Features

LOS ANGELES — The “Hunger Games” prequel stayed atop the North American box office over the long US Thanksgiving weekend, fending off an invasion by new Ridley Scott film “Napoleon”, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Sunday.

Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” took in an estimated $42 million from Wednesday through Sunday — boosted by Thanksgiving holiday moviegoers — and $28.8 million for the usual Friday-through-Sunday period.

This fifth in the “Hunger Games” series stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler and Peter Dinklage in a story about the 10th Hunger Games in the dystopian state of Panem.

In second place was the latest take on the “Napoleon” epic, this one from Sony, with ticket sales of $32.5 million for the five-day weekend and $20.4 million for three days.

“This is a good opening for a period epic action adventure,” said analyst David A. Gross, who noted the “pedigree” of director Ridley Scott and strong leads in Joaquin Phoenix, as the French emperor, and Vanessa Kirby, as Empress Josephine.

The European setting should help the movie “over-perform abroad”, Gross said. But the film had an “enormous” production budget of $200 million, he noted, and has generated lukewarm reviews, with many French critics panning historical inaccuracies.

Disney, meantime, did not quite get its “Wish” with the release of the lavish animation by that name. It took in $31.7 million for five days and $19.5 for three, which Gross said was roughly half what similar films have earned in the past.

“The struggle is real for the $200M animated film, and the Magic Kingdom itself,” Exhibitor Relations said on X, formerly Twitter.

“Wish” follows another disappointing opening for Disney; “The Marvels” recently saw the lowest debut ever in the studio’s Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Featuring the voices of Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine, “Wish” tells the story of King Magnifico, who from his island kingdom grants one wish a month.

In fourth, down two spots from last weekend, was Universal’s animated musical comedy “Trolls Band Together”. Led by voice actors Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, it sold $25.3 million in tickets for five days, and $17.6 million for three.

And in fifth was Sony slasher film “Thanksgiving”, at $11 million for five days and $7.2 million for three. Patrick Dempsey and Addison Rae star.

Ever “softer” and car-like, more luxurious and exponentially complicated, modern SUVs have become more popular, but less capable, more fragile and have largely lost the authenticity and extensively rugged abilities the segment was previously known for. However, the breed is not completely extinct, with some manufacturers maintaining tough old school SUVs, including legacy models like the UAZ Hunter, and previous generation Nissan Patrol and Toyota Land Cruiser variants, alongside more modern successors.

UAZ Hunter

UAZ’s second best known vehicle, the Hunter is essentially a civilian version of the iconic Russian 469 military off-roader first introduced in 1972. Developed and improved incrementally since, the Hunter is powered by a more modern 2.7-litre petrol four-cylinder engine, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Producing 133BHP at 4,600rpm and 160lb/ft at 2,500rpm, it yields 90 per cent of maximum torque over an accessibly wide 2,000-4,500rpm band, and achieves a 130km/h top speed.

A highly capable and uncompromising off-roader with stiff body-on-chassis construction and tough all-round live axle suspension with front coil springs for improved ride and wheel travel in front, and rugged rear leaf springs, the Hunter operates rear wheels on-road, but can engage four-wheel-drive and low gear ratios for difficult low traction off-road conditions. Riding with 210mm ground clearance, it boasts excellent off-road angles including a 50° approach, and 500mm water fording capability.

A practical and utilitarian 5-door SUV with 1,830-litre cargo capacity and a functional and un-pretentious cabin, the Hunter’s compact dimensions make it something of a mountain goat that easily negotiates narrow and demanding routes and trails. Available in hard- or soft-top versions, the Hunter range includes a more capable Expedition version with improved 241mm clearance, 235/85R16 off-road tyres, electric winch, bull-bar, bottom-hinged tailgate, modified wheel-arches, reinforced bumpers and running boards with two crossbeams.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 2.7-litre, in-line 4-cylinders
• Gearbox: 5-speed manual, four-wheel-drive
• Drive-train: Low gear ratios, locking differential
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 133 (135) [99] @4,600rpm
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 160 (217) @2,500rpm
• Top speed: 130km/h
• Length: 4,050mm
• Width: 1,775mm
• Height: 1,950mm
• Wheelbase: 2,380mm
• Track: 1,465mm
• Ground clearance: 210mm
• Wading depth: 500mm
• Approach / ramp / departure angles: 50°/36°/39°
• Weight: 1,760-1,845kg
• Cargo capacity: 735-865kg
• Suspension, F/R: Live axles, coil / leaf springs
• Tyres: 225/75R16

