PARIS, FRANCE –

1) Jaguar has put in a lot of effort into it, and it expects to take a significant share of a growing pie

Jaguar invested some 1.5 billion Pounds to upgrade its Solihull facility in England in order to produce the XE, increasing its production space by 160,000 square metres, and adding some 1,700 jobs in the process. According to Jaguar, the compact premium sector is expected to grow to 1.55 million cars sold globally by 2015, compared to around 979,000 cars in 2005. And by 2020, Jaguar says that the figure will go up to 1.72 million cars. No surprise then that it wants a piece of the action.

2) It has a new all-aluminium platform architecture

The Jaguar XE features an all-new Advanced Aluminium Architecture platform, and the material also features extensively in its body construction. The result is that the XE will arguably be the lightest car in its segment, which can only bode well for its driving dynamics. In addition, the new platform is of the modular variety, and Jaguar confirmed that it will form the basis for future Jaguar models from henceforth. You’re basically looking at the future of Jaguar right here.

3) It will be great to drive

Jaguars have always been known to offer the right balance of sporty driving and refined comfort, and the XE will be no different. Like the body and chassis, the suspension system makes extensive use of aluminium to reduce unsprung weight. And for the first time, the XE features an electric steering system instead of a hydraulic one, and Jaguar promises that it will be as engaging to drive as Jaguars of years past.

4) It can drive on snow despite being rear-wheel-drive

Okay, so this isn’t all that relevant for our market, but it gives Jaguar an edge in temperate markets such as Europe and the USA. The XE features what Jaguar calls All Surface Progress Control (ASPC), which functions basically like a low-speed cruise control, and can help the car pull away in any surface and road condition, such as snow or wet grass. The system works between 3 and 30km/h, and is only available for cars equipped with automatic transmissions.

5) You can use your phone in it

Not while driving of course, but you can basically sync up your smartphone to the car’s infotainment system and have the apps load up onto the system, offering services such as navigation, online satellite radio, and parking location services. Dubbed InControl, the system is compatible with both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Jaguar are not the first with this system of course (Honda beat it to the punch with their HondaLink system, released earlier this year), and they will certainly not be the last, with many other manufacturers set to follow suit with such smartphone compatibility infotainment systems in the coming months.

6) You can lock and unlock it using your phone

InControl also incorporates an app which you can download onto your phone, and from which you can lock and unlock your car remotely through it. The app also lets you check the fuel status of the car, and pre-setting the car’s climate control before driving off. It’s not just for convenience too; InControl also functions as a remote immobiliser, able to track your car and remotely shut it down if it is stolen. In addition, it can automatically make an SOS call on your behalf in the event of an emergency.

7) There is a wide variety of new engines

The XE will be offered with five engines at launch, consisting of two diesels and three petrols. Four of the engines are all new, being produced at Jaguar’s newly-opened Ingenium engine plant in Coventry, England. The diesels are 2.0-litre in capacity, producing either 163bhp or 180bhp, while the two Ingenium petrol units are 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pots, churning out 200bhp or 240bhp. The top-of-the-line unit though is Jaguar’s familiar supercharged 3.0-litre V6, which will power the XE-S model, and put out a hefty 340bhp. Local line-ups haven’t been finalised by Jaguar distributor Wearnes Automotive, but expect at least the petrol models to make it here when the XE arrives at the end of 2015.

8) It will be a competitively-priced Jag

In the UK, the XE’s prices will start at 27,000 Pounds, which puts it broadly on par with an entry-level BMW 320i and Audi A4 1.8, and undercutting the recently-released Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Of course, local prices are yet to be finalised, but Jaguar will be confident of having a competitively-priced offering to take on not just its traditional German rivals, but also Japanese upstarts such as the Lexus IS and Infiniti Q50.

READ MORE: Jaguar XE revealed: Is it a BMW 3 Series killer?