2019 BMW 3 Series vs Jaguar XE

What's the difference?

Over 44 years BMW has produced more than 15 million examples of the 3 Series. That's roughly one every minute and a half... for over four decades.

And the latest, seventh-generation version of what the famous German maker defines as the "heart and soul" of its brand has landed in Australia.

The new '3' is longer and wider. It's also claimed to be slicker aerodynamically, up to 55 kilos lighter, more fuel efficient, and faster.

And it'll need every advantage it can muster to take a chunk out of its arch rival, the all-conquering Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Jaguar’s XE is the leaping cat’s answer to a well-established trio of compact luxury sedans from the German ‘Big Three’ – Audi’s A4, the BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class.

Throw in the recently arrived Alfa Giulia and feature-packed Lexus IS and you’ve got yourself a six-way cage fight for supremacy in this relatively small but highly profitable part of the new car market.

All offer performance variants ranging from mild to utterly wild, and at around $80k the new XE 300 Sport hovers in the middle of that speed and equipment spectrum.

We spent a week behind the wheel to determine whether its racy aesthetics are matched by its dynamic abilities.