Jaguar joins the diesel flood

Priced at $101,490, the S-type Diesel uses a twin turbo 2.7-litre V6 diesel that drives the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission. This is the same engine used by Peugeot in its new 407 Coupe and in the Jag, it generates a maximum power of 153kW and peak torque of 435Nm.

Jaguar had been talking about launching the diesel in Australia since mid last year but according to general manager David Blackhall, the car was delayed as the local diesel fuel quality issues were sorted out.

He also said that he was encouraged by other prestige and luxury makers offering more diesel options, in particular, BMW which with its $113,500 530d, has the honour of selling the most expensive diesel passenger car in Australia.

Part of the growing availability of premium diesel cars in Australia has resulted from the new diesel fuel standards that came into effect on January 1, 2006, and although Caltex have had a much publicised extension in meeting the new standards, there is plenty of low sulphur fuel that suits the new generation of common rail, particulate filter equipped diesels.

For Jaguar, Blackhall says dealers have been told to encourage customers to use BP outlets for their fuel needs as generally the diesel pump is located alongside the petrol hoses on the forecourt and the company can guarantee that it's diesel meets the new standards.

While the new diesel engine in the S-type offers significantly lower fuel consumption than the equivalent 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine -- with Jag claiming an official combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 7.8l/100km -- Blackhall says it will also help improve the company's image on the new technology front.

He says customer surveys have revealed that Jaguar buyers believe the company lacks the new technology of its rivals and that this high tech diesel with its second generation common rail system and piezo-electric injectors will help counter that perception.

The S-Type Diesel is also not short on creature comforts either sharing its kit list with the V6 Luxury model. Standard features include power front seats, full leather, bluetooth capability, satnav, Alpine six-stack CD audio and front and rear parking sensors.

Blackhall has conservative sales targets for the new diesel saying he hopes to achieve between 25 and 40 diesel sales for the remainder of the year against an expected total of about 200 S-Types.

Overall he says Jaguar should achieve total sales across X-Type, S-Type, XJ and the forthcoming XK coupe and convertible models of about 800-1000 which "delivers on the business plan."

He says over the past two years there has been a change of direction for Jaguar globally in that it has recognised its place as a niche player -- rather than the BMW-beater proposed by people like former Ford boss Jac Nasser in the late 1990s -- and will concentrate on the cars it does well.

To that end, Blackhall says there is no SUV in the short-term agenda and the rumoured resurrection of the F-Type sports car concept is "just talk."

What will be arriving here shortly however, is the long-awaited XK models although if you fancy getting behind the wheel of the new two-door $200K sports car when it is launched in June, forget it. This year's allocation of 40 cars has already sold out and Jaguar Australia is presently taking orders for Q1, 2007.

In addition to the new S-Type Diesel, Blackhall says Jaguar is also looking at adding some more models with a diesel version of the bigger XJ sedan using the same 2.7-litre engine currently under evaluation. He says Jaguar management in the UK had also encouraged the local outfit to take the smaller 2.2-litre diesel X-Type sedan and now that it will soon be available with an automatic transmission, Blackhall says he would consider it for our market.