The Jaguar XF Sportbrake has been revealed, is available to order here now, and will arrive Down Under before the end of the year.
PRICING AND FINAL local specification hasn’t been released for the 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake, but keen punters can place an order now with deliveries expected towards the end of the year. Jaguar is hoping its spacious and stunning-looking station wagon (let’s not beat around the bush here with fancy names) will see some of those interested in an SUV turn towards the XF Sportback instead. It’s likely it’ll even pinch a few sales from its F-Pace SUV.
The new XF Sportbrake (read station wagon) will be standard with a full-length 1.6sq metre panoramic glass sunroof; it’ll get a blind to which is gesture controlled (cost optional) and here’s hoping it’ll be a proper block-out blind to insulate the cabin from the worst of the Aussie sun. The boot will offer 565 litres of space with the back seats up and 1700 litres when they’re folded down; Jaguar says the load floor is totally flat with the seats down. The rear seats are 40:20:40 split.
Cleverly the luggage cover partially retracts when the tailgate is raised and then returns to cover the boot space when the tail gate is closed again. The tail-gate offers remote and gesture opening. Measuring 4955mm, the new Sportbrake is 6mm shorter than the previous model, but its wheelbase has been lengthened by 51mm to 2960mm.
There will be three variants available from launch, Sportbrake R-Sport, Sportbrake S and Sportbrake First Edition, which will be a limited run of vehicles. All vehicles will be rear-wheel drive and the engine choices will be two diesels and one petrol, varying from 132kW and 430Nm (four-cylinder Ingenium) and 221kW and 700Nm (3.0L V6) for the diesels and 184kW and 365Nm (four-cylinder Ingenium) for the petrol engine. All engines will be mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. All engines are Euro 6 compliant.
On the inside, buyers will be able to plump for a 12.3-inch screen replacing analogue dials behind the steering wheel with a 10-inch touchscreen in the centre of the dashboard (there’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity). Just like in your kitchen, the Sportbrake’s doors will be soft-close and there’ll be optional four-zone climate control.
Buyers will be able to cost option active dampers but we’d expect the standard suspension set-up will be pretty good based on Jaguar’s knack of designed suspension that’s both comfortable and dynamic. The Sportbrake will also run All Surface Progress Control (ASPC) and Adaptive Surface Response (AdSR) which is aimed at helping drivers (virtually autonomously) to cope in low-grip conditions, such as on icy roads or wet grass.
According to Jaguar, “The semi-autonomous ASPC function is fitted to all automatic derivatives as standard and operates as a low-speed cruise control system. In low-grip conditions, the technology can help drivers to pull away safely from a standstill to speeds of up to 30km/h. The driver controls the desired speed using the cruise control switchgear, with no need to touch the pedals. The technology manages the power and traction aids to exploit whatever grip is available, leaving the driver to focus solely on steering the vehicle.
“The AdSR system works in more variable conditions and allows the driver to retain complete control of the throttle. Once activated, its unique algorithms recognise when the Sportbrake is negotiating surfaces such as wet grass, snow, ice or gravel and adapts the chassis settings in response to the changing grip levels.”
I’d have one any day. I seriously considered a wagon instead of an SUV. Nothing in the wagon range ticked all the boxes. Being a Jag I don’t suppose that it will come cheap.