The Jaguar F-Type V6S is one of the best looking cars on the market at the time of writing. It certainly was when first released, also. It’s aged incredibly well and has truly classic lines that will stand the test of time. The rear haunches are imposing and swoop across the rear of the car both aggressively and somehow gracefully.
My car had the following spec:
Dual zone climate control
Sports exhaust (a must have)
Heated seats
Heated steering wheel (absolutely lovely in winter)
Meridian Surround System (again, a must imo)
Sat Nav (not all models have this!!)
20” black wheels
Panoramic glass roof (gorgeous, even in rain)
Reversing camera
Front and rear parking sensors
Bluetooth media connectivity
Heated front screen
Power assisted boot
All cars come with the 8 speed ZF.2 gearbox, which is in mostly everything these days. It’s a great auto box, and is actually fun to use with the paddles.
I’ve had a weird history of cars, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping. It just seems that’s how things are going to be with me. I’ve only ever had rear wheel drive cars, and the F-Type V6S is no exception. With 380 PS at my disposal, and lots of torque from the supercharged engine, it’s an accomplished car. The handling is very good, but the steering felt a bit light. It’s very easy to drive fast, and the speed limiter was basically essential in Switzerland. I didn’t even get one speeding ticket!
The car is extremely fast, and also, extremely loud with the sports exhaust engaged. There’s a significant overrun, when lifting off the throttle, pops and crackles tell everyone within 50m that you are here with your sports car. There’s no hiding from it. It’s not a stealthy car. Having said that, it’s not too bad with the sport exhaust disengaged.
A black car is a pain in the arse to keep clean, so I don’t know why this was the third black car I’ve owned. I mean, I know why—black cars look amazing when they’re clean. I vowed I wouldn’t do this again though, but many cars in this part of the world are indeed black. Endless VAG cars, in black.
The bonnet opens in reverse, which is cool. Old jags used to do this, and many sports cars do, and it’s something that makes the car feel a little different.
Looks wise, I think the car is superb. It does sit a little “high” though. It always felt higher than it should have been. The interior seating position was excellent, and the heated seats were extremely good. The audio system was a bit of a mixed bag. It took me longer than it should to set up the audio properly. CDs were fine (but who uses CDs now?), and bleutooth audio was clear… but I could never quite get the equalisation correct. The bass was good and strong, but then the audio ended up sounding a bit muddy. Ultimately, I was never really happy with the audio in the car, but still think it is a good system. A BOSE system would probably have been better, but I did set it to a level where I was reasonably happy. One issue was that there was only “bass, mid, treble” adjustment, which is a bit lacking, if I am honest.
The power-assisted boot was excellent. It was just very cool to walk up to the car and have the boot already be open. Also great for passengers etc. No need to slam the boot! Video below…
But things like this make it more of a GT car than sports car. It could certainly through its weight around, and felt very planted, but I could tell the engine was over the front wheels more than I would like, and it’s a V8 with two cylinders chopped off, which isn’t ideal. Still, a great car.
So… why don’t I have the car any longer? Well, I had a choice to make as to whether I would keep it or not, and when push came to shove, I decided that I didn’t “love” the car enough, so sold it. It’s possibly even more suitable than my current car (more on that another time), with the nice auto box and creature comforts… but my new car is a manual and offers a more involved driving experience, which is ultimately more satisfying.
Would I recommend the F-Type? Absolutely. A friend of mine has the SVR…
Would I have an F-Type again? Yes, but probably the V8. Maybe a convertible, too.