Nissan Patrol Super Safari ‘Y61’

A Gulf motoring icon, the Nissan Patrol “Y61” generation first launched in 1997 and was re-introduced in the Middle East in 2017, alongside its Y62 successor. However, the Y61 never truly went away, and was available for fleet sales and in some markets throughout its 2010-2017 “wilderness years”. Ruggedly durable, thoroughly capable and very comfortable, its comeback was tailored for regional preferences and includes luxurious Super Safari, and in-house modified Gazelle variants.

Utilitarian yet indulgent in character, the Y61’s chunky and upright design, tough build quality and off-road ability go unchanged, but its spacious and homely cabin receives modern infotainment features. Also unchanged is its metaphorically “bullet proof” 4.8-litre naturally-aspirated straight six-cylinder engine and 5-speed automatic gearbox. Smooth and progressive in operation and low-revving and abundant in delivery, it develops 276BHP at 4,800rpm and 332lb/ft torque at 3,600rpm, in the generous “gross” rating system. 

Carrying its estimated 2.5-tonne mass at a reasonably brisk pace, the Y61 is a comfortable and relaxed on-road cruiser, dispatching long distances with a planted stability, forgiving ride, bank vault-like solidity and velvety refinement. In its element through inhospitable terrain, it rides with 215mm ground clearance and generous off-road angles, and benefits from a tough construction, while low gear ratios and a locking rear differential ensure progress over more extreme conditions.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 4.8-litre, in-line 6-cylinders 
• Gearbox: 5-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive
• Drive-train: Low gear ratios, locking rear differential
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 276 (280) [205] @4,800rpm*
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 332 (451) @3,600rpm*
• Top speed: 190km/h**
• Length: 5,080mm
• Width: 1,940mm
• Height: 1,855mm
• Wheelbase: 2,970mm
• Ground clearance: 215mm**
• Approach / ramp / departure angles: 37° / 27° / 31°**
• Kerb weight: approximately 2,500kg**
• Suspension F/R: 3-link / 5-link, coil springs, anti-roll bars
• Tyres: 275/65R17**

Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Wagon GXL

Largely unchanged and in continuous production since 1984, the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 was mildly revised for a then more contemporary look in 2007, and again recently for the 2024 model year. Its latest aesthetic refresh includes notably a chunkier style, with a squared off bonnet and grille, and circular headlights with LED elements for a somewhat retro-inspired aesthetic, akin to the Toyota FJ Cruiser, rather than just being evolutionary in character.

That said, the Land Cruiser 70 remains a bona fide legacy model with the same tough body-on-frame construction and engineering, and rugged live-axle suspension design with front coil springs for comfort and long wheel-travel, and rear leaf springs for durability and authentic workhorse duties. Under its more stylized bonnet, the latest 70 retains its powerhouse 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine and 5-speed manual gearbox, but is available with 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder with automatic transmission.

Developing 202BHP at 3,400rpm and huge 317lb/ft torque throughout a low-revving 1,200-3,200rpm band, the Land Cruiser 70 normally drives its rear wheels, but can engage four-wheel-drive, low gear ratios and an optional differential lock for difficult off-road driving. Available in single and double cab pick-up, 3- and 5-door wagon or long wheelbase high roof 3-door “troop carrier” variants, it also receives a more modern, retro-styled and well-equipped cabin, and safety and infotainment tech.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 4.5-litre, turbo-diesel, V8-cylinders 
• Gearbox: 5-speed manual, four-wheel-drive:
• Drive-train: Low gear ratios, locking differential
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 202 (205) [151] @3,400rpm
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 317 (430) @1,200-3,200rpm
• Length: 4,910mm
• Width: 1,870mm
• Height: 1,940mm
• Wheelbase: 2,730mm
• Ground clearance: 290mm
• Kerb weight: 2,355kg
• Suspension F/R: Live axle, coil / leaf springs

By Nathalie Khalaf,
Holistic Counsellor

“The life pulse consists of three cosmic principles: expansion, contraction and stasis. These principles exist everywhere, in the entire universe. We notice it on a Divine Cosmic Level, on a soul level, on a physical level and psychological level.”

