Motoring: What’s in store for 2015, and honour for Jaguar legend

So what new models and trends can motorists look forward to in 2015?

The executive car sector looks likely to be as keenly contested as ever as the German triumvirate looks to once again dominate the plucky Brit. However, Jaguar Land Rover is set to wage war with a much larger arsenal than usual – courtesy of its hugely-anticipated Jaguar XE.

The all-new sports saloon, which heralds the marque’s return to the volume sector, is being produced at the firm’s Lode Lane plant in Solihull – traditionally the home of Land Rover. It features an array of new technology, an all-aluminium construction and a new British-built engine.

The car is set to arrive in showrooms in May and will be accompanied by a major marketing campaign.

However, our continental friends are busy preparing their response – Mercedes has already launched its new C-Class, while Audi is likely to have a new A4 ready by the summer. This is likely to be lighter and more efficient than the model it replaces. Meanwhile, the BMW 3-Series – the segment leader – is set to undergo a mid-life facelift this year ready for launch around the middle of the year.

Jaguar’s current offering to the sector – the award-winning XF – is set to undergo a facelift of its own and the new-look car is likely to be unveiled during the summer. This will use many of the XE components and is likely to feature styling similarities as well.

For those looking to get behind the wheel of something slightly different then Alfa Romeo is expected to show off its new executive car towards the end of the year. The new model may – or may not, as nothing has been confirmed – be called the Giulia.

Also set for the end of the year, BMW will also unveil its new flagship, the up rated 7-Series. The car, which now vies with Rolls-Royce for customers thanks to the use of many of the same components, is expected to be packed with new technology and have a lighter construction to make it more efficient.

The growth of the off-road – or sports utility vehicle (SUV) – market has grown rapidly in recent years and now virtually every manufacturer has a model offering in a market for so long dominated by Land Rover.

At the smaller end of the sector, the Audi Q3 has undergone a facelift and is now looking to appeal to new buyers, while BMW will be launching an up rated X1 possibly in the autumn. The same manufacturer will also be launching a high performance version of its new X4 towards the end of the year.

Low-cost options are also available with the new Fiat 500X set to test the popularity and brand loyalty of buyers won over by the charming 500. Ford is also set to dip its toe in the water with the new Edge. Despite the badge, Ford will be chasing the premium end of the market and lest anyone should forget its pedigree, it is the former owner of Land Rover.

Honda will be making a bid for buyers with its offering, the new HR-V. This is set to be launched in the summer and the manufacturer aims to take a chunk out of the sales enjoyed by rival Nissan with the Juke.

Mazda will also be making a play for buyers with its new CX-3, which is based on its own Mazda 2. The car will be available later in the summer.

Offerings from Korean duo Kia and Hyundai will also be available later in the year, while traditional off-road brand, Jeep will be launching its new small SUV, the Renegade, in the spring.

At the premium end of the sector, Land Rover’s new Discovery Sport will be hunting for buyers loyal to the Freelander as well as those not quite able to step up to the Range Rover Sport.

While the car which has helped to transform the brand’s fortunes, the Range Rover Evoque will be getting a facelift around the middle of the year, with the possible addition to the range of the new cabriolet version. While it hardly seems anytime since Posh Spice stood proudly next to the car she supposedly helped to inspire, a quick look through the archives reveals that was in 2011 – four years ago; a lifetime in modern motoring terms.

For the more sensible, Volvo launches its new – but still understated – XC90 in May. The school-run staple is set to be a little more luxurious and have newer technology as it looks to claim buyers in the increasingly crowded sector.

For those for who sensible is not a consideration, the year also promises an array of new sports cars, coupes and cabriolets.

There will be a new Audi TT roadster in the spring and watch out for news about the expansion of the TT as a sub-brand within the Audi stable. There will also be a new BMW 2-Series convertible, which will be available as early as next month.

For the last word in open-top motoring, Mercedes will be launching a cabriolet version of its flagship S-Class at some point during the year – hopefully while it’s still warm enough to enjoy it.

