2018 Jaguar XF S Sportbrake

2018 Jaguar XF S Sportbrake

When the second-generation Jaguar XF arrived in 2016 it made a splash no bigger than a raindrop falling into the Atlantic. Despite moving onto a new architecture and gaining two new four-cylinder engines, the wholly redesigned XF looks as if it received only a mild facelift. When the 2018 XF Sportbrake appears on roads in the United States near the end of this year, however, there will be no confusion about whether it’s Covington’s latest work. Jag hasn’t sold a wagon in this country since the unloved X-type departed nine years ago.


Sportbrake sightings will be rare, though. Americans love a $71,445 wagon like they love Marmite, and this Jaguar’s entrance will make the mid-size luxury-wagon segment a crowded one. The Mercedes-Benz E400 and the Volvo V90 Cross Country, both boasting long wagon lineages in the States, have sybaritic luxury and comfort well covered.
Jaguar hopes the Sportbrake can carve out its own niche within a niche as a sporty driver’s car for right-brained pragmatists. With the model’s success likely to be measured in hundreds of units sold every year, the Brits initially will import the Sportbrake to the States in a single configuration: the XF S Sportbrake with a supercharged 380-hp V-6, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive. (Jaguar recently announced that more affordable Sportbrake models are coming here eventually, but no other details were given.)


The Sportbrake demonstrated typical Jaguar chassis prowess on asphalt snaking through northern Portugal’s rolling landscapes. The XF steers with on-center alacrity and just the right amount of power assist. Brake-based torque vectoring helps this roughly 4350-pounder turn-in and hold a line, yet it also left the pads and rotors radiating heat and stink on a spirited but not exactly aggressive run. Body roll is controlled well enough that this wagon still has an edge on Jaguar’s dynamically adept F-Pace crossover.