Something to experience

It had been a while that things didn’t seem the same to me. I noticed a drastic change about a year ago and have since known deep in my gut that it was something I had to simply “go through” something I had to experience no matter how disturbing, uncomfortable and hopeless it seemed.

I knew that it was something nobody else would have an answer nor a solution to. I also knew that nothing was going to make it “hurry up or disappear” until it was time for things to change on their own.

Nothing to change

Of course, and through despair, I did reach out to a few peers as I found myself gasping for any insight which would help me breathe easier through my despair. They all pointed out to the same insight; there was nothing to change, but that it was simply a phase I had to “breathe through” and wait until change occurred.

A wake-up call

All this now reminds me of the “Pulse of life” work during my five years of Holistic Studies. We are all good at going through those phases of activity in our lives, when our time and days are filled with “the doing in life” and we don’t give ourselves the time to stop and think about where we are headed or what we are doing — so, life does that on our behalf.

We may suddenly be faced with that “down time” when things just stop, and we must stop with them. Many people panic because our sense of self is, unfortunately, very much attached to what we do and we forget to be. I’ve had one of those experiences lately and with that inner voice — that inner knowing, came a realisation that things had to stop for them to change before I could move forward and upward in my life.

The loss of self

Of course it feels uncomfortable. We may feel lost, despair, hopeless and we may go through a phase of feeling depression. We may feel a complete loss of self; who am I if not what I do? Why do I exist? What is the purpose of it all? This is the “Pulse of life”, simply carrying on and carrying us along. Perhaps the easiest example I can use to explain the “Pulse of life” is when it takes place on the physical level, which is through the pulsation of our hearts, the blood stream and our lungs as a few examples.

A moment of nothingness Expanding means letting the life force flow out into the world, but for that to happen, its opposite must also exist, and that is when contraction takes place. We expand and take oxygen in, then we contract and let carbon dioxide out.

Then there is that moment of complete nothingness.

Stasis is peace, quiet, a mini death so to speak, as our body absorbs, learns, understands, accepts and simulates what has just happened. And that can be translated onto the larger “Pulse of life” on a psychological and spiritual level.

Acceptance

Our spiritual life pulse could be our expansion when we send our energy, love and teachings out into the world.

Then an equal force and time of contracting needs to take place for us to go within, deeper each time, as we gather what we take in from the outside world, our learnings and experiences. Then comes that moment of stasis or complete stillness when everything is taken in, assimilated, accepted and understood. And the cycle starts again, and life goes out further and further each time.

The beauty of life

As I read about the “Pulse of life” repeatedly, I receive a deeper understanding of what it means and what is happening in my life at each stage. There is nothing I can do about it but accept and surrender. Once I do accept and surrender, I feel the larger wisdom of life manifesting in its perfection, in everything around me and in each moment.

This realisation has taken place in my own personal life on many occasions. It humbles me and teaches me every time to kneel down and accept the beauty of life on a deeper level. Once we let go of our illusion of control, things unfold and manifest the way they should.

Everything moves again, expands and blossoms and so do we.

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

LONDON — British music retailer HMV returned to the iconic site of its former flagship store in central London on Friday, in a much-needed boost to the flagging fortunes of the capital’s premier shopping street.

The re-opening of the historic shop comes as authorities fight back against a wave of so-called American candy stores which have plagued central London since the pandemic.

UK 1980s band Madness joined Canadian owner Doug Putman as the store threw open it doors.

Putman said it was a “pretty great moment” and a sign of the “positive direction things are going in here”.

“It is all about balance. There is no problem having the odd candy store here but people don’t need tens of them,” he added.

The entrepreneur even brought his dog Ollie, a dead ringer for Nipper, the original model for the famous HMV logo featuring a dog listening to its late master’s voice coming from a gramophone. HMV stands for “His Master’s Voice”.

