What a shame.
Diesel engines were just getting a foothold in the United States and Volkswagen had to go ruin it.
At this point, it looks like diesel is dead for cars in the U.S., though it may hang on for SUVs and will certainly continue in heavy duty pickups.
Yet in these uncertain times for oil burners, Jaguar has decided to stick with its plans to offer its new Ingenium 2.0-liter turbodiesel in the XE and XF sedans, as well as the F-Pace crossover.
I recently had the opportunity to drive the 2017 Jaguar XE 20d AWD R-Sport and test its real-world gas mileage performance.
The XE 20d AWD carries EPA fuel economy ratings of 30 mpg city, 40 highway, 34 combined. The all-wheel-drive system costs the car 2 mpg in all ratings.
Over the course of 249 miles, much of it highway, the XE returned 35.2 mpg.
Mileage, of course, varied based on the type of driving. Following the readings from the trip computer, I was averaging 25.5 mpg after the first 37 miles of city driving. An 82-mile freeway trip pushed the total to 36.9 mpg. Another 33 miles of city driving lowered it to 33.0 mpg, and I finished up with another 82-mile highway trip that brought the total to 36.6 mpg.
CHECK OUT: 2016 Mini Cooper Clubman gas mileage review
I finished at a gas station, where I paid $2.459 for diesel. The total of 6.768 gallons of fuel over 238.2 miles equates to 35.2 mpg, showing that the trip computer is off by 1.4 mpg (though who knows how well the pump is calibrated).
In general, I was happy with the powertrain performance. The 2.0-liter turbodiesel in the XE puts out 180 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 318 pound-feet of torque from 1,750 to 2,500 rpm. It starts up with the typical diesel clatter. That quickly fades from the background on the inside, though it still can be heard from the outside.
On the road, the engine is smooth and responsive, especially at low speeds. It launches the car from 0 to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, according to Jaguar. That’s a second slower than the 240-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder in 25t models, and 2.4 seconds slower than the 340-hp supercharged V-6 in 35t models.
