BUYING AFFORDABLECONVERTIBLES
42 |JaguarWorld/July 2019
L
et’sgetstraightdownto
business:earlyF-TYPE3.0s
with340PS(335bhp)from
2013 /14aredowntojust
£25k,whilethehigher-
powered380PSS( 37 4bhp)–similartothe
blackexamplefeaturedhere–isworthonly
£2,000to£3,0 00 more,dependingon
mileageandspec.Yes,youdidreadthat
correctly:usedexamplesofJaguar’scurrent
sportscarcanbeboughtforlessthanthe
priceofanewdieselE-PACE.That’sincredible
valueforacarthatcostmorethan£60kwhen
new,especiallyoneasgoodasthis.
Looksaresubjective,ofcourse,but
you’llbehardpressedtofindanyonewho
doesn’tthinktheF-TYPEconvertibleisa
good-lookingcar.Short,squatandwide,
ithasgenuinepresence,moresothana
Mercedes-BenzSLKorPorscheBoxster.
And,unlikesomeofthecarshere,itlooks
justasgoodwiththeroofup,retainingits
low-slungappearance.
AswiththeX1 50 XK,theheavyuse
ofblackplasticdiminishestheinterior’s
character,althoughthemoodislightened
bythecopperaccentsthatwerestandard
ontheS–suchasthestarterbuttonand
steeringwheel-mountedgearboxpaddles.
Thedashisclassicallylaidoutwithapairof
hoodedclocksdirectlyinfrontofthedriver,
whilethecentreconsolefeaturesthree
Althoughthisconvertibleisstillin production,
earlyexamples aregreatvalue
largedialsfortheventilationthatclickas
theyturn,generatingthesamemust-touch
tactilityasaFisher-Pricetoy.Thecentral
airventsthatriseoutofthecentreconsole
havealwaysseemedfussyandcomplicated,
but,whenlowered,allowthelowlineof
thedashboardtobeviewedunencumbered.
Theycanbecomeproblematic,though,as
canthedoorhandles,whichpopoutatan
anglewhenthecarisunlocked.
Otherissuesincludealeakingreardifferentialduetofaultyseals,andvalvesin
theactiveexhaustsystem(standardonthe
S)thatcanstickopen.Lookalsoforscratches
tothewindows,asearlyexampleswere
susceptibletotinystoneslodgingbetween
thesealandtheglass.Asaknownfault,this
shouldalreadyhavebeenrectifiedbyJaguar
fittingmodifiedsealsfreeofcharge.It’snot
unknownfortheF-TYPEtoaccruesqueaks
andrattlesovertime,solistenformorethan
thegloriousenginenote.