New diesel Jaguar XF for under £30,000

Jaguar has announced the debut of a new lower-powered, 163hp version of the firm’s existing 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine – which comes compete with a market-friendly price tag.

Jaguar XF 2.2D First Drive

The latest engine shares identical architecture to the 190hp 2.2-litre unit but has been retuned to develop 163hp, returning fuel economy of 52.3mpg combined and emissions of 149g/km CO2. Oddly enough however, the claimed economy figures from Jaguar for the new engine don’t improve upon the 190hp unit’s output.

As in the more powerful 2.2-litre variant, the new engine will be mated to Jaguar’s existing eight-speed automatic gearbox and will feature automatic engine stop-start.

The 163hp version of the 2.2-litre turbodiesel XF is still capable of decent performance despite its lower output, accelerating from 0-62mph in 9.8 seconds and running on to a top speed of 130mph.

The real advantage of the latest XF, however, is that prices for the range will now begin at £29,950, offering a more affordable method of getting in to the XF line-up.

According to Jaguar, the new 163hp XF “is aimed at delivering greater value than ever before,” and priced at under £30,000 will undercut its German rivals from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz – all of which begin at over the £30,000 mark for a similar level vehicle.

Despite the lower starting price of the adjusted range, the latest XF variant features standard equipment including half leather seats, a centrally mounted touch screen infotainment display, electronic climate control and automatic stop-start technology.

The new lower output derivative of the XF saloon is available to order now, with UK deliveries starting in March this year.

The engine is also expected to be available on the forthcoming XF Sportbrake estate scheduled for launch later this year.