Ever since BMW lost its laser focus on driving-dynamics superiority when it launched its 2012 (F30) 3-series redesign, we’ve been searching for a suitably satisfying replacement as our favorite all-around, everyday car that best combines practicality with driving sophistication. Among newcomers, the Cadillac ATS impressed dynamically but was missing pretty much everything else, and the Lexus IS is compelling only in specific trim levels. With aluminum-intensive construction and an attractive price, could Jaguar’s new XE become The One?

Ripping around our favorite winding, two-lane roads, the XE certainly feels less isolated than the 3-series—a great start. Even though this particular car wore 18-inch all-season tires—R-Sport V-6 models are available with 20-inch performance rubber—lateral grip was a still impressive 0.88 g, which is more stick than the XE’s minimally bolstered seats can handle. However, despite more than ample grip, taut wheel and body control, and quick steering, linking corners in the XE doesn’t come as naturally as in our transcendent favorites. Frankly, and somewhat surprisingly, its bigger and heavier brother, the XF, possesses more of this corner-carving effortlessness. We also don’t like that the XE’s brake pedal has a bit of softness early in its stroke before the system starts to respond more linearly with additional pedal pressure. We’ve noticed this undesirable quality on a number of recent Jaguars, making us wonder if it’s a (misguided) part of Jaguar’s tuning philosophy.

View Photos MICHAEL SIMARI

Initially, we found the XE’s ride to be slightly too abrupt over expansion joints and other sharp impacts. When we hopped into the driver’s seat the next day, the recommended tire pressures—the value we set when testing cars—practically leaped off of the door-jamb placard: 43 psi front and 47 rear. Why so high? When we inquired, Jaguar officials claimed it was to be “robust” when the car is loaded to the XE’s maximum cargo and passenger capabilities. But we’re skeptical, since many competitors manage similar loads without such astronomical pressures, and we suspect that fuel-economy ratings were actually the driving factor here.

The owner’s manual also lists a “comfort setting” of 34 psi front and rear, which is for “up to three occupants and one luggage item.” Using that preferable lower setting, we found the XE has much more satisfying responses—the tires seem to bite the pavement better in response to steering-wheel inputs—and the lower inflation pressure also took the sharp edge off the ride. The steering effort is lighter than our ideal, though, even in the sportiest Dynamic mode, which has only a slight effect on weight. On the positive side, this setup does make the XE feel lighter on its tires than it is. And the XE can use the help, as its mass was one of the biggest surprises; despite aluminum-intensive construction, a curb weight of nearly two tons makes it the heaviest in its class.

The Diesel Delivers on Fuel Economy, Less So on Performance

The XE 20d is one of the few remaining diesel offerings in its class, starting at $37,395, a $1500 premium over the gasoline-fueled 2.0-liter turbo. Our test car scaled the options ladder nearly to the top at a breathtaking $56,345. That climb started with the addition of all-wheel drive ($2500) and skipped past the Premium and Prestige trims to the top, R-Sport model, a $10,100 addition that adds a host of comfort, convenience, and driver-assistance items along with a more aggressive look from a modified front bumper and the addition of side sills and a trunklid spoiler. On top of that, our car had the $2100 Comfort & Convenience package (heated and ventilated front seats and heated rears, a power trunklid, and rear window shade), the $2700 Technology package (including Jaguar’s latest InControl Touch Pro infotainment and navigation system running on a 10.2-inch touchscreen, a 17-speaker Meridian sound system, and Wi-Fi connectivity), the $1000 adaptive shocks, and $550 Glacier White Metallic paint.

View Photos MICHAEL SIMARI

The 2.0-liter Ingenium diesel’s headline number is its 318 lb-ft of torque, with 180 peak horsepower; that’s identical horsepower but 38 additional lb-ft versus its primary competitor, the BMW 328d. It fires quickly, even on a chilly morning; at idle it sends a slight vibratory tickle through the seat and steering wheel. Stop-start functionality is pretty slick, especially for a diesel. There’s just a slight shudder as the engine speed falls to zero and a quick and clean restart. Some compared it with stop-start systems on gas-engine competitors, which is high praise. However, if it restarts on its own before the driver’s foot comes off of the brake pedal, it’s far more jarring.

It’s a workhorse engine, with an even, steady pull through the rev range making a mostly agreeable grumble. The four-cylinder never raises its voice—our interior sound-level measurement with the throttle pegged was 73 decibels, three higher than when cruising at a steady 70 mph (compare that with a seven-decibel difference on a V-6–powered XE)—but it’s not invigorating, either, never goading the driver to spontaneously dance with it using the shift paddles. (That’s just as well, as the paddles are rendered in cheap-feeling plastic.) During maximum acceleration, it shifts roughly 300 rpm short of the 4800-rpm redline, and the results were less than impressive: zero to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds and 16.4 seconds at 85 mph through the quarter-mile. That’s more than a second slower to 60 mph than the last all-wheel-drive 328d sedan we tested (7.2 seconds). In the daily grind, the XE’s power feels adequate—particularly the swell of midrange torque—and the 20d feels responsive enough off the line when driving gently. But hammer it from rest, as in our rolling-start test, and you can count “one-one-thousand” before the Ingenium awakes. Indeed, the XE’s 5-to-60-mph time is 1.1 seconds slower than its zero-to-60 time and 1.5 seconds behind the BMW in this measure.