Steeped in musical history, the one-time HMV store at 363 Oxford Street was opened in 1921 by English composer Edward Elgar and later helped propel The Beatles to fame.

But in recent years, the capital’s main shopping thoroughfare has struggled as big department stores such as Debenhams and House of Fraser shut.

“It feels like Times Square in New York, heavy on quantity but low on quality,” unimpressed US tourist Brandy Fons, 51, told AFP.

Fons, a film publicist on a visit to London with her teenage daughter Sienna, said they had been struck by the amount of rubbish constantly needing to be cleared up.

“We’ve been to better, a lot better,” she said.

After HMV Oxford Street closed in 2019, it was converted into one of the many unwanted sweet stores that popped up during the pandemic when only food shops were allowed to stay open.

Local authorities say that at its peak, there were 30 candy or souvenir shops on Oxford Street, traditionally home to big, prestigious retailers.

They also accuse them of questionable business practices and say they owe millions in unpaid business taxes.

Geoff Barraclough, of Westminster Council which administers the area, told AFP he believed the reopening of HMV was a real turning point.

“Its testimony that the buzz is back on the nation’s most-loved high street,” he said, highlighting the much-anticipated opening next year of an IKEA store.

‘His Master’s Voice’ 

The new HMV, which will also feature a space for performances and signings, represented “exactly what we want Oxford Street to be all about — an experience beyond traditional retail”, Barraclough added.

The Oxford Street flagship secured its place in musical history in 1962 when Brian Epstein cut a demo for The Beatles in the shop studio.

That led to the Fab Four signing with EMI, the record label that owned HMV until 1996.

But HMV fell into financial distress in 2019 as it struggled to compete with music streaming and the Oxford Street site was forced to close.

The company was eventually rescued by Canada’s Sunrise Records for an undisclosed sum and has since experienced a renaissance under Putman, returning to profit last year.

The turnaround in its fortunes prompted the retailer to announce in April that it would be “back by popular demand on Oxford Street” in time for Christmas.

For some Londoners that cannot come soon enough.

London scaffolder Dave Jacobs, 60, said like many Britons he had fond memories of browsing and buying music in HMV.

The candy stores made the whole street look “trashy”, he said, adding that he was “glad they’re getting rid of them”.

The HMV store was “just a part of London”, he said.

SEOUL — The last four members of South Korean mega-group BTS who have yet to undertake their mandatory military service have begun the process of enlisting, the K-pop stars’ label said on Wednesday.

All able-bodied men in South Korea must serve at least 18 months in the military and, after a years-long debate about whether BTS deserved an exemption, Jin, the oldest member of the group, enlisted last year, followed by his bandmate J-Hope in April.

A third member, SUGA, started his service in September.

Now, all four of the group’s remaining members — RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — are set to soon begin their service as well, the septet’s label BIGHIT MUSIC said in a statement.

“We would like to inform our fans that RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook have initiated the military enlistment process,” it said.

“We ask you for your continued love and support for RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook until they complete their military service and safely return.”

Before BTS went on a hiatus in June last year, they had bagged six No. 1 hits on the US Hot 100 chart. All seven members of the boyband have also reached the top of the charts with solo tracks, Billboard said.

Since their debut in 2013, BTS have been credited with generating billions of dollars for their country, as well as boosting the image and soft power of South Korea — now a global cultural powerhouse.

They have been invited to speak at the United Nations, and to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House.

Earlier this year, the chairman of the septet’s agency, Bang Si-hyuk, said that making BTS do their military service was slowing the global growth of K-pop.

South Korea offers exemptions from military service to some people, including Olympic medal-winning athletes and some classical musicians, but K-pop stars are not eligible under the existing programme.

And in an intensely competitive industry where artists can be easily replaced, some male K-pop stars have faced challenges in resuming their careers after fulfilling their duties.

BTS’s agency, HYBE — BIGHIT is a label under it — announced in September that all seven members of the group had renewed their contracts, without giving further details.

The announcement implies that all seven members are likely to stay with the agency even after completing their military service.

NEW YORK — Mosaics, paintings, jewelry, ceramics, manuscripts from the 4th to the 15th century: the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is showing 200 ancient and mediaeval works that reflect a thousand years of influence of the Byzantine Empire on the Christian communities of Egypt, Tunisia and Ethiopia.

