Wednesday 14th June 2017

New Jaguar XF Sportbrake revealed

The big estate ain't dead yet! First details of the latest XF Sportbrake

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With Alfa Romeo recently putting a damper on talk of a much hoped for Giulia Sportwagon, betting instead that buyers would be tempted by its new Stelvio SUV, fans of the premium estate car formula could be forgiven for thinking its days were numbered. Not according to Jaguar though, which, despite the success of its Stelvio-rivalling F-Pace, has now announced the addition of a new XF Sportbrake to its range. So, how does the new car measure up?

Big saloon makes big wagon!

Well, as with all recent Jag products, the focus is very much on driving dynamics. In the quest for near perfect 50:50 weight distribution, Jaguar boasts that this XF is "the most aluminium-intensive model in its class" and also features a new, single-piece polymer tailgate. The EPAS has been optimised with a faster ratio, there is double-wishbone suspension up front, with the option of tunable Adaptive Dynamics dampers, and a choice of RWD or AWD drivetrains.

Despite the new Sportbrake coming in 6mm shorter than the previous model, its wheelbase has been lengthened by 51mm to 2,960mm overall. This aids not only stability but also load space, hardly at a premium before but now up to 565 litres, or a whopping 1,700 litres with the rear seats lowered.

Customers can also opt for a petrol engine, albeit not a V8 as once featured before. Not yet, at least... Jaguar's 2.0-litre, 250hp, four-cylinder Ingenium unit is now available, producing 269lb ft of torque and delivering fuel economy of up to 41.5mpg. This comes mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, as do the 180hp and 240hp four-cylinder diesels. Bookending the range are the only engine with a manual option, unfortunately a miserly 163hp diesel, and the one you'll really be interested in...

With UK buyers missing out on Jaguar's 381hp petrol V6, the most PH appropriate option is the range topping 300hp, 3.0-litre diesel V6. With power up from 275hp previously, it now also produces 516lb ft of torque (up from 442lb ft) and is capable of 0-60mph in 6.1 seconds whilst returning 49.6mpg.

Like an XF, just with more behind you

Inside, Jaguar's Touch Pro infotainment system takes pride of place with a 10-inch touchscreen. This can be customised with things like wallpaper images and shortcuts to favourite features in much the same way as a smartphone. Arrival Mode brings up a 360-degree interactive view of your destination in the final 200m of your journey, even advising on available parking spaces nearby. Of course, all the usual fripperies such as Park Assist, Blind Spot Monitoring and Adaptive Cruise Control are available too.

The tech doesn't end there though - Jaguar's wearable Activity Key, as seen on the F-Pace, lets more adventurous owners secure the car without the hassle of worrying about their key fob. And a new InControl Remote app will let you check things like the fuel level and whether the doors are locked via your smartphone.

If all of that sounds like an appealing package, the new XF Sportbrake is available to order now with prices starting from £34,910, undercutting the Audi A6 Avant by £1,070 and BMW's 5 Series Touring by £3,475. Although, if that's still a little steep for your taste, there are plenty of examples of the previous generation in the classifieds, starting from less than half that...

[w824gb3]

It's not the first time a Petrol engine was available! You could have the 5.0 V8 Supercharged in the last Sportbrake.

[HorneyMX5]

So much for them not ever building this. Nice looking car but needs the top of the range petrol motors and AWD to take it to the Audi RS products.

[D200]

I think big estates are so much nicer than the equivalent SUV that everyone seems to want. They look much better [in my opinion anyway - the XF Estates look really well on the road - whereas the F-Pace needs to be top of the range with all the options including 20 inch wheels to look good], will have better handing [lower COG and lighter] are cheaper, faster and you can have them all with 4WD if the snow we get 2 days a year is a big concern.

[Fetchez la vache]

w824gb3 said:

It's not the first time a Petrol engine was available! You could have the 5.0 V8 Supercharged in the last Sportbrake.

beat me to it. That's the sort of thing I'd expect to read in Autocar not on ph

[joshleb]

Oooo I like that.

R version at some point?

[EC2]

Love the look of it but want more petrol power with AWD. The engines and tech exist in the group so why deny us the choice?

