F-Type Jaguar's F-Type Coupé - First Drives - EVO, Autocar etc.

[martinbo]

Autocar:

Jaguar F-type R coupe first drive review

Most powerful Jaguar F-type coupé is sensational to drive, with even better driving dynamics than its convertible sibling

What is it?
The most powerful version of Jaguar’s new sports car, the long-awaited F-type coupé. The top-spec V8 sits alongside its supercharged V6 siblings, although none of the range should be described as underpowered. The base V6 has 337bhp available, rising to 376bhp in the V6 S and ending with an impressive 542bhp in V8 form.

Most staggering about the new F-type coupé is the simple fact that Jaguar has improved the torsional rigidity of the convertible by 80 per cent. That such a large change can come from adding a fixed aluminium roof is more than impressive, with the extra metal turning the F-type into a true monocoque structure in the process.

The extra rigidity means Jaguar engineers have been able to make the new F-type coupé even better to drive, granting extra dynamic ability by raising its spring rates at the front and rear. The coupé should have more control, better agility and greater steering precision than the convertible, then. And that was hardly lacking in the first place.

Size wise, the all-aluminium, front-engined, rear-drive F-type coupé is comparable to a BMW 3-series. Indeed, it shares many of its components with Jaguar’s own upcoming 3-series rival, the XE.

What is it like?
As Steve Sutcliffe put it when driving an early prototype, worryingly quick.

With a top speed of 186mph and the 0-60mph sprint covered in just 4.0 seconds, the most powerful F-type coupé is thunderingly fast.

As well as the burbling 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine there are extra additions in the form of 20-inch wheels with larger steel brakes. Carbon-ceramic units with performance tyres and lighter forged wheels also feature on the options list.

Even sitting at its governed top speed, the V8 coupé remains flat and able to steer faithfully, with its large tailgate spoiler handling the generated lift confidently.

On track, I found it easy to bring the F-type coupé to its limits and hold it there, with the car’s excellent torque vectoring system eliminating understeer in most of the corners. There’s a real feeling of the F-type directing you to the right line, even if, like me, you have a tendency to hit the apex of a corner too early.

If you’re not looking for a hardcore racer experience, its best to leave the F-type coupé with its Dynamic stability mode turned on. That allows you to oversteer fairly shallowly while also keeping your speed up.

Of course, if you get brave you can turn off all the electronic aids, and doing so will allow you to pull off the kind of wild oversteer-induced drifts favoured by magazine photographers. It’s surprisingly easy to do, too, even at 40mph, because the F-type coupé feels so balanced. It’s tail pokes out willingly but can be held with the right power for what seems like minutes.

Should I buy one?
That depends on whether you decide to spend more to get this top-spec F-type R. It costs from £85,000, a considerable jump from the £51,235 of the base model.

Still, if you choose the V8 there’s no chance you’ll be disappointed. With all three F-type coupé models, there’s a shared quality of simply going straight that’s quite wonderful. You feel lordly as you drive along, fingers resting lightly on the wheel, enjoying the beautifully crafted interior, not needing to adjust anything.

That kind of faith in a car is rare to come by, and it’s something that will lift the F-type coupé out of the realm of being another mere sports car, and into the history books.

Jaguar F-type R coupé

Price £85,000; 0-60mph 4.0 sec; Top speed 186mph; Economy25.5mpg; CO2 259g/km; Kerb weight 1650kg; Engine V8, 5000cc, longitudinal, RWD; Power 542bhp at 6500rpm; Torque 502lb ft at 3500rpm; Gearbox 8-spd auto

 

[martinbo]

EVO:

Jaguar F-type Coupe V6 S review, price and specs
Rating:

Exquisite style, more rewarding than Convertible

Steering lacks feel

The Jaguar F-type V6 S Coupe improves on the Convertible's dynamic package, and costs £7000 less. Review, specs and UK prices here

What is it?

The new Jaguar F-type Coupe in final production form powered by the more potent ‘S’ version of the company’s supercharged 3.0-litre V6. It could be the pick of the range.

Technical highlights?

