While it may seem like an odd item considering the sophistication and class that Jaguar models command, the wagons that have been part of the lineup for some time have served us well and have given those who needed a wagon the opportunity to have the added space we need without giving up the drive that Jaguar promises. There aren’t very many of these wagons left in existence and as a whole this market seems to be shrinking rapidly, but Jaguar has not fully committed to ending its wagon production at this time.
Design Chief Ian Callum of Jaguar states he was misquoted when the news came out that the Sportbrake name was to be extinguished. Sportbrake is the name given to the wagons of Jaguar which is certainly more attractive than wagon, but the reality is they are still wagon models. Even though, Callum corrected the misquote by informing us he only said the XE Sportbrake was being discontinued not all Sportbrake models. This will only leave us with the XF Sportbrake and there has been no news of any new developments in this part of the Jaguar plan which leads me to believe no new models will be developed with a Sportbrake name on them.
Why won’t Jaguar make any more wagons on the new models? Because they don’t need to. With the recent production of the F-Pace SUV Jaguar is moving forward and I would expect they will likely develop more SUV models. If market trends tell us anything this is the direction every automaker is headed and the wagon models we see on the dealer lots today will quickly go the same direction as the dinosaurs did so many years ago. Does this mean there won’t be any more wagons at all? Quite possibly.
What makes an SUV the right fit over a wagon? It used to be that most SUVs were too large to take the place of a wagon and if you wanted a vehicle that drove like a sedan but had the added space you bought a wagon. Now many SUV are crossover models and drive similar to a sedan and many of them are not even much larger than a sedan to give us the space we need in a slightly larger build and many of these SUVs come at prices that aren’t much higher than the wagons have been over the years.
While Ian Callum will continue to tell us the XF Sportbrake is continuing to be built so that Jaguar can squeeze out every sale they can from this wagon, the reality is, Jaguar is headed in the same direction as everyone else and is committed to the SUV market. This market is taking over as the best-selling market in the US and in many areas of the world to be the place where more automakers want to invest their time and money, including Jaguar. As much as the Sportbrake name has been a great way to have an attractive and spacious wagon, it’s time to move on once Jaguar is done with the XF.
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