Jaguar XEL With Extended Wheelbase Unveiled In China

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) recently unveiled an extended wheelbase version of its entry-level sedan, Jaguar XE in China. The carmaker has christened it Jaguar XEL and the wheelbase on the sedan has been extended by 100 mm, which is roughly about 4 inches. The carmaker has designed the new Jaguar XEL for the Chinese market and it will be sold exclusively in China. The Jaguar XEL will be produced at Chery Jaguar Land Rover's state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Changshu and will go on sale in the country in January 2018.

With its stretched wheelbase, the total distance between the two axles of the new Jaguar XEL has increased to 2,935 mm. Furthermore, thanks to its increased footprint, the cabin space, especially for the second row has considerably increased. Now, the Jaguar XEL provides an additional 112 mm (4.4 in.) of legroom and 100 mm (3.9 in.) of knee room for passengers sitting in the back. The cabin also comes with a bunch of changes compared to the standard XE to seamlessly incorporate the additional room.

Jaguar XEL Cabin comes with 112 mm extra legroom and 100mm extra knee room

Jaguar also offers a host of new features to enhance the experience for those who prefer to be chauffeur-driven, which in this case will be all the buyers of the XEL. The new XEL's cabin comes with features like a sliding panoramic sunroof, and cabin air ionisation and a front passenger seat away function allows rear occupants to have even greater space. A full suite of connected services, including Wi-Fi hotspot for up to eight devices, is also on offer.

From the outside, the front and rear portions of the car remain largely identical to the standard model. However, from the sides, you'll notice obvious exception like the longer rear doors as a result of stretching the wheelbase. To differentiate it from the regular XE, Jaguar has added an "XEL" badge on the side window finisher and by giving the door handles and side sill finisher a chrome look.

Visually, the Jaguar XEL looks exactly the same from the front and rear

Under the hood, the Jaguar XEL gets the same 2-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine that ht offered in both China and India. You do not get the diesel option in China but the petrol engine itself comes with a choice of two power outputs - 197 bhp and 246 bhp. In both versions, power is sent to the rear wheels by an eight-speed automatic transmission. The car will be available in four variants - Pure, Prestige, Prestige+ and Portfolio.