Jaguar is about to launch a new R-sport trim level designed to capitalise on the popularity of styling-led top-spec models such as the BMW M-sport and Audi S-line.
As part of a renewed attack on the business car sector, the trim level will be available across the XF range, including the new 129g/km 2.2-litre version.
“Part of our continued journey is a focus on the fleet and business sectors,” Jaguar Land Rover sales director Chris Newitt told the ICFM conference, held at the National Motor Museum that neighbours JLR’s Gaydon headquarters. “It’s something we haven’t done well in the past and are determined to do better.”
The 129g/km 2.2-litre diesel is available only as an automatic, and in estate as well as saloon form. “Our competitors can’t all get automatic estates below 130g/km,” said Newitt.
Newitt also revealed that the forthcoming, smaller Jaguar, which will sit beneath the XF and is due within two years, will emit less than 100g/km. Shaped around the business sector, as Newitt claimed, the BMW 3-series rival will achieve the low-CO2 figure with the help of all-new four-cylinder engines built at the firm’s new plant near Wolverhampton.
The car would be a more competitive offering than the previous attempt to tap into the premium end of the upper medium market, when the X-type saloon and estate didn’t make the hoped-for impact against the likes of the 3-series and Audi A4.
