Normally, when we compare cars at AutoWeek, we take a brand new car and compare it with one,
two, or maybe even three existing cars. Some of the times,
two brand new cars meet in the comparison, but comparing three completely new cars...
That doesn't happen very often, but today it does.
BMW can't get enough of their X-range. It all started with the X5,
but nowadays we have an X1, an X3, X4, X5, X6 and there will even be an X7.
If you look closely, you'll see there's a number missing,
and this the car that's going to fill that gap. This is the X2.
The X2 is to the X1, what the X4 is to the X3...
and the X6 to the X5. Can you keep up?
Anyway, it's a tad different though. Unlike the X4, this isn't a car with a real coupé-line.
The X6 does have that, but this doesn't.
There's a pretty simple reason for that decision. It's too compact.
If you were to apply a real coupé-line on this car, the rear would be too cramped.
Also, I spoke with the designer recently, and he said they've tried to apply a coupé-design,
but the car would look really weird. Like it's out of proportion.
That's why they've applied other tricks. Walk with me would you, because there are details I want to show you.
Look at this. You'll have to know what it is, but this is a Hofmeister kink.
If BMW says it is, it's the truth.
That's very special, just like these BMW-logo's on the C-styles.
Classic car enthusiasts will know, that classicial BMW coupés from the late 60's and early 70's were fitted with similar logo's.
Also, BMW didn't want the X2 to be a shrunken down X4 or X6, but the funny part is,
Jaguar did want to follow that path. This is the E-Pace,
and if you look closely, the E-Pace is a shrunken down F-Pace.
That's an advantage, but it's a disadvantage as well.
A coupé-design on a narrower wheelbase just looks weird. Of course, it's a matter of taste,
but I do think it's the truth. It looks a little disproportionate.
On the other hand, F-Pace sales are through the roof at the moment,
it's the best sold Jaguar by far.
You can't really blame Jaguar for making it look like their F-Pace.
Just look at that enormous nose, that enormous grille...
Those headlights, those lines... This is a real Jaguar, in which you can be seen.
Number three then, the Volvo XC40.
Everybody wants to know everything about this car. I've been driving it for a week now,
and everywhere I go people come up to me to ask me about it, people are interested, they turn their heads, everything...
This car already is a success, and I'm not on Volvo's payroll for saying that.
Just like BMW, Volvo doesn't want this to become a shrunken down XC60 or XC90.
They wanted it to be a car with its own personality, which appeals to a separate and younger audience.
That's why it looks a tad square-shaped.
Angry souls could say it looks like a more luxurious Suzuki Ignis, but I'm not an angry soul, so you won't hear that from me.
I'll admit it's a remarkable design. Look at this little kink,
it's high up on its wheels, it's a little square...
When it comes to looks, it's a tad more basic than the others,
It's still a fun and remarkable car to look at.
On the inside, the difference between the X2 and the X1 isn't as big.
It's mostly the same interior actually. The X1 has been improved a lot compared to its previous generation.
It now looks incredibly nice. The used materials, the finishing,
it's all aimed at the driver, the seating position is good,
you can sit pretty low, and in the back,
it's not bad at all for a coupé-like car.
The space in the back is gained by a transversely mounted engine in the front, connected to a front-wheel drive drivetrain.
Something which BMW-enthusiasts think is not done.
But they shouldn't think that. BMW has already proven they can make very good front-wheel drive cars.
They already gained knowledge with Mini, and it's not any different in here.
It's a car which has a very good drive and a very sharp steering.
It's pretty neutral. Sure, it's an xDrive, so it can send power to the rear wheels,
but it's first and foremost a front-wheel drive car. It's very tight, the steering is very communicative,
there's lots of feedback, and it just goes where you want it to go.
Today I'm driving the 20d, and there isn't a lot to be said about that.
We already know the engine and drivetrain in this car, and it's very good.
It's connected to an 8-speed automatic gearbox as standard, and that works perfectly fine as well.
Just like the outside, the inside of the Jaguar E-Pace is the same,
or rather, very similar, to the F-Pace.
It's a different dashboard, but it looks incredibly similar.
And that's a good thing. It's not as excessive as in the Volvo or BMW,
but I like that. It's got a timeless, classic-like personality.
I like that in a Jaguar. Despite that, there are still these fun, small design elements in here.
Take these little displays in the heater buttons for example. All done very nicely.
It's the smallest Jaguar available, the E-Pace, and that shows.
Maybe it's a kind of British humor, but in the corners of the front windshield,
there's an actual jaguar with a little cub crawling behind. Also, if you open the doors at night,
the same image gets projected on the ground. I really like that.
