Jaguar XF Sportbrake debuts with new engines, tech

Jaguar has finally unveiled the second-generation XF Sportbrake, essentially the wagon version of the XF executive sedan.

In terms of styling, the front of the XF Sportbrake is identical to the sedan, with the major difference being the more cargo-friendly section from the rear door onwards. This silhouette is not only pleasant to look at, it also helps improve aerodynamics, contributing to a drag coefficient of 0.29.

To ensure the reworked body doesn’t impact the vehicle’s kerb weight (from 1,660 kg) by more than necessary, Jaguar used a combination of specially developed high-strength and lightweight aluminium alloys, with magnesium used for the cross-car beam.

Along with the rest of the aluminium-extensive architecture, Jaguar says the XF Sportbrake delivers a near perfect 50:50 weight balance for better agility. It also notes that the new car is 6 mm shorter (4,955 mm) than its predecessor, but has a longer wheelbase of 2,960 mm (+51 mm).

Rear occupants will benefit from enhanced knee room and improved headroom thanks to the increase in wheelbase, along with a full-length panoramic roof. Of course, the appeal of a wagon is the practicality it offers, and the XF Sportbrake doesn’t disappoint in that aspect.

For starters, there is 565 litres of boot space by default, which can be further expanded to 1,700 litres with the 40:20:40 split folding rear seats lowered. Jaguar claims the load space is large enough to “swallow a family-sized fridge-freezer,” so golf clubs shouldn’t be much of an issue. Additionally, to help cope heavy towing (up to 2,000 kg capability), the car comes with self-levelling rear Integral-Link air suspension.

Aside from its cargo carrying capabilities, the XF Sportbrake also offers plenty of equipment and technologies to fiddle with. There’s a 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster, 10-inch central touchscreen for the Touch or Touch Pro infotainment systems, configurable 10-colour mood lighting, four-zone climate control, gesture controls, cabin air ionisation, Activity Key and 20-way adjustable seats.

There’s also a host of driver assistance systems, which relies on various sensors including a forward-facing stereo camera. Autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, park assist and blind spot monitoring are just some of the system available on the XF Sportbrake.

Under the hood, the XF Sportbrake can be had with diesel or petrol engines, where the former includes three 2.0 litre Ingenium units (163 PS/380 Nm, 180 PS/430 Nm and 240 PS/500 Nm) as well as a 3.0 litre V6 (300 PS/700 Nm).

Meanwhile, in the petrol side, the range starts with an Ingenium 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder (250 PS/365 Nm), and at the very top is a 3.0 litre supercharged V6 (300 PS/700 Nm). All-wheel drive is available as an option (rear-wheel drive is standard) on certain variants, and nearly all variants get a ZF 8HP45 eight-speed automatic, except the base diesel version, which gets a six-speed manual instead.

Jaguar has also provided the XF Sportbrake with optional adaptive damping and Configurable Dynamics package, allowing drivers to adjust the steering settings, throttle map, gearshift modes and suspension settings.

To manage driving in low-grip conditions, such as on icy roads or wet grass, the wagon receives Jaguar Land Rover’s All Surface Progress Control (ASPC), Adaptive Surface Response (ASR) and Intelligent Driveline Dynamics (IDD).

The XF Sportbrake is available in five trim levels – Pure, Prestige, Portfolio, R-Sport and S – along with a choice of ten exterior paint colours – Fuji White, Narvik Black, Yulong White, Santorini Black, Indus Silver, Corris Grey, Loire Blue, Firenze Red, Rossello Red and Caesium Blue – the last eight being metallic colours. Buyers will also get to choose from two premium paint options – Carpathian Grey and Silicon Silver. A special colour known as Farallon Black is uniquely available on First Edition models.

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