Jaguar sets sights on efficiency
THE big cat is downsizing, leaping into 2013 with small-bore blown engines including a 2-litre for its luxury XJ.
THE big cat is downsizing, leaping into 2013 with small-bore blown engines including a 2-litre for its luxury XJ.
Jaguar's capacity reduction program matches similar moves by Audi and Mercedes-Benz - and Ford with its Falcon EcoBoost - and aims to reduce fuel consumption while matching the performance of bigger engines.
The new supercharged V6 in the XF is 14 per cent more fuel efficient than the 5-litre V8 it replaces. This V6 will also be used in next year's F-Type.
New from November is a 2-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine and a 3-litre V6 supercharged petrol for the mid-size XF and luxury XJ. The small-bore four is new but the 177kW/450Nm blown V6 replaces the existing normally-aspirated 3-litre V6. The new V6 will also replace the 5-litre V8 in the XF but will become an addition to the engine options in the XJ. All come here with stop-start systems and eight-speed automatic transmissions.
Jaguar Australia brand manager Kevin Goult says the new turbo-four and blown V6 will debut at the Sydney motor show in October and expects them on the showroom floor by early November.
"Cosmetically, the XF and XJ will remain the same," he says. He's not giving away pricing however one expects the V6 supercharged in the XJ to come in at about the same price as the existing V8, which has a drive-away sticker of $195,000. The same V6 in the XF should about match the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel version at about $79,000. Prices will be confirmed by Jaguar at the Sydney show.
The XF petrol engine line-up here in November will be the 177kW/340Nm 2-litre turbo-four; 250kW/450Nm 3-litre supercharged V6; and the 5-litre supercharged V8 in two output versions. Turbo-diesels are the 147kW/450Nm 2.2-litre and 202kW/600Nm 3-litre V6. The XJ petrol engines are the supercharged V6; 283kW/515Nm 5-litre V8; and the 346kW/575Nm and 375kW/625Nm versions of the supercharged 5-litre V8 and there's a 202kW/600Nm V6 turbo-diesel. Fuel consumption of the new four and V6 are claimed to average 8.9 L/100km and 9.4 L/100km respectively in the XF.
The aluminium XJ models will also pick up the more sophisticated suspension previously available only on the XJ Ultimate model. It features recalibrated spring and damper tuning with remapped damper software to "enhance" - Jaguar's words - passenger comfort. The Portfolio and Supersport XJ models will come with an 825W Meridian DAB audio with 20 speakers.