I know this question might better be on the XF forum, but we on this forum share a certain taste.
I need something with hauling capacity and AWD. Drove an E-pace (HATED this under-powered dog), then drove an F-pace (great,but still too expensive), and now there's this XF station wagon for sale near me. It's got the supercharged six, which I've driven and is a perfectly respectable engine and I'd be happy with it.
I always heard people were lukewarm on the XF in general.
I belive it's called the "sportbrake."
And, interestingly, the car is so relentlessly a station wagon I can't decide if it's retro-cool-looking or ugly.
Thoughts?

 

Oh here's the car:
https://inventory.jaguarusa.com/used...8-jaguar-xf-s/

 

any thoughts at all? i like it. if it was white with any interior other than black i'd get it. i've been looking for a wagon for a little while.

 

If I needed a wagon, that would be in the running. But the market is laden with so many options; equal sized volvos, Mercs… I’d have to think about the bmw a little longer. the subaru is respectable too.

 

I've always loved wagons, and that one looks good to me. I'd take it, and I don't even need extra storage in a daily.

 

The XF Sportbrake is gorgeous. If it were sold in Canada, I would have one. But I do have its predecessor, an excellent, trouble-free car: This and the XF Sportbrake are the only two station wagons Jaguar has built in regular production. Much better and much better-looking than any ungainly SUV, even the F-Pace.

 

Very cool.

 

I'm pro station wagon. I think the key with the XF is reasonable expectations. I found the reason I never cared for my former X308 XJR is that my expectations were it to be like my XKRs. It just wasn't. It was a special sedan but it wasn't an XK.

I happen to really like the XF sportbrake. I can't tell if the one you linked is AWD, I think its not, but you're in LA and likely care less about that than a Michigan person like me does lol. Very good looking car. I have not compared it to an F Pace or E Pace; but I know the XF sedan I've driven were nicer than my "sports package" E83 BMW X3 I have in handling by quite a bit and that's compared to a solid, smaller, decent handling SUV from around the era the XF started. I say that car is worth a test drive!

 

suffers from extreme landroveritis (i.e it sucks)

it’s like driving a range rover sport dressed up as a car, which it is. interior came straight out of the dollar store. 0 effort was put into the new XF

 

The vin tag says gross weight is 5300lbs... pretty porky. Not many sporty wagons around these days, and it is unique with pretty low sale numbers. If you drive it and like it, go for it.

 

Thanks all!
It's about an hour away from me. Gonna take a look tomorrow.

 

Yes, but...
"The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is basically the maximum total safe weight of your vehicle, counting the curb weight (the weight of the vehicle when empty), plus the weight of your passengers, fuel, any accessories added to the vehicle, cargo, and the “tongue weight” of a tow trailer".
Gotta use CURB weight to get an actual weight of the car.

 

Interesting fact: AWD is standard on the Sportbrake.

 

Interesting, both that grey one, and the white one shown, both are 2018 models, have similar mileage, and both had 6 owners. Six owners in 3 or 4 years seems like a pretty high turn over rate for that vehicle.

 

It shouldn’t matter what other people think of your car (assuming you bought it). When you get into whatever vehicle you have, if it makes you happy, that’s all that matters. Besides, do you really want to drive what everyone else is driving just because you don’t want to be the odd duck?

 

Not for me personally and I lean toward the ugly category PK. The side view turns me away. I didn't realize anyone made station wagons anymore. I thought car makers all moved to Crossovers or full SUV's (aka station wagon to me) so thanks for posting.

But appearance to me aside, determining the hauling capacity would be just as important, not just space inside with folded seats, but how wide and high is the rear gate?
Also how big is it in general and do you have space in the garage. I know my SV8 was a gunboat @ nearly 18 ft long.
If I had the space, I'd consider a trailer and hitch with a crossover vs a station wagon.

Lastly, I don't know the production numbers but this has to be a small market? Common parts for sure but likely unique ones too. How long have they been on the market and how long to sell when the time comes.

