Auto Express – August 20, 2019

100 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

Contacts

Official

http://www.jaguar.co.uk

Forums

http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk

http://www.f-typeclub.com

http://www.jaguarforums.com

FROM£25,000Renaissancesports car is moreaffordable than ever. Here’swhat to look for

Interior

AFTERthedramaticexterior,youmightbeunderwhelmed

bythedesignofthecabin,butit’snicelymade,usingplenty

ofpremiummaterials,andallcarshaveleathertrim.

Theoriginalinfotainmentsystemisdisappointing,with

afarbetterset-upforcarsfrom2017on.AllF-Typesfeature

twoseatsandthere’sdecentspace,butwhilethecoupé’s

bootis407litres,theroadstermanagesjust200litres.

Running costs

27-33mpg (3.0V6)

£89 fill-up

CO 2 /tax

199-224g/km

£300-325

Performance

0-62mph/top speed

5.3 seconds/161mph

CHECKON...

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Inassociationwith

BUYER’SGUIDE: JaguarF-Type

£27k)isanotheralluringrival.TheNissan

GT-Risn’tasengagingtodriveastheJag,

butit’sastonishinglycapable,fastand

usable.Runningcostscanbehigh,though.

LessobviousrivalsincludetheBMWM4,

AudiRS5andMercedes-AMGC63,allof

whichareavailableinopenorclosedforms.

Verdict

WITHitsgorgeouslooksandelectrifying

performance,theF-Typeisafabulous

successortotheXKandverymuchworthy

ofitslineagefromtheclassicE-Type.

AllF-Typesarefastbut,whilethe2.0-litre

four-cylinderenginehastherightnumbers,

theV6andV8offerthesenseofoccasion

thatanF-Typeshouldhave,andareworth

shellingoutfor.TheF-Typecomeswithan

extensiveoptionslist,soyoumustpindown

exactlywhatyou’regettingforyourmoney.

Butevenwithoutanyextras,theseJags

areeasytorecommend,withtheirgorgeous

stylinginsideandout,manageablerunning

costsandreasonablereliability.Thelatter

canbeastickingpoint,whichiswhy

apre-purchaseinspectionisessential.

BrakesTheV6Sand

V8versionsoftheF-Typecouldbe

specifiedwithceramicbrakes,parts

forwhichareverycostlytopurchase.

GearboxTheautomatic

gearboxthat’sspecifiedonsomecarsis

supposedlysealedforlife,butitneedsto

haveitsfluidchangedevery70,000miles.

DashThecentralairventon

theF-Type’sdashboardshouldrise,while

thedoorhandlesaremeanttopopout;

sometimes,though,thesesystemsfail.

THEword‘iconic’isfrequentlymisused

inmotoring.Butifthere’sonecarthat’s

morethanworthyofbeingcalledanicon,

it’stheJaguarE-Type,asportscarlaunched

in1961tomassivecriticalacclaim.

Replacingsuchanincrediblemachine

wasalwaysgoingtobetough–soJaguar

didn’t.Instead,itcameupwiththeXJSin

1975,whichwasmoreofagrandtourer.

ThiswassupersededbytheXK8in1996,

whiletheXKof2006madeapretty

goodjobofbeingasportingGT.

Jaguargaveusmoreofthesamein2013

whentheXK’sreplacementwasannounced:

thedynamicallyexcellentandgloriously

designedsportingGTthatistheF-Type.

History

JAGUARunveiledtheF-Typeroadsteratthe

ParisMotorShowinSeptember2013,and

thecarwentonsalesoonafter.Buyerscould

choosebetween3.0-litreV6and5.0-litreV8

petrolengines;bothweresupercharged,and

theV8modelisknownastheF-TypeR.

Inspring2014theF-Typecoupéarrived,

withthesameengineandtransmission

options,theninNovember2014four-wheel

drivebecameavailableonsomemodels.

The567bhpF-TypeSVRarrivedinsummer

2016witha200mphtopspeedandceramic

brakesasstandard.Aspring2017facelift

broughtanewmodelwitha296bhp2.0-litre

four-cylinderengine,arevisedinteriorthat

hadredesignedseats,amuch-improved

infotainmentsystem,LEDheadlights

plusaraftofminorstylingchanges.

Whichone?

EVENthefour-cylinderF-Typecando155mph

and0-62mphin5.4seconds,sothe186mph

and4.2secondsoftheV8modelsisabit

OTT, nevermindtheSVR’soutrageouspace.

Thefour-potcarhasthelightestengine,

soithandlesmoresweetlythanitsmore

powerfulsiblings,butallF-Typesaregreat

todrive.V6F-Typescomewithasix-speed

manualoreight-speedauto;onlythelatter

wasofferedwithAWDandV8cars.

AllF-Typesarewellequipped,andeven

theentry-levelcarsgetbi-xenonheadlights,

sat-nav, aneight-inchtouchscreendisplay

and18-inchwheels.TheV6Sadds19-inch

wheels,adaptivesuspension,sportsseats,

upgradedbrakesandambientcabinlighting.

V8-poweredF-Typesfeature20-inchwheels,

premiumleathertrimandstrongerbrakes.

Alternatives

FOUR-cylinderF-Typesarerivalsforthe

Porsche718BoxsterandCayman,whilethe

V6andV8modelsfacethe911coupéand

convertible.Allareformidableadversaries,

withthe911offeredwithrearorfour-wheel

driveandmanualorautotransmissions.

Amoreleft-fieldalternativeistheFord

Mustang,especiallyinV8guise,whilethe

previousAstonMartinVantageV8(from

RichardDredge

NEEDTO KNOW

The380bhpV6SandV8

F-Typescamewithachoice

ofrearorfour-wheeldrive.

Modelswiththelatterfeature

anAWDbadgeonthetail