Hyundai Sonata vs Jaguar XF

What's the difference?

The updated Sonata N Line looks beautifully modern from its new face to the refreshed cockpit, while remaining a ‘driver’s car’ with good dynamics, and a sporty engine. 

The Sonata isn’t an ideal family car, however. This is down to a lack of practicality. Although the cabin is fairly roomy, if that roofline wasn’t so coupe-like and cabin storage was better, and the boot had a large hatch opening, and the ride height was more elevated then it would be a great family car. Oh, I’ve just described an SUV.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

With that iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove wrapped in bubble wrap engine, excellent ride and gorgeous looks, the XF Sportbrake ticks all the boxes. Apart from the entry price and options prices, there are few objective reasons not to buy the car. It's just as good as any of its German competition and arguably the prettiest of the lot.

Should Jaguar have taken the dive? Given the XF Sportbrake is a luxury wagon done right, yes.

So, we’ve established that the Sonata N Line is a sedan and that means if you’re still reading this you are, a) A Sonata owner looking to trade the old one in for this new one, b) Driving another type of sedan such as a Toyota Camry or Volkswagen Passat and looking to update your trusty steed with one from Hyundai or c) Not in the market for an SUV.

Whatever the reason, sedans lend themselves to being sleek and sophisticated in their styling just by being lower to the ground than SUVs and generally longer than sports cars.

The Sonata N Line is long at 4.91m end-to-end. That’s only 8.0cm shorter than the gigantic Hyundai Palisade which has eight seats. I know… it bends the mind.

This new Sonata N Line looks even wider than the previous version, too, with that broad flat bonnet meeting the Seamless Horizon LED strip.

Fact is the Sonata N Line is 1.86m across - exactly the same as the previous version. Remind me never to wear a 'seamless horizon' T-shirt on days I’m feeling rotund. 

If you look closely at the photos you can see the hidden LED headlights flanking the large, dark and low-set grille.

The rear of the new Sonata looks so different from the previous version, too, with its boot lid spoiler and LED tail-lights. 

The menacing body kit comes with the N Line grade and accentuates the sporty nature of this car. It’s a good thing it has an engine to back up the looks, but more on that later.

Inside, the Sonata has been given the new 12.3-inch curved screens and a digital climate control display, while the steering wheel is new and adorned with the Hyundai 'Morse Code' badge (the letter H is four dots in Morse Code). It’s a premium and modern looking cockpit topped off with suede and leather leather N Line sports seats.

The second-generation XF is a very pretty car. A few carmakers have a had a crack at that four-door coupe idea, but Jaguar's Ian Callum got it right first go. You might expect the wagon to be a bit dumpy but it's far from it. That's not to say wagons can't be good looking - many are better-looking than the car they're based on (the weirdly proportioned Golf wagon being the exception to the rule). The XF sedan just looks right.

Anyway, the Sportbrake is basically the same until behind the B-pillar, with the roof continuing on to steeply raked tailgate glass. Obviously the lights are different back there but it's a nicely integrated job, it doesn't look like a dodgy extension. Rolling on the optional 20-inch wheels it looks amazing - low, long and well-proportioned. Unfortunately, it's more than vaguely hearse-like in black (the only First Edition colour).

Inside is standard XF, with the obvious exception of the rear seats and the big open load area. With this First Edition's glass roof the cabin seems infinite. Either way it's big and comfortable, although fit and finish could be a bit tighter.

Sedans might be sleek and sophisticated but practicality is not typically their strength because their low height means passenger access isn’t as easy as it is with an SUV, but mainly because the cargo carrying ability is limited by the relatively small boot opening.

Still, the Sonata N Line does have a big 480-litre boot and cabin storage has been improved thanks to the gear shifter being relocated to the steering column and freeing up space in the centre console for stowing items and a wireless phone charger.

Rear legroom is also good. I’m 189cm tall and I can sit behind my driving position with space to spare. Headroom back there is also good thanks to contoured heading which has a ‘carved out’ section for extra space.

Along with the wireless phone charger there are two Type-C USB ports up front and another two for the second row.

There are four cupholders (two up front and two in the second row) and decent sized bottle holders in the doors.

This lack of practicality compared to an SUV or even a station wagon means the Sonata N Line really isn’t the perfect family car.

Front and rear passengers enjoy plenty of space. Storage includes a not-quite-big-enough-for-a-phone tray ahead of the rotary dial gear selector and a pair of cupholders. Those in the rear have plenty of space, except for the middle seat occupant who must straddle a stout transmission tunnel. The rear armrest holds a pair of cupholders and the doors have slim pockets.

The boot holds 565 litres with the seats in place and "up to" 1700 litres with the seats down - that latter figure does not feel like a VDA number.

Over the years the XF has edged its way upmarket and is now playing with the Germans in the big luxury segment. And as is now customary for Jaguar, the Sportbrake is available in First Edition guise. First Editions are available for a model's first year of production and are usually based on the top-spec (in the Sportbrake's case, that's the 30d S) with a few extra bits and pieces to make things interesting.

