Used test: BMW 3 Series vs Jaguar XE costs

Buying and owning

Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security

The BMW 3 Series and Jaguar XE have undergone almost identical deprecation over the past four years – from roughly £35,000 as new cars to £19,000 as used ones – and we expect them to continue to depreciate at roughly similar rates as time goes on. 

During our testing, the 3 Series was more fuel-efficient than the XE. The former averaged 34.5mpg over our test route, while the latter averaged 29.7mpg. 

For two services of the 3 Series, BMW quoted us £936. Jaguar quoted us £1295 for two services of the XE. Our pair are closely matched for insurance: the 3 Series, in insurance group 30, should set you back around £816, while the XE, in group 31, pushes that to £835. 

Both of these cars come with a good amount of luxuries, including leather seats and keyless start. Mind you, heated seats would've cost the XE's original owner £170 – they came as standard on the 3 Series. When new, adaptive cruise control and keyless entry were extras on both cars. 

In our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey, the 3 Series (in petrol form) came third out of 24 cars in the executive car class. The XE came 17th. Its reliability score of 88.7% is near acceptable, but it's far off its rival's 96.4% rating. As brands, BMW finished in 12th place out of 32 manufacturers, while Jaguar ranked 29th. 

Euro NCAP gave the 3 Series its maximum five-star safety rating in 2019. The XE was tested in 2015 and received five stars back then, but that rating has since expired and the model is yet to be retested. 

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