Hold fire on that Beemer buy

"I'm thinking of buying a new Jaguar. What do you reckon?" This is something people never ask me, says Jeremy Clarkson in The Sunday Times. They ask about BMWs and Mercedes all the time. But the Jag has "dropped off the businessman's radar completely". The reason is not hard to find. The only reason you'd have a Jag over its superb rivals is for the character. But the days when Jags had that are as long gone as Arthur Daley himself. Jags were once "caddish and wonderful", driven by "charmers and chancers". Now, they have all the character of "a man's washbag".

For all that, though, the new Jaguar XE is "extremely comfortable" and "fabulous" to drive, says Clarkson. It also has a refinement far beyond anything you could find in its German rivals and is extremely good-looking. It's a "minx with windscreen wipers" and a "better buy than anything BMW, Audi or Mercedes will sell you for the same money".

Last time Jaguar "had a crack at the big German three", it failed to impress, largely because it was little more than a re-badged Ford Mondeo, says Chris Knapman in The Daily Telegraph. But you should really take a close look at the all-new XE before signing on the dotted line for any rival. It easily soaks up the worst of British roads, making it a very comfortable car for long journeys, and the interior is on a par with its German rivals.

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It's fun to drive too: it's "sure to put a smile on your face" and handles as well as any car in its class quite something when you consider the standards set by the Germans. The Jaguar XE is our 2015 Compact Executive Car of the Year, says AutoExpress. It "offers a fine balance between performance, efficiency and luxury", and it looks "stunning".

Price: £33,740Engine: 1,999cc, 4 cylinders, petrol, turbochargedTop speed: 155mph0-62mph: 6.9 secondsPower: 237bhp at 5,500rpmTorque: 251 lb ft at 1,750rpm