Head 2 Head: Jaguar XE vs BMW 335i M Sport

5054 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by Kingpin, Jul 6, 2015

Manxxy

Discussion Starter · Jul 6, 2015

There a few cars left that not only dominate the segment but delineate the formula for success. One such car is the BMW 3 Series, long the segments benchmark, BMW is now being forced to defend the title in a barrage of attacks over the last 24 months.

None more daunting and focused then Jaguars efforts with the XE. Jag packed the XE S with the same 3.0L Supercharged V6 from the F-Type, made copious use of aluminium and focused excruciatingly on steering feel and suspension setup.

You want proof Jag threw the kitchen sink at the XE. Just drop down for a look at the front suspension. The BMW uses a conventional and cost efficient MacPherson strut, while the XE uses a massive space and cost eating double A- arm setup. Double A arms are far preferred for performance applications simply because they gain negative camber through the curves, as the suspension compresses, where as the Mac struts will pull the tire away from the turn rather then staying desirably flat.

Couple that with complaints that the F30 has absolutely lost its legendary steering feel and one begins to wonder if the Ultimate Driving Machine hasn't migrated to London?

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Kingpin

· #2 · Jul 6, 2015

Someone who commented on that video made a good point:

Let's not get carried away here! Jaguar PR invited this guy to Spain, he flew first class, they gave him a 5 star room, some fine wine and food..., you get the picture! The BMW 3-series isn't an icon of today's motor industry because the engineers in Munich once got lucky and built a good car, not at all, but because the 3-series stood up to the test of time, the most important one of all. It's a car that delivered driving satisfaction to its owners generation after generation. My father bought last year a 318i from 2002, with 110.000 miles. Let me tell you this: that car doesn't miss a beat! It pushes like an ox and still has a great suspension. Maybe in 15 or 20 years time, someone will say the same thing about the Jaguar XE, but, until then, the BMW is still the King of the sport sedan segment, in my eyes, and that's from a big Mercedes fan!

Looking at the mass of reviews from publications and folks like ourselves for an overall general understanding is where its at but this is where it should start for anyone seeing a comparison like this for the first time.

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