Jaguar Manages Hat Trick, Builds Three of the Most Economical Non-Hybrids Available
You don’t traditionally associate fuel economy with high-end luxury brands, but Jaguar currently sells three of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market, with no electric motors in sight.
The one-time fuel economy laggard is now greener than ever, and it has an engine family with a stupid name to thank for it.
Automotive News reports that the British automaker’s newly implemented engines received high marks in the Environmental Protection Agency’s preliminary 2017 Fuel Economy Guide.
Last September, Jaguar Land Rover announced it would be abandoning Ford-sourced motors for its own all-aluminum engines dubbed “Ingenium.” Despite the silly sounding moniker, the company said the new aluminum engine family would offer significant gains in terms of both performance and efficiency.
One of the early lineup changes was the swapping of Ford’s EcoBoost for Jaguar’s own 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder. The replacement uses the highly flexible and, thanks to China, suddenly popular 500 cc-per-cylinder modular style in both gasoline and diesel variants. And while the gas version did deliver on Jaguar’s efficiency promise, it’s the diesel that’s changing things.
It might not have much competition, but the little 2.0-liter diesel has given Jaguar a trio of fuel-efficient non-hybrids in the XE, XF, and F-Pace, according to the EPA Fuel Economy Guide.
Helping the modular diesel surpass the 40 mile-per-gallon milestone is Jaguar’s new lightweight eight-speed transmission and adherence to aluminum body construction. The XE and XF both break the 40 mpg marker on the highway, even when outfitted with all-wheel drive. The F-Pace crossover still manages an EPA rating of 26 city and 33 highway with the diesel. That’s not too shabby considering much of its competition has trouble breaking out of the teens around town.
This is all great news for Jaguar as it will likely improve their previously horrific Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings and probably boost sales in Europe. (Getting North America excited about diesels remains a difficult task.)
Listen, nobody is going to blame you for preferring gasoline over diesel while they are both still cheap at the pump. However, considering that Jag’s new higher-tech gas-burning 2.0-liter performed nearly identical to the bigger 3.0-liter in the EPA report, you may also want to keep an open mind. Jaguar’s XE may come in $1,500 steeper with the diesel, but you’d recoup that loss in a couple of years of fuel savings. That could work out to even less time when the next inevitable gas crisis strikes.
[Image: Jaguar]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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The advantage of a V12 is that is one higher than a V11. Once upon a time, all engines stopped at 10, then some rockers wanted to go to 11, but couldn't get there. So the car manufactures gave them 12 cylinders. The rest is history.
"Ingenium"? Is that similar to "unobtainium", but cheaper? I dunno about Jaguar - I've always been impressed by their style, but that image from "Mad Men" with the guy trying to kill himself in his Jag, but the car not being able to start just stays with me! I hope that's no longer the case.