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Jaguar F-Pace V6 reminds us why we love supercharged engines

There are many things we like about our 2018 Jaguar F-Pace long-term car, as well as some things we don't care for, but easily one of the best things about it is the engine. Under the hood is the 380-horsepower supercharged V6 that Jaguar offers on other models. That amount of power would be fun in just about any car with any engine, but there are specific reasons why this particular engine is special, and it's because of that supercharger. Supercharged engines have a very different character than increasingly common turbo engines. One of the most noticeable differences being engine response. Unlike turbo engines, the F-Pace's V6 feels hardwired to your foot. Every extra millimeter of pedal travel yields a slightly greater amount of tug. And the tug is felt immediately. Even the best turbo engines have a hard time recreating this response. The power band is very linear, as well, so you know exactly what you're getting every time you hit the gas. The engine is wonderfully torquey, too. Because the Jaguar's engine uses a classic Roots-type blower, there's a major improvement in low-end torque. This means that our F-Pace has loads of grunt for punting around at low-rpm and can seriously move when tromping on the gas. And because of the near-instant throttle response and linear power band, it doesn't slam you in the back unexpectedly like some turbo engines do. Despite how great these supercharged engines are to experience, we're concerned that supercharged engines like this may disappear in all but ultra-limited production, high-performance cars such as the Chevy Corvette Z06 and Cadillac CTS-V. The reason being that car companies have to keep making cars more fuel efficient and lower emitting. Putting a supercharger on an engine is adding a handicap, since it takes engine power to spin the belt-driven supercharger. And when a turbo, which uses wasted energy from exhaust gas to spin the compressor and built boost, can effectively do the same thing, it's hard to make a case for a supercharger. We won't give up hope completely, though. Mazda is using superchargers on its spark-assisted compression ignition gasoline engines. And while we're not sure how powerful and sporty those will be, Mazda has said that it's going with superchargers for exactly the reasons we like the Jaguar engine: smooth power and fast throttle response.

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.

This classic Jaguar XJ has a 720-hp ungentlemanly secret

Forget Tawny Kitaen. If you want to make a Jaguar XJ rock, just do what this guy did: stuff a heavily modified and turbocharged General Motors V8 under the hood, and take it to the track.
The video calls this Series 1 XJ a sleeper, but with its open exhaust and obvious turbo whistle, the once-gentlemanly sedan is anything but. The owner says that the engine is GM LQ9 V8 that has been stroked to 402 cubic inches putting out around 720 horsepower with 12 pounds of boost (in standard form, this 6.0-liter V8 was used in the second-gen Cadillac Escalade). Check out the video below to see what that kind of power does for this classic Jaguar in the eighth-mile.