Jaguar Says No A To Model Smaller Than the XE for the Time Being

Australian outlet The Motor Report spoke with Jaguar Australia managing director Matthew Wiesner and asked if Jaguar is planning to build a competitor to the Audi A3, BMW 1 and 2-Series, and Mercedes-Benz A-Class.

"Definitely not in this product cycle," said Wiesner. "If you look forward and say “where are the next holes in the range”, there’s certainly potential there: look at Audi with A3, Mercedes with A-Class and BMW with 1 Series.

"[Regarding smaller cars] there are some ideas that we’d like to see, and by no means what we see over this current product cycle to the end of this decade means we won't explore those ideas. There are a number of things that we’d love to see in the next cycle that will fill a few of those gaps," Weisner went on to say.

If Jaguar was to go forward with a compact, Weisner said would need to stay true to the brand, even if Jaguar decided to go with front-wheel drive.

"You still have to be genuine to what you are. If we do it, it has to be a proper Jaguar. It’s got to go hard, it’s got to have the same technical focus, it’s got to drive like a Jaguar and it’s got to look like a Jaguar should," said Weisner.

"Can a FWD platform live up to that ethos? I don’t know; is it right for Jaguar? That’s a very good question and that’s a decision for the guys in the UK to make."

Rumors of Jaguar doing a small car have been kicking around since 2003, when it introduced the R-D6 concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show.