Jaguar XF Sportbrake review: Fancy swerving the SUV crowd? Try this sexy Jag instead
I KNOW what you’re thinking, I can read your mind.
You’re thinking about buying an SUV.
Of course you are, the UK has gobbled up 340,000 of them since January. We’re bloody obsessed with these pumped up, over-inflated wobblers.
If you don’t already drive a soft-roader you’re probably tossing up whether to snag a Nissan Qashqai, or max out the budget on a VW Tiguan.
Well, stop it. Put down the brochures and listen to me — buy an estate instead. Estates are cool. Estates drive better. Estates turn heads.
Need proof? Just look at this prom night princess before you. It’s the spanking new Jaguar XF Sportbrake, and it’s beautiful in ways no SUV could ever be.
It also swallows five without flinching and has 565 litres of boot space.
That’s 135 more than the Qashqai, and 45 litres more Labrador room than the Tiguan allows.
I’m enjoying this, so I’m going to ram it home. It’s enough room to take 194 pairs of trainers or 215 rugby balls.
You can fit in 664 cycling helmets or 2,090 ski goggles.
Or — and this one is probably important considering the average Jag buyer’s favourite pastime — 27,800 golf balls.
You get the point.
Like me, you probably think it’s a bold move to spend millions developing a new Sportbrake in this era of SUV domination.
But Jag remains optimistic. It reckons 60 per cent of E segment sales are optioned in estate form in Europe.
It also says Jag-o-phile markets such as China and the US are waking up to the idea of a sexy “station wagon”. The last Sportbrake arrived in 2012 — a lifetime ago in car industry terms.
Since it was stopped in 2015, Jaguar ceased to compete in the estate market leaving others to fill the void, such as the Mercedes E Class estate or the BMW 5 Series Touring.
Jag had no dog in the fight, until now. Except it’s not a dog, it’s a fearsome jungle cat — and it’s ready to pounce on the competition.
Driving it through the forest fire-scorched hills surrounding Porto, Portugal, it was easy to forget I was punting a car which is 5m long.
It comes in six flavours — three differently tuned versions of a 2.0-litre diesel, a 2.0-litre petrol and a 3.0-litre V6 diesel and petrol. A huge amount of choice.
If you’re not in the market for a V6, I would recommend taking a diesel over a petrol.
The AWD 240PS 2.0 litre I drove was effortlessly powerful, with sackfuls of torque which drive it out of tight corners and eat up steep inclines.
The V6 diesel was impressive, but I’d find it hard to stump up the extra cash over that 240PS. It’s a true sweet spot.
Not so long ago, Jaguar was so deep in the weeds it made you wonder if they could ever track back to the main trail. But these days they are leading the race.
It comes as no surprise to me that the company has returned to the estate market with a five-star car.
And I’m not really having a pop at SUVs, most of them are fantastic. I just urge you to think about whether you need the elevated driving height.
If you’re serious about driving, but need the extra space over a saloon, an estate is a great way to go.
Just think about all the ski goggles you could buy.
Key Facts
Jaguar XF Sportbrake
- Price: from £34,910
- Engine: 2.0 litre turbo diesel
- Economy: 48.7 mpg
- 0-60 mph: 6.4 seconds
- Top speed: 150 mph
- Length: 5m
- CO2: 153g/km
Competition
WIN a BMW M4 driving experience at Brands Hatch, a copy of Gran Turismo Sport and a Thrustmaster steering wheel.
Enter for free at mcb777.fun/motors.
