Subaru Crosstrek vs Jaguar XF

What's the difference?

The Crosstrek is good to drive with great ground clearance and an excellent all-wheel drive system for light off-road adventures. I’m also a fan of the styling and features for the money. But The letdowns comes in the form of limited boot space and cabin storage, a short warranty and pricey servicing. Still, it’s great to see Subaru has updated the car's safety systems, the most important part of any car.

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 SUVs tend to come in either a tall and boxy or coupe-like shape, the Crosstrek has a uniquely sleek and sporty wagon look that has stayed much the same over three generations.

Also while the Crosstrek competes with the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-30 and Toyota Corolla Cross the Subaru is the most off-road suitable thanks in part to its high 220mm ground clearance

As if to signal those adventurous aspirations the Crosstrek has a more rugged appearance with robust-looking plastic guards and chunky roof rails.

Inside the Crosstrek looks so much the same as most other new Subarus it's hard to work out which one you’re in. The materials are dark and soft, there is not much in the way of glitzy trimmings but there’s a high quality feeling throughout. 

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.

The Crosstrek is a small SUV but its low and sleek shape doesn’t do it any practicality favours in terms of exiting and entering or storage in the boot.

Boot capacity is 291 litres which is very small compared to its rivals which have capacities closer to 350 or 400 litres.

People space inside, however, is good, and even for a tall (189cm) person like me there’s plenty of space up front and behind my driving position.

Storage space is passable with three cupholders and thin door pockets and a decent-size console bin.

Given the Crosstrek’s adventurous intent, the cabin should be more reflective of that rugged aspiration.

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 Crosstrek 2.0S uses a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, horizontally-opposed 'boxer' petrol engine which makes 115kW and 196Nm. A continuously variable transmission (CVT) with eight 'speeds’ isn’t the most exhilarating automatic but all Subaru now use CVTs.

The boxer engine has advantageous in terms of a lower centre of mass and helps deliver better driving feel thanks to more adept handling. Boxer engines also sound better to my ears with their throaty burble.

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.

The Crosstrek 2.0S's combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption is 7.2L/100km which aligns closely with our real-world test average of 8.7L/100km returned over mainly urban and city driving. That’s not bad, but given the price of fuel as well as the availability of EVs and excellent hybrids from other brands the Crosstrek is seriously behind the times.

Yes, yes, there is a hybrid Crosstrek, but it’s a mild-hybrid and the electric motor doesn't drive the wheels and doesn’t save much fuel. The hybrid Crosstrek has a claimed combined cycle consumption figure of 6.5L/100km, so there’s not much difference between the efficiency of the two. When you consider the price premium you need to pay it’s not worth stepping up into the hybrid.

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.

I’ve never met a new Subaru that wasn’t good to drive, apart from that time a friend sent me his 30-year old Brumby minus brakes. But even that was fun, until it was time to stop… Anyway, in my view the Crosstrek is better than its rivals in multiple areas except one, which I’ll get to in a moment.

The Crosstrek 2.0S is comfortable to sit in and its ride and handling balance is exceptional for a vehicle in this class. Honestly, the ride quality, body control and steering outshines the HR-V, Kona, CX-30 and Corolla Cross in my view.

A big call out has to go to the Crosstrek's all-wheel drive system, which is exceptional. I have tested this vehicle in some pretty adventurous settings and the kind of terrain it can devour would frighten its rivals.  

But the one area that lets the experience down is the CVT auto. I feel this way about this type of transmission in any car and I’m not alone. CVTs provide smooth acceleration and deceleration but if you’re hoping for an engaging, sporty experience you’ll be left wanting.

That said, my wife also drove the car and thought it was perfect for city traffic. And I agree, it’s just on the motorway where you might notice the lack of oomph when overtaking.

Visibility is good and you sit quite high for a little SUV. That small size makes it easy to park and manage in the city’s tighter spaces.

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.

Subaru’s five year united kilometre warranty is becoming less appealing as other brands offer seven or even 10 years of coverage. 

Servicing is recommended every 12 months/15,000km and a capped schedule is pricey relative to its competitors at more than $2400 over five years or about $400 on average per service.

The brand is represented by a long-established and stable network of close to 130 dealers covering metro, rural and regional locations across every state and territory.

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 (!).