One of the wealthiest in the world, the museum has brought together gems from collections from Africa, Asia and Europe for an exhibition called “Africa & Byzantium”, from Sunday until next March.

The Met presented a preview this week to a few journalists with its partners, the Egyptian and Tunisian governments and the oldest Coptic Orthodox monastery in the world, Egypt’s Saint Catherine of Sinai.

Bringing together artistic, religious, literary and archaeological treasures, “Africa & Byzantium” shows the impact of the Byzantine Empire from its capital Constantinople — which was formerly Byzantium and is now called Istanbul — on Christianity, which spread in the Horn of Africa from the 4th to the 7th centuries.

According to Met CEO Max Hollein, the exhibit is “brings new focus and scholarship to an understudied field, expanding our knowledge of Byzantine and Early Christian Art within an expansive worldview”.

Visitors will be able to view painted manuscripts, textiles, marble mosaics, carved ivories from Nubia, gold jewelry from Egypt, wall paintings — many of them appearing part for the first time in the United States.

The pieces explore the links between cultural and multi-faith communities from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, the Met said.

Tunisian Cultural Affairs Minister Hayet Guettat Guermazi told AFP the pieces show the world her country’s “rich cultural heritage that is the result of a mix of different civilizations that have occupied the Mediterranean” along with a “local African foundation”.

Archbishop Damianos, from Saint Catherine of Sinai, praised the exhibition, saying it “provides us with the opportunity to recall the universality of Byzantium, which is a proposal for freedom, unity, reconciliation, respect and peace, the peace that is so needed in our world today”.

PARIS — The hole in the Antarctic ozone layer has been getting deeper in mid-spring over the last two decades, despite a global ban on chemicals that deplete Earth’s shield from deadly solar radiation, new research suggested on  Tuesday.

The ozone layer 11 to 40 kilometres above Earth’s surface filters out most of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which can cause skin cancer and cataracts.

From the mid-1970s, chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) — once widely used in aerosols and refrigerators — were found to be reducing ozone levels, creating annual holes largely over the Antarctica region.

The 1987 Montreal Protocol, which banned CFCs in a bid to close the hole, is considered a success story for international environmental cooperation.

In January, a major UN-backed assessment found that the agreement was working. It projected the ozone layer should be restored to 1980 levels over the Antarctic by around 2066.

Smaller holes over the Arctic were projected to recover by 2045, and for the rest of the world in around two decades.

But despite the decline in CFCs, there has not yet been a significant reduction in the area covered by the Antarctic ozone hole, according to New Zealand researchers behind a new study in the journal Nature Communications.

And there has been less ozone at the centre of the hole over time, they added.

“Six of the last nine years have had really low ozone amounts and extremely large ozone holes,” study co-author Annika Seppala of New Zealand’s Otago University told AFP.

“What might be happening is something else is going on in the atmosphere now — possibly because of climate change — and that’s masking some of the recovery,” she said.

An unusual few years 

The ozone hole over Antarctica usually opens in September and lasts until November, taking in the Southern Hemisphere’s spring.

The researchers said the hole has been opening later in September, indicating a recovery possibly due to CFC reductions.

But in October, when the hole is often largest, the ozone level in the middle stratospheric layer shrunk by 26 per cent from 2004 to 2022, said the study, citing satellite data.

The study’s lead author Hannah Kessenich emphasised that the Montreal Protocol and CFC reductions were still “on track”.

But “altogether, our findings reveal the recent, large ozone holes may not be caused just by CFCs”, she added.

The analysis excluded data from the years 2002 and 2019, when “sudden break-ups of the polar vortex” led to significantly smaller ozone holes, Kessenich added.

Leading ozone scientist Susan Solomon, who was not involved in the research, told AFP that the study should be viewed through the lens that “the past few years have been quite unusual”.

Solomon led previous research showing that 2020’s ozone hole was made 10 per cent wider by the massive “Black Saturday” wildfires in Australia.

The gigantic eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano off Tonga in 2022 is also believed to have affected recent ozone levels.

Martin Jucker, an expert at Australia’s University of New South Wales, was not convinced by the study’s results.

