BMW 330i MSport vs Jaguar XE P250: Fun Small Luxury Sedan Shootout

Luxury sedans like the 3 Series and the XE need to appeal to a younger demographic so there’s a lot more ‘fun’ coded into their DNA. But which one should you settle on?

Their larger siblings may turn the luxury dial all the way up to the max, but these sedans are built to appeal to a different crowd. Ones who will spend more time behind the wheel than lounging in the rear seats. And so there’s a lot more emphasis placed on the driving experience with both the BMW 330i MSport and the Jaguar XE SE P250. They’re also quite closely matched both in features as well as performance. And with both making over 250PS of power from their turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engines, there’s more than enough power to make this an exciting matchup. So let’s poke around through all their features, specs and other finer details to figure out which one you should consider.

Looks

In this department both cars hold their own. They both sport their own blend of traditional family sedan lines. The most attractive angle on the BMW MSport has to be its face, with large quad headlamps, a large and active kidney grille and aggressively styled bumpers. The Jaguar looks particularly striking from the rear with its near sportback design allowing its roofline to flow almost seamlessly into the boot. The BMW is available in five colours that include a white, grey, two blues and a black option.  Out of these options, the Portimao Blue is the brightest. The Jaguar on the other hand only comes with three colours: a dark blue, red and a black option. The red is the one to pick if you really want to stand out.  

Dimensions

When it comes to dimensions, the BMW is the longer car with a longer wheelbase and overall length. The Jaguar though is just a little wider than the BMW. The differences are small, though. So visually, and in your garage as well, they both will occupy more or less the same space.

Interiors

With their latest updates, neither of these cars skimp when it comes to the materials, design and overall feel good factor of their cabins. The BMW is available with three upholstery options as well as three different trim accents. The Jaguar on the other hand is available with just two options - an all black leather or a two-tone black-and-beige. There are also two trim options you can choose from. The Jaguar comes with a panoramic sunroof while the BMW has a regular-sized sunroof. 

Space

From the measurements that the manufacturers provide we can see that the only one we can compare them by is the headroom. And in this case the BMW offers more. The other figures are not comparable as BMW does not provide legroom and Jaguar does not provide interior cabin width. 

Having experienced both these cars previously (at different times), we can say that when it comes to that weekend trip, both these cars will wrap a typical modern family in luxury. What we mean to say is two adults and two kids will be more than happy spending a whole day of driving in either of them. When it comes to adult space, the rear seats are not the most accommodating. There is adequate room for full-sized people but we won’t go as far as saying that the experience is quite luxurious. 

Features 

With their latest iterations both the 3 Series as well as the XE have benefited from the trickle down effect of technology. Their features lists used to be quite bare bones but now they are much more fitting of their luxury badges. Powered driver’s seat, multi zone climate control, sunroof, voice commands, digital drivers dashboard, Apple CarPlay, 360-degree camera views and various other drivers assists are common features. With the Jaguar you also get Android Auto (strangely missing in the BMW), connected car tech, wireless charging, lane keep assist  and a low grip launch control. With the BMW there’s driver and passenger powered seats, gesture control and a reversing assistant. 

Safety

Both cars feature six airbags, dynamic stability control, ABS, EBD, cruise control, tyre pressure indicator and parking assist. The BMW does have an additional reversing function which helps you reverse out of tight spaces while the Jaguar counters with a lane keep assist which applies corrective torque to the steering wheel when you are about to leave a lane on the highway. 

Performance

Both these two cars with over 250PS on tap and torquey turbocharged engines can be a lot of fun behind the wheel. In terms of outright acceleration, it’s the BMW that is a good deal faster, achieving the sprint to 100kmph in just 5.8 seconds compared to the Jaguar’s 6.5s. 

That should come as no surprise as the BMW engine makes a few more horses and 35Nm more torque than the Jaguar engine. 

They both also sport an 8-speed automatic gearbox putting power to the rear wheels. The BMW also has launch control that gives you the best possible acceleration off the line. The Jaguar on the other hand has a low traction launch control that assists the driver when starting off in slippery conditions like mud and ice, which in the real world is a more practical skill.

Price

The BMW 330i MSport retails for Rs 45.50 lakh while the Jaguar retails for Rs 46.33 lakh, both prices ex-showroom Delhi. 

Conclusion

Both these sedans have grown up a lot with their last update, they’re now feature rich, fun to drive and properly represent the luxury badges on their hoods. As we can see from looking through their spec sheets, it’s a very close battle to call. The BMW will be the more fun behind the wheel but that isn’t to say that the Jaguar isn’t a well rounded product either. In the end you won’t really go wrong with either of them, just go with your gut feeling after the test drive.

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