Jaguar F-Type R Convertible Review: Driven Hysterically
The Jaguar That ‘Nine-Out-of-10’ Dentists Recommend
Jaguars have something of a rep as dentists’ cars, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. In fact, the F-Type R encourages the thought. With the amount of smiling being done behind the wheel, a good dentist is a must. The perma-grin on my ugly mug in the video is proof of that.
I figured that my jaw would get sore from all of this mouth-agape laughing and smiling, but I was much too busy tending to the neck injury I sustained from the acceleration to notice. In case you were wondering, 550 hp and all-wheel drive, paired with the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission is enough to catapult two tons of flesh, bone and British sheet metal into orbit. It’s also very fast on terra firma.
The F-Type R hurls itself into corners, and then shoots out of them like a bullet from a rifle. Point the slightly disappointing electric power steering-assisted steering wheel towards where you want to go, and the F-Type lunges, like a Jaguar should, towards its target.
All-Wheel Drive, ‘Schmall-Wheel Drive’
Halfway through this 5.0-Richter Scale romp, an error warning came on the dash, and the F-Type R became a very different animal. If you look closely, you can actually spot it in the interior shot on page one: “Two-Wheel Drive Only – Traction Reduced.” This, of course, explains why I went through the next corner completely sideways with the rear tires billowing smoke. For the record, the F-Type R is delightfully throttle adjustable when going sideways through your favorite corner.
A quick run through Jaguar Forums F-Type section gave me an answer to the question I was only vaguely interested in solving. The F-Type’s all-wheel drive system is passive, in most instances, allowing the rear wheels to do most of the work. That said, when those front wheels try to step in, especially in the constant, aggressive cornering of the winding Malibu canyon roads the limits of the system are eventually reached. The F-Type R’s all-wheel drive system had called it quits, as had the front brake pads. It was time for the cool-down lap.
That engine, and that exhaust note will push sane people to do insane things. For those who are already insane, well, the F-Type R is a willing accomplice to the madness.
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