There is ample elbow-room, though merely as the outboard seating has been pushed inboard, making the prospect of five-up in the XE a sardine-like squeeze.
For families with small children or teens, though, the XE is ideal.
While both conventional tether (three) and Isofix points (outboard) are catered for,
access to row two for loading babies and toddlers is problematic. When perpendicular parked, the long rear doors can only open to shallow angle. But the door apertures are very short, making normal entry and egress awkward, loading small children in hugely tasking and impractical. Best wait for the F-Pace then…
The bootspace has a reasonable 450-litre capacity, though it’s very deep without a lot of width, height and the short bootlid has a small opening, limiting the load versatility for large objects. It’s a minor gripe, though, for space many owners will find amply useable.
Shortcomings in the addenda aside, the XE, even in base form, basks in the convincingly premium aura that, suitably, is characteristically more luxury focussed than it is sporty. But whatever prestigious serenity it exudes is rudely interrupted the instant the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel rattles into life.
Given this is the debut of Jaguar’s in-house Ingenium engines â€" an all-alloy unit at that â€" the prominent chatter idle and low-rpm robs goes some way in tarnishing the XE’s lustre, not to mention being quite un-Jaguar like.
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