Monday, October 16, 2017

Second-generation Jaguar XF Sportbrake

Like its saloon equivalent, the all-new Jaguar XF Sportbrake promises to be quite a worthy contender with everything at its disposal such as style, performance, and technology, not to mention the added space for a luxury wagon of this size that is ideal for their next weekend trips at the great outdoors.

2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake
Billed as an ideal competitor against the likes of wagon versions of BMW's 5-Series, Audi's A6, or even the Mercedes E-Class, the new XF Sportbrake offers the same aspects as its saloon equivalent, only with the added space at the back so you'll have plenty of reasons to enjoy it.

Although it has the same styling as the saloon version, the Sportbrake's sideline has the ideal expression of "I'm sexy and you know it" and that's a plus for Jaguar there. With the witty combination of the XE-styled nose, F-Type-styled rear lamps, and the wagon body, this new Sportbrake really is an improvement compared to the old XF Sportbrake of yesteryears and who can blame them but the designers themselves just to show everyone what they're capable of.

While the inside functions the same as its saloon equivalent from the air conditioning, the touch-screen sat nav, everything, the Sportbrake offers more practicality than its German rivals apart from the 555-litre boot space. There's this hands-free gesture control feature that allows drivers to use gestures to operate not just the tailgate but also the sunroof as well. Scary but amazing by Jaguar standards. Apart from the gesture control that will surprise most owners, the new Sportbrake comes with the Intelligent Tailgate that can be adjusted in an event of height restrictions, a versatile 40:20:40 split-fold set-up on the rear seats, and so much more. This wagon is all about being prepared to be extra prepared because you never know when you are having a big day.

Just like the saloon variant, the new XF Sportbrake is lighter than the previous model because of extensive use of aluminium, and thanks to their reworked dynamics as applied on the saloon such as adaptive damping, front double wishbone and rear Integral Link suspension systems, the result is a wagon that handles like a sportscar, even though the electric power steering is a bruising experience.

What's even more amazing in the new Sportbrake is its intelligent AWD system with the added, wait for it, Intelligent Driveline Dynamics that comes with Dynamic Stability Control and torque vectoring. Torque vectoring! That means the new Sportbrake's AWD system can behave like the Ford Focus RS. Wait, this all-wheel drive is reminiscent of the ones as applied on the F-Type and the F-Pace crossover so it shouldn't be a problem to get intoxicated over its clever and amazing all-wheel drive system that can adapt through driving conditions with ease as well as the way you drive this thing.

Choice of engines? Well, the XF Sportbrake is offered with a wide variety of engines such as the highly-recommended Ingenium engine range that balances efficiency and performance at the same pace, and the 3.0L V6 diesel engine, which is the most powerful engine offered in the Sportbrake, with 300PS of power and 700Nm of torque. With so much torque, it has a towing capacity of up to 2,000kg. That V6 diesel sounds raunchy and nice but the Ingenium engines are a best best because they're very light and well-balanced.

As for safety, the Sportbrake, like the saloon equivalent, comes with a wide array of driver assist features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control with Queue Assist, Blind Spot Monitor and Reverse Traffic Detection, and of course, Park Assist. With features like these, nothing says being prepared than having a Sportbrake that is prepared for almost everything.

Price? The new Sportbrake starts at 34,910 GBP, which is two grand more than the saloon equivalent but that prices rather well to the competition. To sum this thing up; the new Sportbrake may be slightly expensive than the saloon variant and it doesn't have the F-Type sourced V6 petrol that the saloon has but with a wide array of safety tech, relatively superior handling, and a healthy engine lineup, the new Sportbrake shows the Germans what they're capable of and that kind of perfection would not go unnoticed.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

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