Jaguar XE review - Jag's smallest saloon tackles BMW's 3-series head-on - Jaguar XE MPG and running costs

The Jaguar XE is designed to be cheap to run, with its sleek aerodynamics and aluminium body helping out once more – the body-in-white of an XE weighs a scant 251kg, which is remarkable.

The diesels will appeal to fleet buyers, thanks to the most impressive economy and CO2 figures of the range, at the vanguard of which is the headline-grabbing manual 161bhp model. Changes due to WLTP regulations mean the figures don't look quite as special as they did under NEDC, but a combined figure of 57.6mpg is still wholly acceptable for a small executive saloon. The corresponding 126g/km CO2 figure should keep tax bills relatively low, too.

The 177bhp diesel manual is slightly behind at 55.4mpg and 133g/km, which drops to 53.3mpg and 141g/km when the automatic transmission is equipped and 51.4mpg/145g/km with all-wheel drive. The most potent diesel, also with automatic and all-wheel drive, returns 48.7mpg and 153g/km.

Petrols too return respectable economy post-WLTP, with up to 38.7mpg possible in the entry-level automatic, rear-drive 197bhp car. Curiously the 250PS model is actually slightly less thirsty, with a 39.2mpg average and 164g/km of CO2, but with all-wheel drive the 296bhp car drops back down to 36.2mpg and CO2 climbs to 177g/km.