“It is questionable how the authors can remove 2002 and 2019 from the record but not 2020-22, given that all of these years have been shown to be dominated by very special and rare events,” he said.

LONDON — Mark Knopfler, the former frontman of British rock group Dire Straits, announced on Tuesday he will sell more than 120 guitars and amps spanning his five-decade career at an auction next year.

The sale, at Christie’s auctioneers on January 31, will feature the guitar used to record the band’s hit song “Money For Nothing” and famously played at the legendary 1985 Live Aid concert in London.

“The Mark Knopfler Guitar Collection” sale also comprises an array of guitars he used to write, record and perform Dire Straits’ and solo tracks, Christie’s said.

They include Gibson, Fender and Martin instruments alongside custom-built models by renowned guitar builders Rudy Pensa and John Suhr.

“It’s time to take some of these treasured six-string companions out of their cases and allow them to have new adventures with new owners,” Knopfler said in comments released by the auction house.

“You can be sure I’ll be sad to see them go but we’ve had wonderful times together and I can’t play them all,” he added.

‘Temptation’ 

Knopfler founded Dire Straits in 1977 with his younger brother David, bassist John Illsley, and drummer Pick Withers.

The band went on to have a string of hits, such as “Sultans of Swing”, “Romeo and Juliet” and “Brothers In Arms”. Knopfler has also enjoyed a solo and film soundtracks career.

The 74-year-old will donate a quarter of the sales proceeds to various charities, including the British Red Cross, wildlife conservationists Tusk and children’s not-for-profit Brave Hearts of the North East.

The most highly valued lot — estimated at £500,000 ($625,000) — is an original 1959 Les Paul Standard which Knopfler acquired from Bobby Tench of The Jeff Beck Group.

The Gibson Les Paul 1983 reissue guitar used to record “Money For Nothing” is expected to fetch up to £15,000 ($19,000).

Other notable offerings include a 2002 Fender “Mark Knopfler Signature Stratocaster”, set to fetch up to £6,000, and a “Pensa-Suhr MK-1” uniquely crafted and adapted by John Suhr, valued at £6,000-£8,000.

Among the more affordable lots: a mandolin previously owned by blues legend Yank Rachell, set to cost £300 to £500.

Christie’s will hold a December 9-13 touring exhibition in New York, followed by pre-sale viewings at its London headquarters.

Speaking to the BBC recently while recording his 10th solo album, Knopfler confided that he may use some of the auction proceeds to buy new guitars, explaining that he was “not impervious to temptation”.

Jaguar’s best effort to decisively break into the once lucrative and high-selling German-dominated compact premium saloon market, the XE is a brilliant car that more than made up for its Ford Mondeo-based 2001-2009 X-Type predecessor’s perceived shortcomings. Introduced in 2015 and intended to significantly broaden the British brand’s client base and sales, the XE was unfortunately the right car at the wrong time, and has been arguably superseded in its mission by Jaguar’s more recent crossovers and SUVs, which are better attuned to current customer preferences.

Not long for this world as Jaguar pivots towards a pricier and more luxury-oriented positioning and electrified future, the XE, however, still remains one of the manufacturer’s sportiest, most accessible and engaging modern driver’s cars. Built on a rear-wheel-drive platform using stiff and lightweight aluminium-intensive construction, the XE is a true sports saloon. With pitch perfect suspension and steering tuning and compact dimensions, it is the dartier and nimbler sister to the Jaguar XF saloon, and almost rivals the F-Type coupe in its sporting character.

Ready to pounce

Steeped in sporting heritage but designed with a modern styling sensibility rather than its predecessor’s retro-infused aesthetic, the swept back and aerodynamically efficient Jaguar XE oozes an air of tense momentum. With slim, squinting deep-set headlights, broad and snouty mesh grille, the XE seems ready to pounce, and most resembles the larger XF saloon. Face-lifted in 2019 with subtle bumper and lighting revisions, it retains its dramatic stance, with short front overhang, long bonnet, and dramatically descending roofline trailing off to a short, pert rear deck.

