2004 Jaguar X-Type Estate
The thought of an upmarket station wagon may seem a little odd here in the U.S. but over in Europe, and many other parts of the globe, they are all the rage, with automakers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and especially Audi all enjoying great success with their respective wagons or ‘estates’ as they’re typically known in the luxury segment.
While the now defunct X-Type Estate from a decade ago saw relatively little success, due mostly to the lack of popularity of the sedan on which it was based, Jaguar is hoping to claw back some of the station wagon market with a new XF Estate--something we’ve been reporting on for several years now.
Recently, Andrew Whyman, the XF’s chief engineer, revealed to Carsales that a wagon version of the XF is coming though he couldn’t confirm when.
Whyman was also quick to point out that the car would be targeted at Europe, which suggests that it may not be offered in the U.S. Additionally, with both Audi and BMW ruling out wagon versions of their respective A6 and 5-Series sedans for the U.S. market, Jaguar may end up doing the same. The only saving grace is that Mercedes-Benz still sells its E-Class Estate on local soil, including the high-performance E63 AMG variant.
One other interesting tidbit revealed by the Jaguar engineer was that the design of the XF Estate will be something special and unique.
"Ian Callum [Jaguar design chief] will do something different with this. It will be slightly different, with character and panache," Whyman explained.
This ties in with previous reports that suggested Jaguar was planning to launch a stylish five-door hatchback with coupe proportions, something akin to the Audi A5 Sportback.
Click here for full details on the latest 2012 Jaguar XF.
[Carsales]
