The Jaguar XE is, genuinely, one of the most underrated cars on the used market right now. Everyone's fixated on the BMW 3 Series. Everyone has strong feelings about the Audi A4. The XE? Most buyers walk straight past it — which means prices haven't kept pace with how good the car actually is.
That works in your favour. If you get the right one.
There's a version of this story where you pick up a proper premium saloon that drives better than anything German at the price, turns heads every time you park it, and cost you less than a well-specced Volkswagen Golf. There's also a version where you end up with an early car, a temperamental infotainment system, and a diesel particulate filter that's quietly crying for help. The gap between those two outcomes comes down to knowing what to look for — which is exactly what this is.
Which engine should you go for?
It matters more than you might think.
Most used XEs you'll come across will have the 2.0d Ingenium diesel — Jaguar's in-house engine, built to replace older Ford-derived units. It's genuinely good. Refined, economical, pulls well from low revs. The 180PS version is the sweet spot — the 163PS car feels a touch underpowered for something this size, and the difference in fuel economy between the two is pretty small. For regular longer journeys, this is the one.
The 2.0i petrol is rarer and often overlooked, which is a shame because it actually suits the XE's character better than the diesel. Smoother, more willing to rev, nicer in slow traffic. If most of your driving is urban and suburban, it's genuinely worth hunting one down. Prices tend to be softer too, because most buyers assume diesel is the only sensible option — it isn't.
The V6 — either the 340PS S or the 380PS SVR — is a completely different kind of car. Genuinely quick in a way that makes you rethink your priorities. Also expensive to fuel, expensive to insure, and not particularly easy to source parts for when something goes wrong. Unless the performance is the entire point, the four-cylinders are the practical choice for most buyers.
The years that actually matter
Jaguar launched the XE in 2015 and — to put it diplomatically — it was a work in progress. The InControl Touch infotainment system in early cars is awful. Slow, prone to freezing, occasionally just giving up entirely mid-journey. It was criticised so widely and so consistently that Jaguar quietly improved it in later cars, then scrapped it entirely for the much better Pivi Pro system in the 2019 facelift.
Early 2015–2016 cars aren't unsellable. Plenty of owners are perfectly happy with them. But go in clear-eyed about the electronics — test everything before you commit, and don't assume a software update has necessarily fixed it.
From 2017 onwards the car is noticeably more sorted. The software issues had been addressed, build quality improved in small but meaningful ways, and the overall package feels more finished. A 2017–2018 XE in good condition is where most buyers should be looking — affordable enough to make financial sense, new enough to have avoided the worst of the early problems.
The 2019 facelift is simply the best version of the XE. Better infotainment, revised suspension tuning, improved driver assistance tech, tidier interior. These cost more on the used market, but if your budget stretches to £18,000 or above, the extra for a post-facelift car is usually worth it. You're getting a substantially more complete car.
The bits that go wrong
Every car has them. These are the XE's:
The infotainment — yes, again. On pre-2019 cars it deserves real scrutiny. Don't just check it turns on — connect your phone via Bluetooth, test the sat-nav, try Apple CarPlay if it's fitted, check the reversing camera actually works. A faulty screen or control unit isn't the end of the world to fix, but it's not a small bill either.
The diesel particulate filter. If a diesel XE has spent its life doing short school runs and five-mile supermarket trips, the DPF will be unhappy. It needs regular longer runs at higher revs to regenerate properly. Any history of engine-related warning lights, or noticeable loss of power under load, warrants proper investigation. Check the service history for any DPF-related work.
Wheel bearings. Some XEs chew through rear wheel bearings quicker than you'd expect from a car at this price point. The giveaway is a rumbling or droning noise that changes pitch with speed. Take it on a motorway stretch during the test drive and listen properly. It's easy to miss at low speeds in town.
Air suspension on higher-spec cars. Portfolio and some R-Sport models came with optional adaptive dynamics suspension. When it's working, it's one of the XE's best features — quiet, comfortable, composed. When the compressor or a strut develops a fault, repairs are expensive. A car that sits unevenly or feels unsettled at low speeds is telling you something. Cars with standard coil springs don't have this concern at all.
What should you actually pay?
The used market shifts constantly, so treat these as a rough compass rather than a fixed price list:
- 2015–2016: around £7,000–£11,000 depending on mileage and condition
- 2017–2018: £11,000–£16,000
- 2019–2021 (post-facelift): £16,000–£22,000
- 2022 onwards: £22,000 and above
Full Jaguar main dealer service history adds a real premium on the used market — and on this car it's worth paying for. An XE with a patchy service record is a gamble in a way that, say, a Fiesta with the same history simply isn't. The complexity of a premium saloon makes proper maintenance matter more.
Before you go to see it
Check the MOT history. It takes ten seconds and tells you far more than the advert will. You'll see the mileage recorded at every test — which lets you spot whether the odometer reading stacks up — and every advisory the car's carried, and whether those advisories have been fixed or just handed on to the next owner. Three consecutive advisories on the same suspension component is not bad luck. It's a pattern, and it's telling you something about how the car's been looked after.
Check the MOT history before you go →
Free MOT checker at AllCarsUKJust the registration plate. Every test, every advisory, every failure, mileage at each one. Free, no account needed.
When you get there in person: test the electronics thoroughly (everything, not just a quick tap), listen carefully for any drivetrain or suspension noise during the test drive, and if it's a diesel, get it onto a faster road for a few minutes to see how it behaves under load.
Is it worth buying?
Yes — if you're picking the right car. A 2017 or newer XE, 2.0d 180PS engine, Prestige or R-Sport trim, full Jaguar service history, clean MOT: that's a genuinely excellent used car at a price that still feels like you've found something the market hasn't caught up with yet.
The XE never got the recognition it deserved when it was new. Most of the buyers looking at it then went German out of habit. On the used market, that's now your advantage — you're getting a better driver's car than the 3 Series at the same money, with enough Jaguar character to make every journey feel like it was worth the effort.
Just buy the right one.