Back is ASBO territory, new hot hatches are also being launched to market with the usual suspects lining up attract the Maxpower brigade.

There will be a new Audi RS3 before the spring, while sector favourite the Ford Focus ST gets a mid-life facelift ready for March.

The Honda Civic Type-R is also being up rated in time for the middle of the year while a new sporty John Cooper Works Mini will be available within the next few weeks.

So far as full-blown sports cars go, the early part of the year will see a new Alfa Romeo 4C Spyder hit the showrooms, while Jaguar’s F-Type receives a manual gearbox for drivers who prefer the more precise driving experience.

The best-selling Mazda MX-5 gets a facelift in time for summer and will find a ready market from buyers loyal to this retro-British classic.

One manufacturer not mentioned so far is Porsche, however, it also has new models slated.

The 911 will receive an autumn upgrade, with the Boxster enjoying the same treatment shortly afterwards. A new Porsche Cayman is also set to hit the roads sometime this year and in keeping with the marque’s sporting pedigree will be branded the GT4.

So, while brand loyalty is a difficult factor to overcome for many manufacturers, the sheer variety of new models available will be enough to test even the most stubborn of buyers.

Whichever way you look at it, 2015 is shaping up to be quite a year.

Jaguar legend honoured with OBE

WHATEVER the year may hold for Jaguar, it is nice just to reflect on the recognition it received in the New Year’s Honours and for one man in particular.

In a career spanning 33 years, racing and later test driver Norman Dewis has become synonymous with the brand’s success – both on and off the track.

Helping to develop many seminal and celebrated Jaguar cars, the 94-year-old – now considered a British engineering icon himself – was awarded an OBE in the Honours List.

In his time, Dewis developed no less than 25 significant Jaguar cars and is widely regarded as Britain’s greatest test driver.

His automotive CV is remarkable: he developed the multiple Le Mans-winning C-type and D-type racing cars, the pioneering XK 140 and 150 sports cars, the classic 2.4/3.4 and Mk II saloons, plus the Mk VII and Mk VIIM models, the legendary E-type (including the Lightweight E-type), the XJ13 mid-engined prototype, the world-class XJ saloons, the XJ-S and the ‘XJ40’ models.

Dewis was also co-driver to Sir Stirling Moss in a C-type in the 1952 Mille Miglia and, in 1953, set a 172.412 mph production car speed record in a modified Jaguar XK 120 on a closed section of the Jabbeke highway in Belgium. He also drove a 190 mph works D-type in the dramatic 1955 Le Mans 24hr race and competed in the famous Goodwood Nine Hours in the 1950s.

During his career, Dewis is thought to have completed more than a million test miles at an average speed of 100 mph-plus and survived high-speed crashes in the days before seatbelts, without ever breaking a single bone.

He helped play an important role in the celebrations marking the E-Type’s 50th anniversary and during 2014 helped to spearhead Jaguar’s 60th anniversary celebrations for the race-winning D-type – even taking to the wheel of one of the sports car’s at the Goodwood Revival.

Of all the many cars he helped develop, he still considers the D-type to be the best.

Jaguar’s star driver at the time, Mike Hawthorn, had such faith in Dewis that when he was asked to attend a test session and saw that Dewis was already there, asked the team manager: “Why am I here? If Norman’s satisfied with it, I’m satisfied.”

Despite his years, Dewis is still working with Jaguar, helping to spearhead the new Jaguar Heritage Business organisation, which forms part of the JLR Special Vehicle Operations division.

John Edwards, managing director, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations, and chairman of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, said: “Jaguar owes a huge debt to Norman Dewis. His incredible skills have resulted in some of the finest cars this company has ever made – whether they were designed for the road or the racing circuit. The Norman Dewis of today is the same quietly confident and modest man of the 1950s – he remains a world-class Jaguar ambassador.

“It is fantastic to see his contribution to Jaguar, and to British engineering, recognised in Her Majesty’s New Year Honours List, with the award of an OBE.”