2019 Jaguar XE vs 2020

What's the difference?

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.

Mercedes-Benz has the C-Class, BMW has the 3 Series, Audi has the A4 and Jaguar has the one people in Australia seem to forget – the XE.

Yep, the default setting we seem to have when it comes to buying a prestige car is as strong as buying the same brand of milk every week.

There’s a decent choice of milk, but it can sometimes seem that there are only three brands and we tend to zero in on the same one again and again. Same with prestige cars.

But all milk is the same, I hear you say. And I’m inclined to agree, and that’s the difference, cars vary greatly despite them having the same purpose.

The latest version of Jaguar XE has arrived in Australia and while it’s very similar in size and shape to its German rivals there are some big differences, and some compelling reasons to add it to your shopping list.

I promise, there are no more mentions of milk.