Jaguar has set a date for the debut of its all-new BMW 3-series competitor, the 2016 XE, and the company also has released a few technical highlights. The XE, which was first officially confirmed at this year’s Geneva auto show, will greet the world on September 8, 2014, at a “star-studded event” in London. To give us tech geeks something to chew on in the time before the reveal, Jaguar detailed the XE’s front and rear suspension designs, steering setup, and new traction-control system.
When it comes to making the XE a true “sports sedan,” it would appear Jaguar isn’t messing around. The automaker describes the XE’s unequal-length control-arm front suspension as being “F-type–derived.” The rear suspension is being called an “Integral Link” design that Jaguar claims is more effective than a typical multilink setup when it comes to longitudinal and lateral stiffness, although it doesn’t specify just how the Integral Link’s advantage is gained. In both the front and rear suspension assemblies, lots of forged- and cast-aluminum pieces are utilized to keep unsprung weight in check.
For the first time in a Jaguar, steering assist will be handled electrically, no doubt to help maximize fuel economy. The automaker promises that the XE’s electric power steering will have all of the feel and character as its typically excellent hydraulically assisted setups, but we’ll wait to render final judgment until we drive the XE for ourselves. Switching to an electric rack allows Jaguar to link the steering feel to different drive modes—e.g., stiffer for a sport setting, lazier for a comfort mode, etc.—as well as enabling integration with a host of unspecified driver-assistance technologies (likely including a lane-keeping feature).
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Finally, Jaguar has previewed the XE’s new traction-control system, dubbed “All Surface Progress Control,” again without going into much detail. As Jaguar describes it, All Surface Progress Control “works like a low-speed cruise control to deliver optimum traction in the most slippery conditions without skidding and without the driver using the pedals.” It sounds intriguing, but so far all we know is that it will be available on the rear-drive XE; its availability on the expected all-wheel-drive XE has not yet been specified.
Based on an image of the XE’s chassis technologies released by Jaguar, it would appear as though three more XE-specific info drops are headed our way before the car debuts in September. We wouldn’t be surprised if one of the next XE tidbits provides info on its engines. Jaguar recently detailed its new Ingenium family of turbocharged four-cylinders (one of which is expected to power the XE), and we know the F-type’s supercharged V-6 is headed to the XE’s engine bay, too. We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available.