I'm love cats after all.
It's got a good seating position in the front and the back.
I was worried about the headroom in the rear at first...
because of the sloped roofline, but I have to say they've solved the problem.
Sure, it isn't the biggest, but the headroom is very acceptable in this Jaguar.
The funny thing is that it has 577 litres of luggage space, which makes it the biggest of these three.
This E-Pace has kind of got the same thing going as the BMW X2.
It's a car by a brand with a history in longitudinally mounted engines...
and rear-wheel drive. This however,
just like the X2, has a transversely mounted engine with front-wheel drive.
In this case it has rear-wheel drive as well, so it's actually four-wheel drive.
And that's something which has to suit you, and I can imagine it doesn't when you like Jaguars.
However, just like in the BMW, they've been able to mask it properly.
This car is very communicative as well, and that's even more special.
The big problem with this E-Pace is, is that's it's heavy.
Incredibly heavy actually. It's even heavier than a comparable F-Pace.
That's because it's on the Range Rover Evoque-platform, whilst the F-Pace is based on the Velar-platform,
and the latter is a lot more modern. Still, Jaguar did a very good job in making this car this communicative.
There's a small advantage as well. Despite being heavier than the other two,
it has more torques as well. It produces 430 Nm of torque,
whilst the other two only produce 400 Nm. How about that.
When you get into the interior of a Volvo XC40, you might need a little explanation.
When they were developing this car, they asked a panel of hundreds of car drivers,
not necessarily Volvo-drivers, what they found important in their cars.
A pretty strange list followed, it's rather special really.
A removable bin, funny. This compartment here is precisely big enough for a box of tissues.
I don't even want to know why people would want that in their car, but whatever floats their boat.
Over here we've got a small hook, which can carry up to 2 kg, for a bag or something.
Other than that, it's an interior which looks pretty similar to the interiors in the XC60 or XC90,
or any other big Volvo with this upright screen.
There's another digital screen here as standard. The steering wheel is nice and compact,
and the seating position is very good. Also, very important for practicality,
in the back, this is the most spacious car of the three today.
Lots of legroom and lots of headroom.
The XC40 is the first Volvo on the new CMA-platform, which stands for Compact Modular Architecture.
It's a platform for smaller Volvo's, and in time, the V40 will be based on that as well.
That sounds promising, because it's a very good platform.
It's pretty soft and comfortable, but it's very communicative at the same time.
The steering is pretty sharp as well, so there's nothing to complain about the chassis.
It's a very well balanced platform, and it feels good.
Then, the engine. The D4 is an incredibly pleasant diesel engine,
producing 190 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque. It's quick enough and it's fitted with a nice gearbox.
An automatic one. There's a small annoying thing however.
It doesn't have a safe switch, but you have to move the lever two times.
That means when you want to reverse, you have to move the lever forwards two times.
It goes wrong every single time. If you want to move backwards,
it starts revving but it doesn't move. When you're changing back to Drive,
it's the same, and that's annoying.
And it's not just me. Everybody who has driven this car is saying the same.
Other than that, the steering is very good.
It feels a tad light, but it's direct and precise enough.
Again, it's a front-wheel drive car, which can send power to the rear wheels as well.
Having a BMW or a Volvo in the driveway is nothing to be ashamed about, on the contrary,
but having a Jaguar in your driveway? Having a Jaguar still sounds incredibly good.
It's a classical brand with a lot of heritage, and this E-Pace still is a real Jaguar.
When you look at it as well. It really resembles the F-Pace.
The big nose, the grille, it's really impressive,
but that comes at a price. The design isn't the only thing resembling the F-Pace,
because the price is as well. And that's the big disadvantage.
I think it's going to be cannibalized by its big brother.
Then, the Volvo or the BMW, and it's a hard choice to make.
The steering in the BMW is a tad nicer than in the Volvo, you have to give it that,
it looks better on the inside, more premium than the Volvo...
But again, that comes at a price.
The Volvo is incredibly complete for a relatively small price, and it's the most spacious of the three.
That's important as well.
I'm not going to tell you the definitive conclusion just yet, because I don't know what it's going to be.
We're still testing. We'll have to review the measurements, fuel efficiency,
other calculations and stuff, but...
And that's a big but, if I'm very careful with my words,
I think the XC40 is going to win the test, with the BMW coming second and the Jaguar coming third.
If you want to be certain, the full results will be in AutoWeek #12,
with the full test, all of the measurements, details and the whole story.