Spring Clean Motoring Part 2: A Slippery, Frugal Cat

It's little over a month to go until the Evolution Motor Show silently whooshes once more along to the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston. Amongst the cars on show this year, the one you'll hear coming above the low hum of futuristic electricity is the new Jaguar XE, which will showcase the company's latest green tech.

Sleek lines for both form and function - muscular body work is sleekest Jag ever

Sticking to a more traditional format for a small executive saloon car, the XEs currently on the market are powered by a selection of all-aluminium petrol and diesel units, each of which aim to squeeze as much out of every single drop of fuel as possible. At the sharper end of the range is the supercharged 3.0 V6 from the base F-Type, sure to give XE blistering performance, but return less of a saving at the pumps.

The headline economy figures come with Jaguar's Ingenium diesel engines, which are likely to be the most popular on UK roads. Utilising variable exhaust valve timing alongside aftertreatments for the gases emitted, the 2.0-litre turbodiesel unit manages to give 160 horsepower and 280lb-ft of torque whilst producing only 99g/km of CO2, putting it in the lowest UK tax band with a cost of precisely zero pounds per year. If you fancy a bit more grunt and can stomach handing over 20 of your pounds to the government each year, there's a more powerful 177hp Ingenium diesel, which, despite the power upgrade, still produces just 109g/km.

Jaguar haven't just focused their quest for efficiency on the engines; the whole car has been considered, examined and worked on to make the whole package as clean and green as possible. The bodywork is as sleek as can be, making the XE the most aerodynamic Jaguar ever, with a drag coefficient of just 0.26. On the Ingenium diesels, there's the option of a six-speed manual running with low-viscosity oil and pseudo dry-sump lubrication to assist in putting the power to the rear wheels. Part-time all-wheel-drive is available on the more powerful diesel, but only with the 8-speed ZF box. This improves traction but adds weight and lessens economy, but makes perfect sense for those in colder climes.

In no way does this efficiency come at the expense of performance in the XE - Jaguar would never allow that. The smallest Jaguar is also the lightest and the stiffest, showing that the petrol V6 is not the only thing carried over from the F-Type sports car. The XE showcases more of Jaguar's aluminium monocoque technology, and they claim that this is the first time such a thing has been seen in the mid-size segment. 

The XE surrounds the driver with technology

Inside, the XE draws upon the design of its flagship big brother, the XJ, with a subtle wraparound dash that aligns along the door line giving a very secure feel. Jaguar's new InControl infotainment system dominates the centre of the dash, which should be a welcome improvement over the previous unit, which felt sluggish in a world dominated by smartphones and i-things. 

The XE - incredibly efficient, drives like a Jag should

An expected above-70mpg fuel economy combines with vast service intervals of 21,000 miles makes the Jaguar a strong contender for the ideal mid-size saloon fleet car. On paper alone it appears to dethrone the mighty 3-series in many ways. The proof is in the punch, so to see for yourself if the XE truly is the king of its class, head along to the Evolution Motor Show at the Royal Highland Showground, Ingliston on the 16th April 2016.

Some Things To Be Excited About At Geneva 2016 If You Can't Afford A Bugatti Chiron

If you haven't already heard about it, the new Bugatti Chiron has been unveiled ahead of it's official launch at the Geneva Motor Show this week. Its astronomical power figure of 1,478 horsepower is surpassed only by the £1.9 million price tag, and that's all just fine.

If you can afford to buy the Chiron you probably already have access to somewhere with enough room to enjoy all of that power, and maybe even get it up to it's top speed which is claimed to be around 261mph. But what about the rest of us mere mortals? What is there for us to enjoy?

The Opel GT Concept, with its boss.

Oddly, the first thing that caught my eye at Geneva was Vauxhall / Opel's GT Concept. This tiny coupe may not have reached the realms of reality yet, but fingers crossed some of the ideas will trickle through from the matrix to our dimension. The concept, a two-seater could see production as a front-drive car with a 1 litre, 3-cylinder engine putting out around 143bhp. This should keep running costs nice and low, whilst also delivering punchy performance. It's early days yet, but this fairly un-Vauxhall car could put the company into competition with sports car stalwarts like the Mazda MX-5, which is very dangerous territory indeed.

Bedroom walls across the land should be sorted, with Lamborghini unveiling their bonkers new Centenario LP770-4 poster child. Produced as a 100th birthday present to honour the company's late founder Ferruccio Lamborghini, the Centenario will see very limited production at just 20 coupes and 20 roadsters. At the heart of it's carbon fibre body sits a higher-revving version of Lambo's legendary V12 engine, with power output upped to 759bhp. It runs the Bugatti very close for price, but this car is built as much to dwell in the imagination of children, spitting flames and spinning wheels in a very exciting manner, as it is to hide under covers in the ultra-secure garages of the super rich.

Interesting headlamp arrangement adds to asymmetry and alliteration.

At a very different end of the spectrum, Morgan will be bringing along their EV3, showcasing a 'pre-production phase' of their take on what an electric vehicle should be. Sticking to form, the EV3 is a super light three-wheeled two-seat roadster, using a combination of carbon fibre and aluminium body panels built around an ash frame to give a weight of less than 500kg. Up front, the 1983cc V-Twin of the current car is replaced with cooling fins for the 20KWh lithium battery, which combine with a liquid-cooled 46kW electric motor to zip the whole thing from 0-60 in under 9 seconds. The range, thanks no doubt in part to the car's tiny weight, is slated to be up to 150 miles.

Pininfarina have also brought their idea for a performance car with a progressive drivetrain: the H2 Speed utilises hydrogen fuel cell technology which has been track-tested by GreenGT, a company focussed on bringing hydrogen fuel tech to motorsport. The H2 produces 503 horsepower and is capable of 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, and with the only exhaust being water vapour, this makes it the world's fastest steam cleaner. Having been draped in Pininfarina magic, the H2 Speed is also the world's prettiest steam cleaner, with sleek lines and a paintjob that harks back to the 1969 Ferrari Sigma Formula One show car, presented to the public by the Italian design house at the Geneva show that year. If this is a showcase of what a hydrogen powered sports car could be, then I for one can't wait for a Formula H racing series.

Speaking of sleek lines, how could we ignore the new Aston Martin DB11, which sneaked its way into the public eye at the start of the week. The successor to the DB9 shows off heavy styling influence from the bespoke DB10, wielded by James Bond in Spectre, with added aggression from the limited-run One-77. The aluminium body incorporates aerodynamic elements, including a special AeroBlade system, consisting of cleverly hidden ducts beneath the C-pillars which channel air over the back end, helping to reduce rear lift. Under the bonnet sits a new 5.2 litre, twin-turbo V12 pushing out 600bhp. Whilst the Aston may not be within most peoples budget (including mine!), it'll certainly drop a few jaws as it barrels along the motorway.

Thought I'd treat you to a nice big picture of the DB11, for obvious reasons.