Picnicking in the 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake S
Loading up the XF
To find out, I had my girlfriend help me load the Sportbrake’s 31.7-cubic-foot rear cargo hold with a slim cooler full of ice, a kit full of cutlery and dishes, a bag full of groceries, a blanket, and my camera bag. The Jag can hold as much as 69.7 cubic feet of stuff if its back seats were folded down, but a few friends would be joining us for the trip from Austin to Lakeside Park in Marble Falls, Texas. We packed carefully because their 67-pound dog would be coming with us, too. Our friends arrived at our apartment bearing drinks, glasses, an extra blanket, and a proper picnic basket. They chose to carry the basket with them in the second row, but Clyde the dog and everything else fit behind them.
The hour-long drive out to the park gave me a chance to discover if the Sportbrake was more than just a pricey means of transporting cheese, grapes, and wine. It needs to be a Jaguar first and foremost, no matter how much people or gear it could hold.
Ian Callum and his team of designers succeeded in making the Sportbrake deserving of the red growler badge up front. It’s sleek and dramatic, a sight to savor no matter how fast or slow the XF is moving. Thanks to its black wheels and the Black Exterior Package’s grille, vents, and tailgate accent, the Sportbrake had an alluring sinister edge. That combined with the optional Firenze Red Metallic paint made the Sportbrake downright sexy – whether it had junk in the trunk or not. From nearly every angle, the Sportbrake is triple-take beautiful, which is not an easy feat for a car that’s more than 16 feet long and mostly roof.
It was clear to me why Jaguar doesn’t include the word “wagon” in its name. That term simply doesn’t apply to the Sportbrake. The evocative shape made me forget all about the boxy, uninspired vehicles I rode in during my childhood.
Well-appointed, inside and out
The interior has a higher bar to clear. It needs to be a place of both calming luxury and thrilling forward movement. Jaguar largely succeeds on both fronts. The Technology Package added features such as the 10-inch Touch Pro system with navigation, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and an 825-watt Meridian surround sound setup. Up front, we rode in extra comfort thanks to the ventilated front seats from the Comfort & Convenience Package; the two of us and our backseat companions could dial in our desired temperatures using the Premium Interior Upgrade Package’s four-zone climate control. This is especially well-named because its soft suedecloth headliner makes the inside of the Sportbrake feel more upscale. A standard full-length moonroof does the same. The Driver Assistance Package is stuffed with a variety of safety features, including a surround camera system and a 360-degree parking aid.
The Sportbrake’s cabin isn’t devoid of shortcomings, though. The upgraded audio system has notable clarity, but is otherwise forgettable. Jaguar long ago made the shifter for the eight-speed automatic into a dial, but didn’t include one for tuning from station to station. That 360-degree parking aid is more of a nuisance; every time I shifted into reverse, instead of automatically seeing the backup camera’s feed on the center screen, I saw an icon showing me how close I was to the things behind me that the rear sensors detected.
A good place for tech, and a good place for people
Along the way to Lakeside Park, I asked my friends if they were comfortable. Despite his 6’3″ height and the fact that the rear seats didn’t recline, my quite tall friend said he had plenty of headroom and legroom. My more petite, normal-sized friend was also equally comfortable. If Clyde the dog wasn’t napping, he was poking his large, solid head up between the rear headrests and getting loving head scratches and soft assurances that he was a good boy from his proud human dad.
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