• Shares design cabin with F-Pace SUV
• Simple layout for controls
• Much improved styling and usability

How is the quality and layout?

The Jaguar XF Sportbrake’s interior underwent a redesign in 2021 – also applied to the XF saloon – and it’s essentially identical to that in the F-Pace SUV. It’s dominated by the central touchscreen display; there’s a row of controls for the climate system below, plus a few other buttons on the centre console and a clutch of them on the steering wheel.

The interior can look rather sombre and monochromatic in dark colours – speccing the optional panoramic glass roof lifts the ambience considerably – but it’s a handsome design and the layout is easy to understand.

The rotary climate control dials and steering are lifted from the futuristic Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV. The former have three functions that can be tricky to access, the haptic buttons on the latter aren’t ideal but are much more user-friendly than others we’ve encountered.

The haptic climate controls on the dashboard similarly aren’t as easy to use as proper buttons, but they’re hardly frustrating. You can also access the climate controls and seat heating through the touchscreen if you prefer.

The touchscreen is much easier to navigate around than some other manufacturers’ systems, though there still can be a lot of menus to wade through. The icons are quite small, too. Overall, the XF’s designers have struck a good balance. You’re not inundated with buttons, neither are you entirely reliant on the touchscreen.

The driving position is very good generally and you can tailor it to your needs with electric adjustment through 12 or more planes. Visibility all-round is excellent, as well.

Every surface you touch is covered in high-quality, tactile materials, but a sharp tap reveals that, below the surface, they’re actually quite hollow. Still, the whole interior seems to be very solidly put together.

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Infotainment and tech

Jaguar’s latest Pivi Pro infotainment system is a vast improvement on earlier iterations that rather blighted older models of this generation of XF Sportbrake. It’s housed in an 11.4-inch touchscreen display that’s bright, clear and responsive.

Some may not like that the screen stands proud of the dashboard and is positioned quite low down, but we found that actually makes it a bit easier to reach from the steering wheel. The square format allows more icons to be displayed, so there’s less scrolling to find what you want. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard and it takes barely a minute to establish a reliable connection.

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Some older models feature traditional dials plus a central display screen in the driver’s instrument binnacle; there’s also a 12.3-inch digital cockpit display. You can set up the latter to show whatever combination of information you want, and access phone and entertainment options, using the steering wheel buttons. There are a lot of menus to scroll through, but the information presented is clear and easy to read.

The optional head-up display has also been tweaked over the years and it now features a big, bold font that’s bright enough in its default setting to be seen through polarized sunglasses – not always the case. The full colour sat nav instructions are very useful, as well. Just a shame the projector looks rather crudely grafted onto the dashboard.

The Meridian surround sound stereo fitted to some models is generally excellent. The bass is punchy and spoken voices are crystal clear, but it loses definition on high notes.

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Is it comfortable?

• Plenty of space for passengers
• Comfortable yet supportive seats
• Choice of suspension set ups

We’ve been impressed with the Jaguar XF saloon’s interior comfort and refinement and, for the most part, the Sportbrake is no different.

The front seats are thickly padded and shaped to provide unending comfort on a long journey, while holding you in place when cornering enthusiastically. The extensive range of adjustment on both driver and passenger side helps you find the ideal position.

The rear seats are designed so that they fold down flat, but they’re still very comfortable and supportive. The middle seat isn’t up to those standards, though, really only being suitable for short journeys. The rear also has a fold-down centre armrest, a pair of air vents and 12-volt power outlet.

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The XF Sportbrake is a little noisier in the cabin that the saloon, though that’s a trait common to all estates as their boxy back end is open to the rest of the interior. Still, it’s generally very quiet when cruising along a smooth road, but the four-cylinder engines become rather loud when accelerating and rough road surfaces can send noise and vibration through the car. R-Dynamic and Sport models have a firmer suspension set-up that feels sportier but can thump across large holes and bumps.

The P300 petrol engine can be particularly irksome as fake engine sound is piped in through the stereo speakers and constantly hums away in the background when cruising along the motorway.

Driven in isolation, the XF Sportbrake is actually more than quiet and refined enough for its remit as a semi-luxurious family car. But there’s no doubt its German rivals do a better job of isolating you from noise and vibration.

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