The new Jaguar XE arrives in Singapore in 2015. It’s poised to tackle the 3 Series and C-Class head-on…

MEET THE NEW baby Jaguar. The Jaguar XE is a car that arrives in Singapore early next year to do battle with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series.

The car was launched in London last night at a star-studded event involving a helicopter, a high-speed landing craft that sailed it down the Thames, and two vintage Jaguar police cars.

Why so much effort for the XE? Because even though it is Jaguar’s smallest model, the XE needs to be its biggest in terms of sales. Jaguar-Land Rover wants to sell 100,000 of them a year at least.

For perspective on how important the XE is, Jaguar sold fewer than 80,000 cars worldwide in 2013.

The sales numbers will be aided by pricing, of course. Jaguar’s marketing director Phil Popham call the XE an “attainable” Jaguar, since it sells for around GBP27,000 (S$55,000)in the UK.

This is pure speculation on our part, but the XE will probably be priced at less than $200,000 in Singapore at today’s COE premiums, for an entry-level 2.0-litre turbodiesel with 163bhp.

But Jag says its secret weapon will be the car’s lightweight construction. The spec sheet says the supercharged 3.0 V6 XE S weighs “from 1,474kg”, around 100kg less than a BMW 335i.

The absence of flab is due to extensive use of a special recycled aluminium called RC 5754 in the bodyshell. Future Jags will be using it, along with the XE’s platform, in order to bring production costs down.

That’ll be good for Jaguar Land Rover’s coffers, because with the XE the company has obviously tried hard.

Where competitors generally use MacPherson strut front suspension, the small Jag has a double-wishbone setup.

The rear suspension is also said to be more complex than the multi-link arrangement that competing cars use. All the suspension bits are made of aluminium, and Jaguar says the XE’s handling precision and ride quality will be unrivalled.

Size-wise, the XE is smack in the middle of 3 Series/C-Class territory. It’s 4,672mm long, against 4,624mm for the BMW and 4,682mm for the Mercedes.

The Jaguar’s 2,835mm wheelbase sits between that of the BMW (2,810mm) and Mercedes (2,840mm), as well.

But in one dimension it’s unique. At 1,416mm in height, it’s a lower car than its key rivals. That’s because of its coupe-like roofline, which is in keeping with the long, cigar-shaped profile of the other Jaguar saloons.

Judging from the pics, that might impact rear headroom, which looks tight here:

Other styling cues it takes from family members are slim headlamps and a prominent, upright grille, with a short tail section and lengthy bonnet.

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Under that long bonnet will be 2.0-litre turbo petrol and diesel engines, with the aforementioned XE S topping the range for now. That offers 340bhp and 450Nm of peak torque, which should hurtle the Jaguar to 100km/h in 5.1 seconds and all the way to 250km/h, where a speed limiter cuts in.

All the XE versions are rear wheel drive, with an eight-speed ZF transmission as the default auto.

While petrolheads ponder that, tech geeks might be fascinated to know about the Jag’s “InControl Remote” system. It lets iOS and Android smartphone users connect to the car and control a range of functions like the climate control, door locks or even the engine starter.

What’s interesting for Singapore is that the basic diesel Jaguar promises to be extremely low in carbon output: it emits 99g/km of CO2 (and averages 3.8L/100km of fuel), which would qualify it for a $20,000 CEVS rebate.

That could give it a pricing edge here. For the Jag XE, the best form of attack might well be a rebate on a tax.

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