Jaguar XF vs Porsche Panamera

What's the difference?

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.

While we didn’t get to sample the full breadth of the range, our time in the base Panamera demonstrated that while it’s the most overlooked member of the Porsche family it might also be the most under-rated.

While it may not be the most spacious luxury sedan it does offer ample space and combines it with performance and handling that’s hard to beat. The price drop should help make it a more appealing prospect, although at nearly $200,000 it’s still clearly a premium prospect for a lucky few.

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.

When the second generation Panamera arrived in 2017 it was widely praised for its design. The new model allowed Porsche’s stylists to tidy up the somewhat puffy design of the original whilst still retaining a clear family link to the 911.

For this mid-life update Porsche has only made some minor nip and tucks rather than a major facelift. The changes centre around the front end, where the 'Sport Design' package that was optional is now standard across the range. It has different air intakes and larger side cooling openings for a more dynamic look.

At the rear there’s a new light strip that runs across the boot lid to connect to the LED tail-lights, creating a more seamless appearance. 

The Turbo S also gets a unique front end treatment, to further separate it from the previous Turbo. It gets even larger side air intakes that are connected via a body-coloured horizontal element so it stands out from the rest of the range.

Overall it’s hard to fault Porsche’s decision to not meddle in the design too much. The shape of the Panamera, like a stretched 911 in silhouette, has grown on people over time and the changes they made for the second generation, making it tauter and more athletic in appearance, didn’t need change for the sake of change. 

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.

As the limousine of the Porsche family there’s a big emphasis on space and practicality for the Panamera. But there’s a big difference between a Porsche limo and the rest of the German ‘Big Three’, which is why the Panamera’s closest rivals are the sportier A7/8 Series/CLS and not the bigger A8/7 Series/S-Class. 

The Panamera isn’t small, stretching more than 5.0m in length, but because of its 911-inspired sloping roofline rear headroom is compromised. Adults under 180cm (5' 11") will be comfortable but anyone taller may find their heads bumping the roof.

The Panamera is available as both a four- and five-seater, but in a practical sense it would be hard to carry five. The rear middle seat is technically available with a seatbelt but heavily compromised by the rear air-vents and tray that sit on the transmission tunnel and effectively remove anywhere to put your legs.

On the plus side, the outboard rear seats are excellent sports buckets, so they offer great support when the driver exploits the Panamera’s sporty chassis.

This only applies to the standard wheelbase model, the Executive adds 150mm to its wheelbase which primarily helps create some more rear legroom. But we didn’t get a chance to test that for ourselves on this initial launch drive, so we can’t verify Porsche’s claims.

Those in the front get excellent sports seats across the range, offering lateral support whilst still being comfortable.

The biggest news in terms of pricing for this updated model is Porsche’s decision to cut the cost of entry - significantly. 

The entry-level Panamera now starts at $199,500 (before on-road costs), which is more than $19,000 cheaper than previously. Even the next model up, the Panamera 4 costs less than the previous cheapest model priced from $209,700.

There’s also the Panamera 4 Executive (long wheelbase) and Panamera 4 Sport Turismo (wagon), which are priced at $219,200 and $217,000, respectively. 

All four of those models are powered by the same 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine, but as the names imply the standard Panamera is rear-wheel drive only while the Panamera 4 models get all-wheel drive.

Next up is the hybrid range, which combines the 2.9-litre V6 with an electric motor for more performance and greater fuel efficiency. 

It starts at $245,900 for the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, the stretched Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Executive costs $255,400 and the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid Sport Turismo will set you back $253,200. 

There’s also a new addition to the hybrid group, the Panamera 4S E-Hybrid, which starts at $292,300, and gains the ‘S’ thanks to its more powerful battery that increases its driving range.

The rest of the extensive line-up includes the Panamera GTS (from $309,500) and Panamera GTS Sport Turismo ($316,800). These are powered by 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 befitting the role of the GTS as the ‘driver focused’ member of the range.

Then there’s the new range-topper, the Panamera Turbo S, which starts at hefty $409,500 but gets an even more potent version of the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. 

And, just in case none of those appeal there’s one more to choose from, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid which adds an electric motor to the twin-turbo V8 for the most power and torque in the range. It’s also the most expensive at $420,800.

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 mentioned earlier there’s a smorgasbord of powertrains for the Panamera range with a variety of V6 turbo, V8 turbo and hybrid variants of both to choose from.

The entry-level model, known simply as Panamera, gets the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 making 243kW/450Nm and paired to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and sending drive to the rear-wheels. 

Step up to the Panamera 4, 4 Executive and 4 Sport Turismo and you get the same engine and transmission but all-wheel drive.

The Panamera 4 E-Hybrid range (which includes Executive and Sport Turismo) has the same 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 but adds a 100kW electric motor. 

That means a combined system output of 340kW/700Nm, driving through the same eight-speed dual-clutch and all-wheel drive system as the non-hybrid variants.

