Letter from Europe: TACH At World Premiere of Jaguar's 2017 XE +VIDEO

By Andrew Frankl
European Bureau Chief
The Auto Channel

London UK June 10, 2014; have been to an awful lot of World premiers in my time but I have never seen anything like the launch of the new Jag . They must have had well over a 1000 people flown in from -Australia to Austria and from Alabama to Austin Texas.

The show went on for over an hour and a half covering the story of the company. A very large cast on the stage with a full orchestra in the background this was a seriously no expense spared occasion. At the end there was a lady on a pontoon in the middle of the Thames singing the praises of the new car. Big Ben, The Red Arrows-Britain 's equivalent of the Blue Angels, all the workers cheering them on, all pretty amazing. But, I hear you ask, what about the car?

Watch the complete event

To tell you the truth I have absolutely no idea! Having flown for 10 hours it was somewhat disappointing not to get behind the wheel but neither did anybody else.

So. The company tells me that the XE redefines the concept of the sports saloon. 75 per cent is constructed from high-grade aluminum, Weight saving measure. It is supposed to be the most efficient Jaguar To date with a drag coefficient of 0.26 and an innovative info entertainment system with a touch screen and voice control. Will be interesting as to date this has been one of the company's weaknesses.

The top of the range S model has a 3 liter V6 supercharged petrol engine producing 340ps and will accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds. Top speeds is a hello officer, was I really doing 155 miles per hour!? Clearly the new Jag is aimed at BMW's 3 series, a benchmark in sporty saloons. Add Audi's A4, the small Cadillacs, hot new cars from Infinity, Accura, unexpectedly quick small cars from Lexus, Jaguar face a huge challenge.

The dealers I have talked to seemed very enthusiastic as one would expect. I did, however have a totally unexpected discussion with one dealer called Igor. He turned out to be the dealer from the Ukraine..

And we think we've got problems..

As far as the United States in concerned we won't be seeing the XE until sometimes in 2015. Is it worth the wait?

From what I've seen the answer has to be yes. The company is doing well, electrical problems are a thing of the past. When the XE reaches your nearest dealer, take it for a spin.

You can always change your mind.