Yahoo Autos 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake S AWD
“It’s the analog car of the three,” wrote one tester. What that means is that the Jaguar offers purer, less filtered, and more-direct controls than the others. In the curves, the lively steering provides the right amount of precision and works predictably to load up the suspension and tires. Despite its aluminum-intensive structure, the Jag weighs 4362 pounds, and while the mass is inescapable, the Sportbrake doesn’t make any false moves. Body control is good, and the car has an endearing willingness to be pressed harder and harder into corners. Switch into Sport mode and the eight-speed automatic is smart enough to call up and hold the right gear, making the metal paddle shifters on the steering wheel largely unnecessary. In this group, the XF pulled ahead in all but one of our subjective chassis scores and won the fun-to-drive category despite having less skidpad grip than the V90-0.87 g versus 0.94.
The analog experience does mean that some pops and buzzes come through, however. Jaguar’s supercharged V-6, derived from the company’s V-8, shakes the car slightly at idle and moans out 77 decibels under full-throttle duress, making the XF the loudest of the three wagons. There’s no shortage of output-60 mph comes up in 5.2 seconds-but smooth isn’t in the V-6’s lexicon.
There were no logbook complaints about the touchscreen infotainment system. It works quickly, and the climate controls are easy to intuit. But aside from the infotainment system, the rotary shifter, and the flip-open vents, the Jaguar’s cabin isn’t that special a place. Rear-seat space feels the tightest, and the interior design is plain. With the exception of the psuedo-suede headliner (part of the $2860 Premium Interior Upgrades package), the materials aren’t good enough for this price point. On the highway, we noticed excessive wind rush around the driver’s side-view mirror and window, as if the latter weren’t fully closed.
No one liked the inexpensive-looking metallic trim on the face of the dashboard, and the vinyl wrapping the dash didn’t win it any points, either. We’d rather see more of the attractive gray-stained wood that’s on the door panels, along the top of the dashboard, and surrounding the rotary shifter.
More than a few times, the car’s shifter would refuse to leave drive or sport. Our solution was to shut off the car, which automatically puts the transmission in park. This Jaguar came to play, but to play in this group requires more refinement. We loved driving the XF Sportbrake, but in this segment, its rough edges kept it from placing higher.
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