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Hey wait, not everyone hates the diesel engine in our 2017 Jaguar XE

My friend Joel doesn't seem to care for the turbocharged 2.0-liter diesel engine in our long-term 2017 Jaguar XE 20d. That's fine. He's entitled to his opinion. But he does not speak for the entire Autoblog staff. I, for one, am a big fan of this oil burner. I said so months ago after I returned from a 2,000-mile road trip. The intervening months have done nothing to sway my opinion. It's smooth, efficient, and all the engine you need in a non-performance application. It may not have the raw power or full range torque of the XE's gasoline engines, but it's a fine fit in this car. Not everyone who buys a sports sedan like the XE or BMW 3 Series does so because they want a sharp canyon carver. Some just want a handsome car that will get them from point A to B in relative comfort. The Jaguar XE diesel does just that, and it does so while achieving some pretty astounding fuel economy numbers. We met the 30 mpg city rating and eclipsed the 40 mpg highway rating with ease. It's not like the XE diesel is slow. Sure, a 0-60 mph time of 7.5 seconds isn't blistering, but it's far from what anyone should consider slow or lethargic. That time is right on par with the BMW 328d. Sure, it runs out of breath at peak revs, but so does every other diesel. If you care about wringing it out, buy a gas version. By Joel's own admission, the engine's 180 horsepower and 318 pound-feet of torque are available when needed for highway passing or city driving. That's all most people really need. So what if it falls on its face at high revs. I will concede that this isn't the most refined diesel on the market. At idle, it shimmies like an unbalanced washing machine. Jaguar has tuned a lot of that out, but it isn't nearly as calm as the competition (though it's miles better than diesels of old). It revs quickly for a diesel, but the exhaust note is one to forget. The engine sounds like a muffled foghorn mixed with a jar of nails. Not good. Once you get moving, it settles down. Highway cruising is a breeze. You forget you have a compression ignition engine under the hood. Even around town, turn the radio on and you'll be fine. Joel is right about the ride and handling totally outclassing the diesel engine. The car is comfortable on highways and city streets but sharpens up on a curvy backroad. The steering and suspension communicate to the driver what the car is doing at all times. The brakes inspire confidence with a firm pedal and sharp bite.

Jaguar Land Rover says half its models will be hybrids or all-electric by 2020

Neither Jaguar nor Land Rover has ever been mistaken for big-time green-car brands, but their parent company is trying to change that. Jaguar Land Rover looks to have as many as half of its models be of the hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or battery-electric variety by 2020, CEO Ralf Speth said at the Los Angeles Auto Show last week. Speth made the announcement while showing off the I-Pace concept compact crossover. The green-car expansion would mark a natural extension of Jaguar Land Rover's decision last year to double the headcount in its advanced-engineering department. As for the five-seat I-Pace, that model will be Jaguar Land Rover's first production electric vehicle when it starts sales in 2018. The car will have a 90-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that will deliver a single-charge range of about 220 miles. Boasting more than 400 horsepower, the car will also be able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about four seconds. What's also notable is that Jaguar says the model has been designed to be an electric vehicle from the ground up, and hasn't been converted from the platform of an existing model. Of course, Jaguar late last year said it would enter a team in the FIA Formula E electric-vehicle open-wheel racing circuit, so the British badge has made recent noise about upping its green-car quotient. As for the I-Pace, the automaker hasn't revealed pricing on the model, but it's safe to say that it will be quite high. Check out a three-minute video of Speth's presentation here. Related Video:

2018 Jaguar E-Pace launches with a barrel roll

After months of testing – some of which we caught in spy photos – and a little teasing, Jaguar has officially entered the compact crossover space with the launch of the 2018 E-Pace. And it was a fairly grand entry, too. Instead of the usual move of driving the car onto the stage or pulling off the sheet, Jaguar did a barrel roll in the E-Pace to hail its coming. Yes, Jaguar did a 270-degree corkscrew jump with the E-Pace, launching it 50 feet through the air to earn it a Guinness World Record for the "Furthest Barrel Roll in a Production Vehicle." It's similar to the stunt the automaker pulled for the launch of the F-Pace, which entered the world with a record-setting loop. The Jaguar E-Pace is smaller than the F-Pace, and seats five. It's available with a pair of 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four gasoline engines mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. The base motor makes 246 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque, and puts that power to the ground via a standard all-wheel-drive system. The R-Dynamic version ups the output figures to 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet, comes with a pair of paddle shifters, and gets the Active Driveline AWD system. Both drivelines can transfer almost all the torque to either the front or rear axles, depending on the driving situation, but the Advanced Driveline can disengage AWD, sending power to just the front axle to save fuel, and does more to keep the car stable in dynamic driving. The E-Pace also offers an optional Configurable Dynamics package that allows the driver to select Normal or Dynamic modes, which affect throttle, transmission, and steering response. The optional Adaptive Dynamics system provides variable suspension damping based on the driving mode. Drivers can select driving modes through the E-Pace's JaguarDrive control, choosing from Normal, Dynamic, Eco, as well as a Rain, Ice and Snow mode for low-grip conditions. Inside the car, the E-Pace is equipped with a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system that has a customizable home screen. Two premium Meridian audio systems and a head-up display are available. All models have a feature that allows the owner to check on the vehicle remotely. The E-Pace also offers 4G Wi-Fi, and a connected navigation system that offers real time traffic and parking information. The E-Pace starts at $39,595. The R-Dynamic version begins at $48,245. Jaguar will also offer a limited E-Pace First Edition at a price of $54,545.