In an effort to boost sales volumes in Canada and the U.S. Jaguar is looking to bring over its four-cylinder XF sedan as an entry-level model.
With German rival BMW having also adopted a turbo four for its 5-Series (a chief XF competitor), the strategy appears to be a logical one for Jaguar. In addition, with upcoming Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets set by the Obama Administration, which require automakers who sell cars in the U.S, to achieve a fleet wide average of 34.4 miles per gallon by 2016, even luxury makers are seeing that the adoption of smaller displacement engines will go a long way to helping achieve these figures. Adding fuel to the fire, car buyers, even those in the luxury category are placing more emphasis on fuel economy than ever before, when it comes to new vehicle purchases.
In Canada, current Jaguar models are only available with normally aspirated and supercharged V8 engines, so smaller units, like the four and also the supercharged 3.0-litre V6, scheduled for use in the XF and XJ sedans, are likely to make the marque’s offerings more appealing against the likes of models from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The four-cylinder XF is scheduled to arrive on North American shores as a 2013 model.
