production at the automaker. The Tata Motors-owned company, which employs around 40,000 people in Britain and has boosted its workforce at new plants in China and Slovakia in recent years, unveiled plans to cut costs and improve cash flows by 2.5 billion pounds last year including "reducing employment costs and employment levels." Those cuts will be "substantial" and run into the thousands, the source told Reuters. "The announcement on job losses will be substantial, affecting managerial, research, sales, design," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, not affecting production-line staff "at this stage." The company declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Thursday. Ford also said on Thursday it will cut thousands of jobs in Europe, exit unprofitable markets and discontinue loss-making vehicle lines as part of a turnaround effort aimed at improving profit margins in the region. Brexit warnings JLR, which became Britain's biggest carmaker in 2016, had been on course to build around 1 million vehicles by the turn of the decade, reported on Thursday a 4.6 percent drop in full-year sales to just under 600,000 vehicles. Demand in China, which had once been one of its strongest countries but has since been hit by a slowdown, fell by 21.6 percent, the biggest drop of any of its markets. "The economic slowdown in China along with ongoing trade tensions is continuing to influence consumer confidence," said Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer Felix Brautigam.

Jaguar F-Pace will debut in Frankfurt

Jaguar makes sports cars and it makes luxury sedans, but it is set to expand into new territory altogether at the Frankfurt Motor Show this coming September. That's where and when it will reveal the F-Pace, Jaguar's very first crossover, and the production version of the C-X17 concept pictured here. Developed with critical input from sister-company Land Rover, the Jaguar F-Pace is being billed as a "sports crossover," with a more on-road focus than the SUVs of its off-road counterpart. Expect a range of engines to draw principally off of the new Ingenium family of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel powerplants, capped by Jag's signature supercharged V6 – just like the new XE sedan with which it will share much of its underpinnings. We can always hope, though, for an even more potent SVR version to follow with the JLR's sensational 5.0-liter supercharged V8. The Frankfurt reveal will mark two years since the C-X17 concept was first presented at the same show in 2013. Its arrival, coupled to that of the aforementioned XE, promise to push Jaguar's global output up from around 80,000 units last year to more than 200,000 once both models hit their stride.