Unchanged from the S Convertible, the engine is mated to Jaguar’s ‘Quickshift’ eight-speed semi-auto transmission with steering wheel paddles. It develops 375bhp and 339 lb ft of torque and makes the F-Type Coupe a genuinely quick car capable of sprinting to 62mph from rest in 4.8sec on its way to an electronically limited 171mph top speed.

Sports suspension with adaptive dampers are standard and, accessed either via the touchscreen display or centre console buttons, are Dynamic Mode (which is configurable to personal taste), Dynamic Launch (launch control) and Active Sports exhaust (more blare and rasp, pops and bangs). The standard steel discs, at 380/325mm front/rear, are generously sized with carbon ceramics offered as an option. The range-topping V8 R’s active e-diff isn’t, though the standard mechanical limited slip differential hardly seems like a bad deal.

What’s it like to drive?

Spain’s roads are mostly so smooth and well engineered they put many race circuits to shame. So a word of caution, our Coupe S wasn’t subjected to the type of rigors Blighty’s finest will present. That said, from the off the coupe feels notably more precise and alert than the soft top, as if the more rigid body structure and tweaked suspension, damping and steering are sharpening and resolving what would be slightly blurred feedback from the roadster. The quality and intensity of the feral exhaust note seem undiminished, too, despite the enclosing bodywork.

Anyone keen to feel the carpet with the toe of their right foot would be well advised better tense up other parts of their body because the F-Type really can generate g. The supercharged V6 howls and bangs. And bangs. It isn’t a sophisticated, multi-layered sound but it is raw and loud and violent. And when the straight stuff runs out, the rapidly accumulated speed is wiped away like raindrops from a windscreen by the monster brakes

Half an hour out of Barcelona on the motorway we happen upon a closed hillside road that’s sometimes used as a tarmac rally stage. It has a manic combination of short straights, fast sweepers, tight curves and flick-flacks. It’s a wicked little ribbon of tarmac and shows that the chassis is equally rewarding, supplementing huge grip with fast responses and acutely executed changes of direction. The steering is well-weighted with fine precision about the straight ahead and reassuring weight (if not finely-textured feel) on lock, while body control is exemplary, finessed by damping that’s taut yet supple.

The Jaguar tracks undulations with no wasted body movement and uses its damping to desensitise impact of the few ruts and rucks we do encounter. And yet it’s also clear this would be a great car in which to attack a big distance, and if it didn’t do it with quite the Zen-like calm of a Bentley, would be comfortable, easy on the nerves and constantly engaging.

How does it compare?

With prices starting at £60,235, the F-Type S Coupe is a remarkable £7000 less than the equivalent model Convertible and, unless you can’t live without the wind in your hair, clearly the one to go for as it’s better to drive, more practical and, if you agree with us, a quite stunning piece of design. A moderately specced-up Porsche Cayman S will still be a few grand cheaper and, when the chips are down, probably the more rewarding steer. We’ll have to wait until we get them together on British roads to find out for sure. It will be a close call.

Anything else I need to know?

Clearly aimed at those who believe sporty doesn’t have to mean slumming it, the cabin is largely unchanged from the roadster’s and heavily biased towards comfort and feel-good gadgetry, of which the wholly unnecessary but rather cool kinetic air vent housing that glides into position from its dash top bunker when you press the engine start button and the extravagantly powerful Meridian sound system are perhaps the best examples.

More importantly, the shapely seats, low-slung driving position, bold, clear instruments, touch-screen functions and general control ergonomics hit their marks, too. And the appealingly snug, plush ambience of the cabin isn’t compromised by restricted headroom or visibility.

 

[ateekt]

I'd love to see a review from a Non-Britain source. Some American press precisely.

 

[Cashmere]

^ I think that topic has been beaten to death already. By now, I feel (or at least hope) that most people on this forum know how to siphon through a review (regardless of whether it's a British publication or not) to know how much of it is factual and how much is BS.

 

[Pedro Alexandre]

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[KiwiRob]

I couldn't care less about the negitives, that car is by far and away the most stunning vehicle on the road today, if I could afford one I would buy it. Ultimate top speed and race car inspired handling aren't a considertion when you live in 80kph Norway, the way the car looks is king, hence the reason most German sedans/wagons have the smallest diesel engines in each range and are almost all fitted with the Msport, S line, AMG kits with the biggest wheels on the options list, all style and no substance is the name of the game, I'd be happy with a F-type with a 2.0 TDi.