The Panamera 4S E-Hybrid gets an upgraded 17.9kWh battery, replacing the old model’s 14.1kWh version. It also gets a more powerful version of the 2.9-litre V6, tuned to make 324kW, which ups the total output to 412kW/750Nm; again with the eight-speed dual-clutch and all-wheel drive. 

The Panamera GTS uses the brand’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, tuned to make 353kW/620Nm, also with the eight-speed ‘box and all-wheel drive. 

The Turbo S uses the same engine but it gets a new tune to bump performance to 463kW/820Nm; that’s a 59kW/50Nm increase over the old model’s Turbo, hence Porsche’s justification in adding the ‘S’ to this new version.

And if that’s still not enough grunt, the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid adds the 100kW electric motor to the 4.0-litre V8 and the combination produces 515kW/870Nm.

Interestingly, despite the extra power and torque, the Turbo S E-Hybrid isn’t the fastest accelerating Panamera. The lighter Turbo S does the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.1 seconds, while the Hybrid takes 3.2 seconds. 

However, the 4S E-Hybrid does manage to out-accelerate the GTS despite using the V6 engine, taking just 3.7 seconds compared to the 3.9 seconds it takes the V8-powered GTS.

But even the entry-level Panamera still does a very rapid 5.6 second 0-100km/h dash, so none of the range can be called slow.

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.

We didn’t get a chance to test all the variants and run the numbers against Porsche’s claims. Again, in an unsurprising development the hugely diverse range of powertrains leads to a wide spread of fuel economy numbers. 

The leader of the pack is the 4 E-Hybrid which uses just 2.6 litres per 100km, according to the company, just ahead of the 4S E-Hybrid with a 2.7L/100km claim. Despite all of its performance the Turbo S E-Hybrid still manages to return a claimed 3.2L/100km.

The entry-level Panamera we spent the majority of the time in uses a claimed 9.2L/100km. The Panamera GTS is the least-efficient, with a claimed 11.7L/100km return, which puts it ahead of the Turbo S and its 11.6L/100km figure.

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.

This is where the Panamera really excels. With every vehicle it builds, Porsche works to make it drive as close to a sports car as possible, even if it's an SUV or, in this case, a large, luxury sedan.

Although Porsche has an extensive range, our test drive was primarily focused on the entry-level model. That’s no bad thing as it’s likely to be the biggest seller in the range, but also because it’s an excellent example of a sports sedan done well.

It may be the first rung on the ladder, but the Panamera doesn’t feel like it's basic or missing anything important. The engine is a gem, the chassis is well sorted and the standard equipment level of Australian models is higher than average.

The 2.9-litre V6 twin-turbo makes a nice noise, a melodious V6 burble, and delivers plenty of punch when needed. Even though it tips the scales at more than 1800kg the V6 with its 450Nm of torque helps punch it out of corners with intent.

The corners is where the Panamera really shines. Even by the highest sports sedan standards the Panamera is a class-leader thanks to all of Porsche’s decades of know-how being poured into its development.

Point the Panamera at a bend and the nose responds with the kind of precision you expect from a sports car. 

The steering provides accuracy and loads of feedback, so you can place the car accurately despite its size. 

You do notice its size and weight as you get into the middle of the corner, but that’s no different from any of its rivals as you can’t fight physics. But for a luxury sports sedan, the Panamera is a star.

To add another layer to its appeal, the Panamera rides with excellent poise and comfort despite its sporting nature. 

Often sports sedans tend to focus too much on handling and stiffer suspension settings at the expense of ride comfort, but Porsche has managed to strike a great balance between the two seemingly opposing characteristics.

ANCAP hasn’t tested the Panamera, most likely due to the substantial costs involved with crashing half a dozen sports sedans but its limited market probably factors in too, so there’s no crash test score.

Autonomous emergency braking is standard, as part of what the brand calls its ‘Warn and Brake Assist’ system. It can not only detect potential collisions with cars, using the forward camera, but also mitigates against cyclists and pedestrians.

Porsche has included plenty of other standard safety features including 'Lane Keeping Assist', adaptive cruise control, 'Park Assist' with surround view cameras and a head-up display. 

Notably, Porsche doesn’t offer its mild-autonomous functionality, 'Traffic Jam Assist', as standard; instead it’s an $830 option across the range. 

Another significant safety optional extra is night vision - or 'Night View Assist', as Porsche calls it - which will add $5370 to the cost.

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 (!).

Service intervals are annually or every 15,000km (whichever comes first) for routine oil changes, with every second year a more significant inspection. 

Prices vary state-to-state due to different labour costs, but as an indication Victorian residents pay $695 for the annual oil change, while the inspection costs $995. 

There are other notable charges you should factor in, including brake fluid every two years for $270, while every four years you need to change spark plugs, transmission oil and air filters which add up to an extra $2129, on top of the $995.

The Panamera is covered by Porsche’s typical three-year warranty/unlimited kilometre, which used to be the industry standard but is increasingly becoming less typical.