First launched with a Ford-sourced Ecoboost engine, which was replaced by Jaguar’s similar in-house developed turbocharged 2-litre in-line four-cylinder Ingenium engine in 2017, the featured XE P250 develops 247BHP at 5,500rpm and 269lb/ft throughout a broad and accessible 1,300-4,500rpm mid-range. With quick scrolling turbo and little lag, the P250 is responsively brisk from standstill, and carries its 1,672kg mass through 0-100km/h in 6.7-seconds, 80-120km/h in 4.3-seconds and onto 242km/h. Muscularly flexible in mid-range and eager to redline, the P250 meanwhile returns moderate 7.7l/100km combined fuel efficiency.

Agile abilities

Driving rear wheels through a slick and responsively quick 8-speed automatic gearbox, the P250’s shifts adopt a succinctly aggressive profile in sportier driving modes, while manual mode steering-mounted paddle shifters provide more driver involvement. The XE’s delicate throttle response meanwhile enables easy power modulation to accurately and intuitively balance grip versus slip through corners. Eager to initiate drifts with electronic stability controls in low intervention setting, the P250 is, however, more sure-footed and smooth over low traction roads when a less responsive gearbox shift profile is chosen.

If slightly fidgety when driven hard on such roads, the P250’s wider rear tires otherwise provide decent grip, while stability controls are best in default mode for control, but allow more tail-happy entertainment when in reduced intervention settings. Intuitively predictable and easily managed on-throttle, the XE’s drifty character allows one to easily tighten a cornering line, but would be even more effective with a limited-slip rear differential for enhanced agility and stability. Accurate and tidy turning in, its light, quick and precise steering meanwhile provides superbly nuanced fingertip feel.

Flowing and fluent

Flowing and fluid through switchbacks with its harmonious fixed rate suspension and steering, the XE’s rides on sporting double wishbone front, and innovative integral-link rear suspension, for a balanced combination of ride comfort and cornering body control. Slightly firm in primary response over jagged surfaces, the XE settles into smooth and supple secondary responses. As speed increases, it more fluently and comfortably processes textural imperfections, without the sideways shunting typical to some German cars. Pitching slightly over crests, the XE’s vertical control is nevertheless taut and settled.

Stylish and sporty inside with its twin-pod design, chunky steering wheel and hunkered down ambiance, the XE exudes class, and features a medley of soft textures, good quality leathers, and some less obvious hard plastics. Mildly revised with updated convenience, assistance and infotainment equipment and tech, the face-lifted XE replaces its outgoing pop-up rotary gear selector with a more conventional lever. Its driving position is ergonomic and supportive with good front views, while rear seat space may not be best in segment, but is nevertheless adequate for most.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Engine: 2-litre, turbocharged, in-line 4-cylinders
• Bore x stroke: 83 x 92.3.1mm
• Compression ratio: 10.5:1
• Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, variable timing, direct injection
• Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive
• Ratios: 1st 4.71; 2nd 3.14; 3rd 2.11; 4th 1.67; 5th 1.29; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.84; 8th 0.67
• Reverse / final drive ratios: 3.3 / 3.42
• Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 247 (250) [184] @5,500rpm
• Specific power: 123.7BHP/litre
• Power-to-weight: 147.7BHP/tonne (kerb)
• Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 269 (365) @1,300-4,500rpm
• Specific torque: 182.8Nm/litre
• Torque-to-weight: 218.3Nm/tonne (kerb)
• 0-100km/h: 6.7-seconds
• 80-120km/h: 4.3-seconds
• Top speed: 242km/h
• Fuel economy, combined: 7.7-litres/100km
• Fuel capacity: 62-litres
• Length: 4,678mm
• Width: 1,850mm
• Height: 1,410mm
• Wheelbase: 2,835mm
• Track, F/R: 1,605/1,608mm
• Overhang, F/R: 1,002/1,608mm
• Ground clearance: 123mm
• Aerodynamic drag coefficient: 0.28
• Headroom, F/R: 971/948mm
• Legroom, F/R: 1,055/889mm
• Boot volume: 394-litres
• Unladen  / kerb weight: 1,597kg / 1,672kg
• Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones, integral-link
• Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion
• Lock-to-lock: 2.58-turns
• Turning circle: 11.58-metres
• Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs / discs
• Tyres, F/R: 225/45R18 / 245/40R18