But a diesel’s primary mission is fuel economy, and there the XE delivers. Once up to highway cruising speed the engine chugs along, turning fewer than 2000 rpm at 80 mph. We found the trip computer’s fuel-economy claims to be optimistic by nearly 10 percent, but the XE did achieve an actual 42 mpg on our 75-mph highway-test loop, 2 mpg better than its highway label. (That was with the high-tire-pressure settings; we reran the test at the “comfort” pressures and got 41 mpg.) A recent gas-powered, rear-drive BMW 330i also achieved 41 mpg on our highway test, but a rear-drive XE diesel should do better still. Overall, including much hard charging, we averaged 33 mpg.

Given the 40-plus-mpg fuel economy, quiet highway cruising, and 600-plus-mile range, the XE 20d makes for a great long-haul companion. Just make sure to switch off the lane-keeping-assist system, whose steering interventions are abrupt to the point that they led to repeated passenger inquiry about the source of the undesired swerving.

View Photos MICHAEL SIMARI

Quite Compact—On the Inside

Although it looks compact, the XE actually has more length, width, and wheelbase than the 3-series. Surprisingly, however, the XE’s interior volume is closer to that of BMW’s 2-series coupe than the 3-series sedan with which it’s intended to compete. And whether you call the XE’s exterior tastefully restrained or just plain—it’s also derivative to the point of confusion with its big-brother XF—it’s never a good sign when not a single bystander notices a vehicle that’s about as new as they come. At best, it’s a missed opportunity. And, on an execution level, we were dismayed at the large gap between the rear fascia and the twin exhaust tips.

Although significantly larger than the Cadillac ATS’s minuscule back seat, the XE’s feels notably smaller than those in the 3-series and the Audi A4. The large plastic pieces on the lower rear corners of the front seatbacks don’t help, as they prevent shoes from sliding neatly under the front seat cushions. Front headroom, which already is on the snug side, is diminished 1.2 inches by the optional sunroof, making it the lowest amongst its peers. Our tall drivers found their heads brushing up against the headliner.

The front armrest built into the door is a double-decker design, but the upper rest is too high and the lower too stubby to be useful. Furthermore, it doesn’t make sense to us that the window switches, which tend to get used more often, are located on the harder-to-reach upper shelf, while the lower shelf houses the memory-seat controls. The armrests are thinly padded, too.

Given the lack of space inside, we’re especially bothered by signs of squandering, such as the large rectangular block of glossy black plastic surrounding the circular shift knob that serves precisely no function. In a similar area, the Audi A4 packages its large MMI knob, all of the ancillary shortcut buttons and switches, and eight preset buttons.

View Photos MICHAEL SIMARI

Infotainment and Electrical Annoyances

Electrical trouble with British cars is one of the most tired automotive tropes, and yet the first day we drove this XE its voice recognition was unresponsive—no matter what we said, the system’s response was “no speech detected,” making us suspect that the built-in microphone had somehow come unplugged. But, go figure, the voice-rec then came back the next day and continued to work fine thereafter. Once it returned, we were dumbfounded that the navigation function on Jaguar’s brand-new InControl Touch Pro cannot be controlled using voice commands, which is simply unheard of. It’s also annoying that there is no way to lock the map’s orientation with north up. There were other gripes: The four-way switches on the left steering-wheel spoke sometimes control the radio and sometimes the screen embedded in the gauge cluster. When navigating the latter screen, hit the left (back) button one too many times and—oops!—the radio station changes. Here’s another: The volume adjustment doesn’t speed up when holding down the buttons on the steering wheel; we measured an agonizing 16 seconds to slew the volume from level 30 down to 10 or vice versa.

We of course wholeheartedly agree with the idea of a more dynamic entry-luxury sedan, and we could even forgive the tight interior space if the XE were lighter and more involving. So, it’s a competitive new entry, and the diesel delivers where it matters—fuel economy—but we’d stop short of proclaiming Jag’s new XE as The One.

Specifications VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED: $56,345 (base price: $39,895)

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve diesel inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 122 cu in, 1999 cc

Power: 180 hp @ 4000 rpm

Torque: 318 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: 111.6 in

Length: 183.9 in

Width: 72.8 in Height: 56.1 in

Passenger volume: 92 cu ft

Cargo volume: 15 cu ft

Curb weight: 3943 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:

Zero to 60 mph: 8.4 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 24.3 sec

Zero to 120 mph: 43.4 sec

Rolling start, 5-60 mph: 9.5 sec

Top gear, 30-50 mph: 4.1 sec

Top gear, 50-70 mph: 6.3 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 16.4 sec @ 85 mph

Top speed (governor limited): 121 mph

Braking, 70-0 mph: 181 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.88 g

FUEL ECONOMY:

EPA combined/city/highway driving: 34/30/40 mpg

C/D observed: 33 mpg

C/D observed 75-mph highway driving: 42 mpg

C/D observed highway range: 620 mi

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