Meet the 2016 Jaguar XE, Britain's long anticipated 3-Series fighter

It's been talked about for sometime, but today, finally, the 2016 Jaguar XE has arrived. While the BMW 3-Series has been the segment ruler for years, Jaguar's new XE promises a real threat of dethronement.

What we see here is Jag's equivalent to the BMW 335i. The XE S will be at the top of the XE tree when the car launches in global markets during 2015 (2016 in North America), and with the F-Type's glorious 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 pushing 340 hp and 332 lb.-ft. of torque, it has a 40 hp advantage over the Bimmer. No details were revealed on the XE's base motor, but we expect it to be a 2.0-liter. The XE S will sprint to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds before topping out an electronically limited 155 mph.

Speaking of electrics, the XE will debut Jaguar's first attempt at electric power steering. While necessary in today's strict economic climates, Jag's hydraulic steering was one of the best in the business, and I'm curious to see if it can translate that communicative feel into the new unit -- something other automakers initially struggled with.