Two British DOCs challenge each other on the road and on snowy grounds in the last chapter of the eternal tussle between car and way. That is how it went.
When it comes to "Made in England" engines, the thought immediately goes to the iconic Triumph bikes and, as far as cars are concerned, to the fast Jaguar bikes. Two symbol marks that we decided to put head-to-head on Majella's snow-covered streets.
Jaguar XE 2.0d AWD: Our Trial
Driving the most compact celery in Jaguar, driven by a 2-litre turbodiesel engine coupled with permanent all-wheel drive.
In this new chapter of the eternal challenge between cars and motorcycles, an XE - the average Coventry saloon - and the evergreen 675 Street Triple (2009 model), modified to use and consume our stuntman, the stainless Emanuele Freddo. At the wheel of Jaguar was Lorenzo Baroni, a tester with a long career behind him.
Snow was the arbiter of the bagarre: the white background with very low grip has radically changed the weight of the forces in the field, making this comparison very interesting, also considering the technical specifications of the two vehicles: to help the XE, in addition to the thermal tires, there was the latest evolution of the Jaguar's all-wheel drive, while on the Street... well, on the original Street remained very little.
Triumph 675 Street Triple: just like the cold one.
The 675 MY2009 of our comparison was converted to stunt-bike, extensively modified to perform stunts of all kinds. The list of changes is very long. The bike has a 67-tooth crown, side armor in iron tubular steel with solid aluminium pads, rear bar 12 or' tubular iron clock, reinforced rear frame, fixed and raised rear footrests with reinforced headband and radiator perimeter support.
Also included in the tuning are the aluminium rear support with anti-slip backrest for rear saddle hole, the saddle modification - passenger seat lift and hole for foot insertion and the rear support of 3 radial calipers with 4 piston radial calipers, made from solid aluminium. No less important is the modification of the rear disc holder and 300 mm disc holder and the additional rear brake pump on the handlebar.
Dulcis in fundo the modified handlebar and the tank flattened and elongated with kick and non-slip pad. The panel is completed by the keypad, left electric controls, and instrumentation moved to positions suitable to prevent breakage. However, what really made the difference in this car-bike comparison, especially in driving on snow, were the studded tyres, really indispensable in this situation.
Jaguar: How XE is made
The Jaguar XE is a brand new top-to-top car with a sophisticated aluminium chassis and a range of new engines and technologies. On request, it is also possible to have a permanent all-wheel drive, which is required by an increasingly large customer base. The price list of this baby-Jag ranges between 38 and 56 thousand euros. Its aesthetics are very "British", with proportions designed to honor elegance and last over time: it looks like a four-door coupe, with a low and sporty seat.
From a technical point of view, the XE boasts sophisticated front suspensions with double transverse arm, derived from those of the sporty F-Type and made entirely of aluminium. At the end there is the "Integral Link", a multilink with various forged or die-cast aluminium elements. However, the version of our test stands out above all for its 4-wheel drive: thanks to the"Intelligent Driveline Dynamics", the English saloon reproduces the feeling of a rear-wheel drive car, transferring the driving torque to the front axle only when it is needed to fight skates.
Technically, 90% of the driving torque is routed to the rear axle and, if necessary, up to 50% is transferred at the front. In full acceleration, the system transmits almost 100% of the power to the rear wheels. It is responsible for transmitting the power where and when needed there is a torque distributor located directly behind the gearbox and composed of an oil-bath multi-disc clutch: it is controlled by an electro-hydraulic actuator that regulates the pressure between the clutch discs; the latter is connected to a chain drive and a shaft that transmits torque to the front differential.
At the wheel of the all-wheel-drive XE, they immediately enjoy the driving position and steering, which is light and straightforward; the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission is very smooth. At a minimum, the 2 litre 4-cylinder diesel engine driving the car is a bit indiscreet: however, its 180 hp delivers brilliant performance with a torque (430 Nm) and excellent low speed boost. Dynamic behaviour is what you expect from a sports saloon: neutral and with a healthy (albeit moderate) tendency to oversteer. The XE's all-wheel drive has effortlessly digested the snow-covered bottom with very low grip, demonstrating unsuspected traction for a sedan.
Comparison on asphalt and snow
In the umpteenth comparison between the two and the four wheels this time the"unknown snow" really made it difficult to make any predictions: the white bottom with very low grip has in fact radically changed the weight of the forces on the field. Speaking of weight, the Triumph Street Triple 675 thus prepared marks on the scale just 180 kg, thrust from 106 hp of power to just under 12,000 rpm and a torque of 69 Nm to 9,100 rpm.
A mass far lower than that of the Jaguar, which weighs 9 times more than the bike (1,615 Kg). However, the XE can count on the generous torque of its 2-litre turbodiesel engine, capable of releasing 430 Nm available at 1,750 rpm. But the real trick in the Jag's sleeve is the traction guaranteed by its all-wheel drive system. Ground contact is guaranteed by Pirelli Sottozero tyres, used on asphalt and snow. The bike had to change its shoes during the challenge, using Pirelli Diablo Rosso 3 on asphalt and Angel nails on the snow-covered bottom.
The first part of the confrontation took place on asphalt, where the two wheels showed great agility, allowing his driver to perform in seemingly endless ups and downs. The XE was able to take advantage of the third and fourth gear fast curves, thanks to the great stability guaranteed by its chassis and the 4x4 system:"It brings a lot of safety to the driver and the all-wheel drive makes it possible to open the gas very soon, before the rope point," commented Lorenzo Baroni. The slow curves, on the other hand, are the daily bread of Triumph, which he recovered from the car and then left it at the pole on each rectangular.
In the snow competition, however, the jaguar claws engraved the ice, guaranteeing even more grip than the nails installed on the Pirelli Angel claws of the bike: Freddo did everything possible (and impossible) to keep up the pace of the Jaguar, but the latter's traction, especially uphill and along the way, was frankly unachievable. In the snow Triumph had to deal with the continuous skating of the tail and was also struggling with the front. In short, if on asphalt we are at a substantial break-even point, on snow the Jaguar XE won at low hands, thus eliminating the advantage of the Triumph in terms of weight/power ratio.