 

I thought it was a shame when station wagons virtually disappeared, only to be replaced by those clunky SUVs all over the place.
I remember the road trips as a kid in the station wagon, the third row rear facing seat was the ‘cool’ place to ride. Big enough to carry 4x8 sheets of plywood and lots of other stuff.
The smaller wagons in later years were also useful, but miss those ‘big boat’ station wagons.

 

Me too.
This is what I grew up riding in...

 

Interesting how color can make a car. I clicked on the grey one and thought it looked kinda ugly, but then there was a link for a white one and that looked OK to me. Except both had dark or black wheels. When I was growing up, if you had black wheels, it meant that you couldn't afford anything more than the base trim level and I have always hated the modern solid black wheel fad. These cars especially need just a little bit of jewelry.

But as to wagons vs an SUV or crossover, if I needed the space for a family or a dog or something, I'd definitely do a wagon over anything taller. I suffer from chronic pain due to a back injury 19 years ago. I am now extremely sensitive to ride quality. That's what put me in an XJ8 in the first place. Nobody has made a true luxury car since 2011 when the last big Lincolns and Cadillacs were discontinued. Everything since then has had to be a "luxury sport sedan". Its ironic that back in my youth, I had to modify my sports car suspensions to make them trackable, and now in my old age, luxury cars come race prepared right out of the factory and I have to modify my luxury car suspensions just to make them roadworthy. My XF rides on the Spires comfort suspension package plus I downsized to 18 inch wheels so I could get 30% more sidewall. Its not the magic carpet ride of the old X308 but its at least tolerable.

I dislike riding in SUVs because of the distance between the bottom of the driver seat and the roll-center of the vehicle. Think of an upside down pendulum (what do they call it, a metronome) and you are sitting on the weighted end. The longer that pendulum arm, the farther and faster your body moves in relation to the swing arc. As the SUV goes over uneven pavement, you are being slung from side to side and back and forth quite violently. Compare that with a sedan or wagon like the XF where you are much closer to the ground, but also much closer to the roll center, or pivot, like sitting on a much shorter pendulum arm. The uneven ground is the same for both vehicles and as car-like as modern SUVs are, its still a taller vehicle and you are sitting farther from the roll-center. Even a few inches makes a huge difference in pain levels for people who are sensitive like me. Even my lowered Toyota Supra on stiff springs is far more tolerable than any SUV because its not the punch of the potholes that gets me, rather its the side-to-side and back and forth motion over uneven pavement that kills me. The Supra being so low and stiff has almost zero body roll. Plus the deeply bolstered sport seats (like in the XF) help support me and keep my spine from swinging any further than the vehicle itself.

So I know for me, a wagon would be a far better choice than an SUV. Its kind of sad that there aren't more choices in wagons. But I'm now of the age that I don't even need the back seat, let alone a huge cavernous cargo area so I more lament the passing of the 2-door "personal luxury cars" like the Lincoln mkviii and Buick Riviera in the late 90s or the short-lived XJCs in the 70s. I would love a modern version of an XJC for a daily drive. But yeah, go for the wagon. Your spine will thank you as you get older.

 

Estate cars (or wagons as you call them in US) are much more popular in Europe than in USA maybe because the body size is smaller than the bulbous barges that SUVs have become, with very little difference in interior space. I have had Mercedes E-Class estates for more than 25 years - with two large dogs being a constant in the family over the years being the main motivator. But countless times, I have been called in by family and friends to shift large items of furniture, kitchen appliances, and all sorts of garden trees and general rubbish. I have the S213 model with 4Matic (four wheel drive) now and compared with my son-in-laws Jaguar F-Pace, the space inside is much more practical. I've not been in a Jaguar XF Sportback but I can well imagine that they too offer a good practical solution for more space in an overall size (length and width) no bigger than the saloon (sedan) version. My brother-in-law has had an XF sedan for more than 10 years, and loves it.

That XF Sportback that you're looking at has an excellent specification and with 380hp I could imagine the driving experience is not that much different to the XKR unless you drive like you're on a racetrack, unlike an SUV with their extra bulk and height. My E-Class has only 194hp from its 4 cylinder diesel engine, but I still enjoy driving it and love its practicality. For me, the wagon will always be a better choice compared with an SUV.

Here's my driving options:-