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2019 Jaguar XF Sportbrake 30t Prestige First Drive Review | Puts SUV appeal on ice

LA PLAGNE, France — British athletes have a reputation as plucky amateurs, although impressive Olympic performances of late have chipped away at it. Alpine sports remain one area where the more traditional "have a go" hero attitude prevails. Realistically, the only way a British skier is going to break records is with a little help from a fast-moving Jaguar. Thus, British ski stalwart Graham Bell set a speed record of 117 mph, towed behind a XF Sportbrake in an effort to demonstrate the effectiveness of its "Adaptive Surface Response" AWD drivetrain on all surfaces, including ice and snow. To what end? In short, a welcome reminder that an AWD Jaguar station wagon is a classy way to offer snowbelt drivers a practical, all-weather performance car with a twist: It isn't an SUV. The drive up to the ski resort of La Plagne is a chance for the XF Sportbrake to expose the myth you need a high-riding vehicle for life in the mountains. On the freeway from the airport, the Sportbrake amply demonstrates that it is a lovely thing to be in. Sleek, low-slung and effortlessly sexy in that traditional Jaguar fashion, the XF arguably looks better as a wagon than it does a sedan. For 2019, the Sportbrake range has expanded, with the 296 horsepower 30t Ingenium gasoline motor joining the existing 380 horsepower V6 S and providing the option to downsize without sacrificing too much performance. It's a tad gruff, but still packs 295 pound feet of torque to the V6's 332 pound feet while 0-60 in 5.7 seconds is only four-tenths slower. It's perhaps not decisive, but the official highway mileage improves from 25 mpg to 28 mpg. Its starting price of $64,575 saves a fair chunk of cash compared to a $71,215 V6 S, but the Sportbrake is still $10,000 more than an F-Pace with the same engine and equivalent Prestige spec. The 2019 updates also include a standard 10-inch touchscreen-controlled InControl Touch Pro system in the center console and, on our test car, the $945 Technology Package with the configurable 12.3-inch TFT instrument binnacle. For the Sportbrake, the 30t model is available exclusively in Prestige trim, meaning Navigation Pro, associated Pro Services and 4G Wi-Fi Hotspot are standard; Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available via the $300 Smartphone Pack.

Jaguar Land Rover to cut thousands of UK jobs

LONDON — Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to cut thousands of jobs as the company faces lower demand in China and a slump in sales of diesel cars in Europe. The central English firm builds a higher proportion of its cars in Britain than any other major or medium-sized carmaker and has also spent millions of pounds preparing for Brexit, in case there are tariffs or customs checks. Britain's business minister Greg Clark said on Thursday it is clear why a no-deal Brexit would add to the problems with further costs and disruption. JLR lost 354 million pounds ($450 million) between April and September 2018 and had already cut around 1,000 roles in Britain, shut its Solihull plant for two weeks and announced a three-day week at its Castle Bromwich site. Its Chief Executive Ralf Speth warned in September that the wrong Brexit deal could cost tens of thousands of car jobs and posed a threat to production at the automaker. The Tata Motors-owned company, which employs around 40,000 people in Britain and has boosted its workforce at new plants in China and Slovakia in recent years, unveiled plans to cut costs and improve cash flows by 2.5 billion pounds last year including "reducing employment costs and employment levels." Those cuts will be "substantial" and run into the thousands, the source told Reuters. "The announcement on job losses will be substantial, affecting managerial, research, sales, design," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, not affecting production-line staff "at this stage." The company declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Thursday. Ford also said on Thursday it will cut thousands of jobs in Europe, exit unprofitable markets and discontinue loss-making vehicle lines as part of a turnaround effort aimed at improving profit margins in the region. Brexit warnings JLR, which became Britain's biggest carmaker in 2016, had been on course to build around 1 million vehicles by the turn of the decade, reported on Thursday a 4.6 percent drop in full-year sales to just under 600,000 vehicles. Demand in China, which had once been one of its strongest countries but has since been hit by a slowdown, fell by 21.6 percent, the biggest drop of any of its markets. "The economic slowdown in China along with ongoing trade tensions is continuing to influence consumer confidence," said Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer Felix Brautigam.

2016 Jaguar F-Type R at Monticello | AutoblogVR

This week we indulged in a bit of fun. We took one of our favorite sports cars, the 2016 Jaguar F-Type to Monticello Motor Club north of New York. Senior Editor Greg Migliore selected the 550-horsepower R variant and pushed this Jag to the limit at one of North America's prettiest tracks. He reveled in the supercharged V8's power and sound as he embraced Monticello's curves and long straightaways. Meanwhile, Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski had a similar experience. Kind of. He lapped Monticello in the 2016 Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR and then went off-roading at a challenging course nearby. It's the best of both worlds. He gets to soak in the blown V8 – but also gets to splatter a little mud. Each week, new episodes will launch on the AutoblogVR App. We'll preview them here on Autoblog, but for the full immersive experience, head over to the app, which you can download for free from the App store and Google Play. Be sure to try it with a cardboard viewer, too! Jaguar Land Rover Driving Off-Road Vehicles Videos VR Original Video virtual reality 360video