The Jaguar XE 35T is superb - but it's up against ferocious competition

Specifically, a lot of US buyers are not completely ignoring the segment, after building it up to awesome dimensions over the course of decades, beginning with the arrival of the legendary BMW 2002 back in the 1970s.

There's long-term dread in the air, as consumers both old and young abandon the classic handling traits of sporty Euro four-doors in favor of high-riding SUVs and crossovers. Some new car buyers in the luxury realm, weaned on Honda CR-Vs and Toyota RAV4s, won't even give a sedan a first look. A few carmakers are even talking about getting out of passenger cars altogether.

That said, automakers such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Lexus - the luxury Big Four - remain committed to sedans, largely because they have to. You simply can't throw away something as impressive as the BMW 3-Series, the archetype of entry level luxury and seemingly forever the automotive gateway drug of choice for every newly minted Hollywood agent and East Coast junior law partner in the country, even as sales decline precipitously.

Furthermore, the Big Four's competition lower down the food chain can't take on the upper tier of luxury without compelling four-doors. Alfa Romeo is coming back the USA with the Giulia, and Jaguar has given us the XE.

We've had tons of fun with Jags in the past. So when the famous British marque let us borrow an XE 35t with all-wheel-drive, in "Polaris White" with the top R-Sport trim, we said, "Jolly good!"

Here's what we thought:

Photos by Hollis Johnson.