While the 30d S retails for $123,450, the FE weighs in at $137,300. For that you'll waft out of the showroom with 19-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, a huge panoramic glass roof with gesture-activated roof blind, around-view camera, front and rear parking sensors, 11-speaker Meridian-branded stereo with DAB, sat nav, head-up display, electric gesture-activated tailgate, keyless entry and start, rear air suspension, auto LED headlights, auto wipers, leather trim and a space-saver spare.

Jaguar Land Rover's 'InControl' media system is presented on a whopping 12.3-inch screen and, as ever, is steadily improving but goes without Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The sound is, as you might expect, pretty good.

Our car had a few options fitted. 'Active Safety Pack' (see below), carbon-fibre trim ($3470), driver and passenger memory pack ($3210, including perforated leather trim), 20-inch wheels upgrade ($2790), cold-climate pack ($2540), illuminated metal treadplates ($2110), privacy glass ($950), 'InControl Protect' ($630), configurable interior lighting ($540), nets and rails ($390 and $320 respectively), extra power socket ($240) and 'InControl Apps' ($100). Most of it is cosmetic and/or unnecessary and took us to $158,950.

And there is still a plethora of boxes to tick.

The Sonata N Line comes with a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine making 213kW and 422Nm, which is plenty of oomph, and it all goes to the front wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

So no, there’s not a diesel version nor an all-wheel drive version, but this sporty engine suits the Sonata N Line perfectly.

That said a hybrid variant would be good seeing it’s 2023.

The First Edition ships with Jaguar's 3.0-litre twin-turbo diesel V6. Good for 221kW and a prodigious 700Nm, power heads to the rear wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic.

With all that power and torque, the XF Sportbrake cracks 100km/h from rest in 6.6 seconds.

The air suspension means you can tow up to 2000kg with a braked trailer.

As we were saying above there’s no hybrid variant of the Sonata N Line and there should be. Actually there is, but Hyundai says it isn't available for the Australian market.

So, this turbo-petrol four-cylinder is all we have and according to Hyundai it uses 8.1L/100km on the combined cycle.

When we tested it at the launch our trip computer was reporting exactly 8.1L/100km, but the roads were clear, the traffic was nowhere to be seen, so you can expect that consumption to climb higher if you’re commuting around the city.

Jaguar claims a combined-cycle figure of 5.9L/100km. Our time with it was mostly shuttling around the suburbs with a couple of highway runs and we managed a respectable 8.3L/100km.

The Sonata N Line’s performance matches its sporty looks. That turbo-petrol engine is responsive and provides great acceleration, the transmission shifts fast and the steering is nicely weighted and accurate. 

Add to this better rigidity in the car’s structure in this updated model and a feeling of stability thanks to this being a sedan with a low centre of mass and you have a dynamic and enjoyable vehicle in your hands.

Sure it doesn't have the sky-high visibility that comes from the pilot’s seat of an SUV, but the Sonata N Line is for those who like to drive but still want the practicality of four doors, back seats and a boot.

There's no getting away from the size and heft of the Sportbrake. Where a four-cylinder sedan comes in under 1600kg - not bad for an almost five-metre-long car - up here at the top it's well over 1800kg. With big wheels and a long wheelbase it's not going to win any wards for manoeuvrability, with a big turning circle and a length that's challenging to shopping centre car parks.

The 3.0 V6 twin-turbo is a fantastic unit. It can be a bit noisy when cold but it's super smooth and with all that torque it crushes overtaking with little need for advanced planning. The Sportbrake wafts along, lazily turning over in traffic and keeping the vibe calm.

Despite those big wheels, the ride is excellent. Even when in Sport mode, it's a rare bump or surface that will cause drama. It's very comfortable and very quiet, almost to the level of the XJ limo.

If you do fancy a bit of amusement, the V6 and well-sorted chassis are ready to play. In reality, Sport mode is where both myself and my wife left the car the whole time we had it. Both of us found the steering a little too light and preferred the more lively throttle response. The XF features torque vectoring using the brakes and coupled with a well-judged stability and traction control system, it delivers a good impression of a sporty sedan.

But the XF is best when you keep it relaxed. Both in town and in the cruise, it's a lovely, quiet place to be and a relaxing, undemanding drive. 

Only a couple of things were annoying - the light steering we've already covered. The heated windscreen was more reflection-prone so the head-up display could be hard to see in some lighting conditions. And sometimes it beeped for no apparent reason, which I eventually traced to the blind-spot warning.

The XF comes with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward AEB, reversing camera, lane-departure warning, and tyre-pressure monitoring.

For child seats you've a choice of three top-tether anchors or two ISOFIX points.

Our car had the $4360 Active Safety Pack, which adds blind-spot monitoring, reverse cross traffic alert, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise and driver-attention detection. If you were to ask me, this little lot should be standard at this level.

Despite that, the XF scored a maximum five ANCAP stars following assessment in 2015.

The Sonata N Line is covered by Hyundai’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. 

Servicing is recommended annually or every 10,000km. There’s no capped price serving but you can buy a 'Lifetime' or a five-year plan that work out to be between $350-$400 on average a year. 

Jaguars are offered with a three-year/100,000km warranty with a matching roadside-assist package. You can purchase a five-year/130,000km service plan for an oddly reasonable $2200. Even more reasonable are the service intervals - 12 months or 26,000km (!).