 

[martinbo]

I'd have a Cayman S or GTS over any of these Jags any day of the week.

 

[KiwiRob]

They are boring to look at, I want a sexy car, Porsche don't make sexy cars, the make souless cars.

 

[Deckhook]

I'd have a Cayman S or GTS over any of these Jags any day of the week.

By comparison I'm sure this new F-Type is a blunt instrument but there's something about how it looks, sounds and how it makes you feel that appeals more than the Porsche.

 

[Pedro Alexandre]

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[rollo]

By comparison I'm sure this new F-Type is a blunt instrument but there's something about how it looks, sounds and how it makes you feel that appeals more than the Porsche.

I disagree. Particularly your comment about how it makes you feel. The Boxster/Cayman are brilliant when it comes to balance, steering feel, and being able to put a grin on your face. They sound pretty awesome too!

 

[Sunny]

They are boring to look at, I want a sexy car, Porsche don't make sexy cars, the make souless cars.

I was going to say...

But I thought about it a little more and I agree, they must be soulless, why they keeping sucking mine in... and I get transfixed at this angle for hours every time I step into my garage. I dread going there now.

 

[rollo]

They are boring to look at, I want a sexy car, Porsche don't make sexy cars, the make souless cars.

Have you been smoking something illegal up there in Scandanavia?

 

[KiwiRob]

Name me a current Porsche that's sexy, the SUV's nope, the Panamerica nope, the Cayman, Boxster, 911, nope, really is there any Porsche that you can buy today that makes you go weak at the knees, like a seeing a really beautiful woman?

There are only two Porsche's that I find attractive, the final 928 GTS's and the 356 Speedsters, honourable mention goes to the 917 which was a feral beast of a racing car.

 

[Sayyaaf]

They are boring to look at, I want a sexy car, Porsche don't make sexy cars, the make souless cars.

Agreed. Sport Cars are the new leather sofas

So a Jag with overly re-used SuperCharged engines from SUVs, Sedans with a slushbox has more soul than a HighRev mid engine/dual clutch/manual coupe?

Na'aa. Porsche may have been forced into electric steering direction but that doesn't disturb the experience. Still a great chassis, physics defying dynamics and focused drive.

BTW I like the Jag but I don't find it elegant. Still think it lacks the design identity & authenticity. It could be anything.

 

[Sayyaaf]

But I thought about it a little more and I agree, they must be soulless, why they keeping sucking mine in... and I get transfixed at this angle for hours every time I step into my garage. I dread going there now.

Oh Sunny, I love the Cayman 981 generation but a 911 is a 911 no matter what. That is bothering me. BTW I do that alot . My car sits exactly in front of my living room. I discovered that even my kids keep peaking at the car and admiring it. Never happened to any of my older cars.

 

[Sunny]

Name me a current Porsche that's sexy, the SUV's nope, the Panamerica nope, the Cayman, Boxster, 911, nope, really is there any Porsche that you can buy today that makes you go weak at the knees, like a seeing a really beautiful woman?

There are only two Porsche's that I find attractive, the final 928 GTS's and the 356 Speedsters, honourable mention goes to the 917 which was a feral beast of a racing car.

I have my misgiving about the current GT3, but it is one sexy ass vehicle IMO.

Same with the new Cayman...

Of course all down to personal taste, but if these cars don't provoke a movement in your trousers, I recommend some automotive viagra...

 

[Sunny]

Oh Sunny, I love the Cayman 981 generation but a 911 is a 911 no matter what. That is bothering me. BTW I do that alot . My car sits exactly in front of my living room. I discovered that even my kids keep peaking at the car and admiring it. Never happened to any of my older cars.

Haha, And I love the 981, even more than the 991. Porsche really hit it out of the park. With all the crap around the new GT3, if I had to choose one current Porsche, it would be the Cayman GTS, can't think of a better usable sports car.

 

[Sayyaaf]

^ never liked a cab, but this is something ....

 

[Sunny]

Lol, see Kiwi is really a closet Porsche fan, he just wanted to make this thread into a Porsche pic thread.

Now that, that is out, back to the Jag, I do love the way the F coupe looks, don't care for the roadster.