Jaguar F-PACE vs Jaguar XF Sportbrake

There was a time when the notion of a Jaguar SUV would cause much harrumphing and the displacement of monocles. The stalwart British automaker has traditionally been known for sports cars and fast-yet-luxurious sedans, but market trends demanded an SUV. So the 2022 Jaguar F-Pace tries to channel the spirit of previous Jags into a high-riding utility vehicle package.

The Jaguar F-Pace arrived for the 2016 model year as Jaguar’s first SUV (it’s since been joined by the smaller E-Pace and all-electric I-Pace). It thus introduced Jaguar’s “Pace” naming convention for SUVs, derived from the brand’s old marketing tagline “grace, pace, and space.” That’s fitting because, to succeed and keep star-crossed Jag alive, the F-Pace needs all three.

This crossover SUV has done wonders for Jaguar’s bottom line, but it still faces tough competition from rivals like the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, and Volvo XC60, as well as the newcomer Genesis GV70. To help distinguish it from the wares of sibling brand Land Rover, the F-Pace focuses more on sporty driving dynamics than off-road capability.

Following a major update for the 2021 model year, the F-Pace rolls into 2022 essentially unchanged. The F-Pace lineup includes a base four-cylinder powertrain (in P250 and P250 S configurations), a V6 mild-hybrid powertrain, (available in the F-Pace P340 S and P400 R-Dynamic S variants) and the V8-powered Jaguar F-Pace SVR performance model. We tested a mid-level F-Pace P340 S model.

In the American automotive world, a “forbidden fruit” is any car sold on foreign shores that isn't sold here. Some of the best examples are the (pre-R35) Nissan Skyline GT-R, most versions of the Land Rover Defender, certain hot hatchbacks, and entire genres like Australia’s “utes” (car-based pickup trucks). One of the most elusive and maddening of these forbidden fruits is the performance/luxury wagon.

What's most maddening is that these vehicles have been sold here in the past. Scour classifieds long enough, and you’ll find the rare BMW, Audi, or Mercedes-Benz wagon, but the latest versions, like the BMW 5 Series Touring and Audi A6 Avant, are not sold here.

With that in mind, it's refreshing to see a vehicle like the 2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake. This is a wagon version of an existing midsize performance/luxury sedan, and Jaguar could have easily made this a Europe-only vehicle.

But Jaguar elected to bring the Sportbrake here, which is a bold move. Why? Because wagons make up less than 2% of the new-car market, and that has been basically flat for the last 8 to 9 years. In that time, the crossover market has exploded. People flock to the confidence inspired by the raised ride height and soft ride of a crossover, despite the fact that many wagons offer as much (if not more) cargo space as similarly priced crossovers.

And despite all this information, Jaguar still brought a wagon to the U.S. market. Why would Jaguar make such a move? Just because it can?

The Jaguar XF Sportbrake is actually the first wagon Jaguar has offered in the United States since it parted ways with Ford. With everyone—even Jaguar—moving toward crossovers and SUVs, it’s possible that Jaguar is so confident in its standing with those burgeoning markets that it can offer a niche vehicle like the Sportbrake to set itself apart with a dash of boutique-automaker behavior while strengthening its core of crossovers.

Whatever the motivation, drivers that know and appreciate the value of performance wagons know they offer the best combination of practicality and driving dynamics.