Jaguar F-Type: reviewed

Several years in, it’s still a stunning car
1/6

It’s been on sale for a few years now but Jaguar’s F-Type still looks wickedly sharp and cutting edge. While it’s a feast for the eyes, it also looks after a lot of the other senses too, although a bit of sensory overload is also part of the attraction.

However, it’s not all billy bonkers, you can get everything from a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 right down to a relatively sensible 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. You can add four-wheel drive to some of the hotter versions too, not that that makes the F-Type quite as an impressive off-roader as Jaguar’s F-Pace.

With prices tangling with the Audi TT at the entry point, rising to do battle with the McLaren 540C, there should be something for a wide range of discerning buyers, so where would you fit into the spectrum?

How much horsepower do you want or can afford? You can have everything from 296bhp up to 567bhp so take your pick. That starting point is for the turbocharged four-pot, with the 2.0-litre engine feeding the rear wheels through an eight-speed auto box.

The V6 range starts with a 3.0-litre 335bhp unit, and that’s a pretty slick bit of kit, with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed auto transmission. Moving up to the V8s, there’s the 5.0-litre supercharged F-Type R, with 542bhp. Like the full-house SVR, the R is four-wheel drive and auto transmission only. It actually makes these V8 surprisingly practical and tractable even on dodgy roads.

The V8s sound magnificently loud and proud, and they go ridiculously quickly but they’re a touch extreme for some tastes. We’d plump for a V6, either the 335bhp 3.0-litre version or the more extreme 375bhp V6 S. The latter gets Jaguar’s adaptive suspension as standard, and that helps you find a more comfortable setting when you’re not feeling like being a total hoon.

We’re not huge fans of the manual transmission so we’d go for the auto, bearing in mind you can operate it through the paddles anyway if you want that more involving feeling. While flapping the paddles, the driver sits pretty low in true sports car fashion, so just for peace of mind we’d go for the parking sensors.

The cabin is fairly uncluttered, with the driver feeling that everything is nicely set up either side and in front just to make the driving experience that big more special. This includes the touchscreen, which we found a bit fiddly and that’s not good in a car this fast.

With the low seating position comes what looks like a low roofline but actually it’s surprisingly spacious in there, assuming the driver is more simian than giraffe. It’s a proper two-seater, with minimal places for stowage in the cabin and the boot is wide but shallow so you’ll have to plan luggage accordingly – toothbrush and Amex Black Card should do the trick.

You could certainly keep that card busy buying and adding options to your F-Type. A Porsche 718 Cayman is notably cheaper as well as being faster. But then the Jag is cheaper than a 911. However, an SVR F-Type is into six figures and that’s looking like rather a lot in comparison. They won’t be cheap to insure or run either, although depreciation should be very acceptable.

But ignore the other senses. Just use your eyes. Your heart will follow.

Follow Evening Standard Motors on Twitter and Facebook.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in