Thread: First drive review: Jaguar XJ-e

Hybrid XJ yields impressive economy, but it's not yet confirmed for production launch. Were talking here about the most economical full-size saloon Jaguar has ever built, the luxurious XJ-e hybrid, which I recently sampled on public roads as part of Jaguars three-car, six-driver entry in the 2012 Future Car Challenge, a 63-mile all-roads economy test between Brighton and London. Our experimental Jag trio, part-financed by the governments busy and productive Technology Strategy Board, proved their potential by topping their class in the Brighton to London test, winning the award for 'Most energy-efficient luxury car — prototype' and a taking a new award for 2012, the 'Technical panels wward of merit'. The XJ-e, officially rated at 87mpg with a CO2 output of just 75 g/km, is an advanced prototype Jaguar is developing in case the worlds luxury car buyers discover a taste for extreme economy. So far they havent; companies such as Porsche have had limited showroom success with their Cayenne and Panamera hybrids. Seems those who can afford big-price cars can stump up big fuelling costs, too. However, nearly every parameter in motoring has changed over the past decade, so no-one should bet against governments abruptly erecting future tax barriers for conventional models that will make big hybrids either much more financially attractive, or perhaps the only cars permitted in certain inner-city areas.