I'm interested in opinions of where the XE will leave the XF. The XE will be about 4.8m long, I understand, with the XF just over 4.9, so they are only a few inches different in length. The rear of the XF is pretty tight anyway, I would have thought about the same as a 3 series. I've had 2 XFs and I can say that there isn't a huge amount of room back there. So the XE couldn't be any smaller.


So then it seems to me that the XE cant be any shorter than the XF, though it might be a little narrower. But it couldn't be much, otherwise it would look rubbish. So then that leaves the XE pretty much the same size as the XF on the inside. If it bumps up a size it will be competing with the SWB XJ.


Which got me to speculate that the new XF might end up being more of a 4 door coupe, like the 6 series gran coupe, and more expensive with the volume being taken up by the XE.


All of that is idle speculation of course, and completely uninformed. Does anyone have a real clue?

 

You'd expect the size differences to be similar to when there was a 3-tier sedan line-up in the range before: X-Type, S-Type and XJ.

Having owned all three, there was definitely a noticeable reduction in rear seat legroom between the three, as well as the width of the cabin.

I haven't sat in the back of a current XJ or XF, so I don't know how they compare to the S-Type and SWB X350, but I guess it would be similar.

It feels as if the S-Type has about 1-2" less knee-room in the back compared to the XJ, and the X-Type felt to have about 1-2" less than the S-Type. Going from the back seat of the XJ to the X-Type was a really noticable difference, easily 3" less knee-room.

I would imagine this would be the same for the XE, XF, XJ lineup.

The other difference between the X-Type, S-Type & XJ lineup was the overall length of the vehicles, a similar reduction in length across the models. It was most apparent in the bonnet & boot length.

Though my S-Type appears to be about 4" shorter than the XJ when you look at the free space when I park it in the garage.

One other difference was the width of the cabin. You could see this from the width of the center console armrest, a few inches difference across the models.

But the available space in the back seat was the really apparent difference between the three.

I'm surprised that the XE would only be 10cm shorter than the XF, I would have expected a little more. This suggests to me that they have left the engine bay of the XE big enough to accept the V8, I would have thought they'd limit it to the shorter V6, which would help keep the overall length down.

All speculation of course!

 

For Jaguar's sake I hope it's not almost identical in length to the XF. It should be comparable to the 3-Series and the like. If they made the wheelbase long enough maybe the rear won't be too cramped. But it is supposed to be a compact car so I wouldn't expect it to be spacious. The XF is kind of tight in the back as it is, though.

 

I was curious so I looked up the C-X17's specs, overall length is a hair under 186" which would make it about 10" shorter than the XF, and the wheelbase is nearly the same as the XF's at a bit over 114".

 

Comparing dimensions:
S-Type: length = 193.1", wheelbase = 114.5, width = 71.6", width = 57.0"
XF: -------------195.3 --------------114.5 ---------71.6 ---------57.5
335i: ------------182.5 --------------110.6 ---------71.3 ---------56.3

I suspect the XE will be comparable to the BMW 3 Series. The big question is at what weight? Also I do hope that the XE interior designers used the BMW as a benchmark. I also have a 335i Coupe - once I crawl in through the 2-door constriction, I have loads of leg room in the rear seat, and just enough headroom (I'm at an even 6 ft), and that's behind the driver's seat set at my normal driving position. I hope that the XE interior designers did NOT use the S-Type as a benchmark.

 

It better not be comparable to a 3 Series. It should be comparable to a 2 Series!

 

That would put it in class with the likes of the A3 and CLA as well, I don't see this being in that class.

 

How can you compare the XF to the 3 series in regards to room? You can perfectly fine sit in the XF behind me when I adjusted my seat, even myself can perfectly fit there even on long distances. Nobody sits behind me in a 3 series or an A4/5 for that matter. My adjusted front seat almost touches the rear seat or is just a few inches away from touching it in an A5 which has a wheelbase of 182 inches..
The XF is squarely aimed at the 5 and E series or an A6, whether it meets their standards or not. The rear head room is also not any worse than in a MB CLS.

 

Here are some pics of how Auto Express thinks it will look. To me it looks too much just like a shrunken XF, but maybe I'm wrong but I doubt Jaguar would unveil it this way.

New Jaguar XE exclusive pictures | 2 | Auto Express

 

FWIW, I have read that the next XF is enough larger
that some distinction will remain between the two.