Volvo V90 vs Jaguar XF Sportbrake

There was a time when Volvo wagons were regarded as nerdy professor cars. The type of car that might come with a tweed jacket with elbow patches. In the decades since that reputation took root, nerdy became cool, and Volvo took notice. Today, its entire lineup of sedans, crossovers, and SUVs is among the most sharply-styled on the market today. Chief among them is the V90, the Swedish automaker’s range-topping wagon. And like nerds and Volvo, the V90 has shown the wagon can be cool as well.

But wagons are still relegated to a niche, representing less than 2 percent of the new-car market. And yet, the V90 shows that you don’t need an SUV to get a supremely versatile vehicle. This is especially true of the rugged-yet-posh V90 Cross Country, which has very few rivals. The Audi A6 Allroad, and to a lesser extent the Subaru Outback, represent the only 1-to-1 competition to the Volvo V90 Cross Country. Read on to learn about the 2021 Volvo V90 wagon and we’ll see if it can supplant the SUV as your de facto family vehicle.

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.