[Krikkit]

Seems a shame they're not putting the petrol V6 in it, I'm sure it'd find buyers.

[Henno196]

That is a properly handsome car

[GTIAlex]

The larger engines might be announced over time. They need to do an XE estate now!

[HeMightBeBanned]

Given the bad press around diesel, it's a significant oversight not to put a decent petrol option in this car. I'd seriously consider one with a petrol V6, V8 or petrol/electric hybrid powertrain.

[EC2]

HeMightBeBanned said:

Given the bad press around diesel, it's a significant oversight not to put a decent petrol option in this car. I'd seriously consider one with a petrol V6, V8 or petrol/electric hybrid powertrain.

Indeed. Manufacturers' are only slowly reacting to this.

[HeMightBeBanned]

EC2 said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

Given the bad press around diesel, it's a significant oversight not to put a decent petrol option in this car. I'd seriously consider one with a petrol V6, V8 or petrol/electric hybrid powertrain.

Indeed. Manufacturers' are only slowly reacting to this.

Jaguar are reported to be developing an i6 version of the Ingenium petrol engine. A straight 6 powered XF would be a lovely thing indeed. There's something very right about having a straight 6 in a Jaaaaag.

[SWoll]

I'll be interested to see one of these in the flesh as in pictures the rear overhang looks a bit out of proportion, much like the new Discovery?

[EC2]

SWoll said:

I'll be interested to see one of these in the flesh as in pictures the rear overhang looks a bit out of proportion, much like the new Discovery?

Nothing can be as bad as the new Discovery....quite an appalling design disaster. Lots of Discovery4 owners (including me) now looking elsewhere.

[Matt Bird]

Fetchez la vache said:

w824gb3 said:

It's not the first time a Petrol engine was available! You could have the 5.0 V8 Supercharged in the last Sportbrake.

beat me to it. That's the sort of thing I'd expect to read in Autocar not on ph

Apologies all! That's what was sent over in the Jag press material, I guess their logic being that the old XFR-S Sportbrake was an XFR first rather than a Sportbrake. But that sounds a bit silly really so we'll make tweaks to our story - thanks for pointing it out.

Cheers!


Matt

[pmanson]

I like it but i'm a little concerned in regards to the interior.

It looks like they've lifted the dash and switchgear from the XE which feels cheap in comparison to my current XF.

[powerstroke]

EC2 said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

Given the bad press around diesel, it's a significant oversight not to put a decent petrol option in this car. I'd seriously consider one with a petrol V6, V8 or petrol/electric hybrid powertrain.

Indeed. Manufacturers' are only slowly reacting to this.

I would guess its a nightmare for them with lead times to change specs,
Mind you would think they would have worked out that the car tax changes would change buyers ideas!!
a low mileage buyer that would have bought a diesel just to have the low RFL prevouly would be far more likely
to tick the petrol box on the order sheet now they are both £140...

[SWoll]

pmanson said:

I like it but i'm a little concerned in regards to the interior.

It looks like they've lifted the dash and switchgear from the XE which feels cheap in comparison to my current XF.

Nope, straight from the XF saloon as you'd expect, which does unfortunately also feel a bit cheap. The F-Pace suffers with the same problem.

[Cotic]

EC2 said:

HeMightBeBanned said:

Given the bad press around diesel, it's a significant oversight not to put a decent petrol option in this car. I'd seriously consider one with a petrol V6, V8 or petrol/electric hybrid powertrain.

Indeed. Manufacturers' are only slowly reacting to this.

I would think they tend to react to their own sales figures, rather than a gut feeling on what buyers may prefer. The PH option is always going to be a large petrol engine with a manual gearbox, but that's simply not the Jag way of late.

Much hope that the I6 Ingenium delivers soon though; particularly as other manufacturers of Labrador-transporters move onto 4-pots (looking at you, BMW and Volvo).

[DUMBO100]

I've been really impressed with Jags recently. Sporty but classy styling is a welcome change to the slab sided euro boxes. The wife and I have been looking at an all black F Pace and I am very tempted to order it