The 2016 Jaguar XE is made with huge amounts of aluminum. That cuts weight and could boost UK fuel economy to 75 MPG combined. What does that mean for Americans, though?
Well, there are two problems here:
1. American gallons are four-fifths of a British (imperial) gallon
2. America has a different test for fuel economy than what's used in the UK.
CarScoops figures 75 UK MPG equates 62 US MPG, but I'm not convinced any comparison is that easy. Since the fuel economy tests themselves are different, we can't just take 0.8 of the 75 MPG figure to get the American equivalent. We're dealing with apples and oranges here.
The closest thing you can do is compare the MPG figures of a car sold in both markets and go from there. For instance, the Focus ST is measured at 26 MPG combined here in America, while it is rated at 39.2 MPG in the UK. That US figure is just two-thirds of the UK equivalent.
Even at that rate, the American Jaguar XE would sit at nearly 50 MPG, but that's very loose, unfounded math. Moreover, Jaguar's figure is almost certainly for a diesel engine, which we may not even get in the US.
We'll just have to wait until the EPA gets a hold of this thing to find out how efficient it really is on American roads.
No matter what the figure, it's pretty great that Jaguar XE's chassis will be nearly three-quarters aluminum. Lightweight and advanced design never hurts, does it?
Photo Credit: Jaguar