Hey!

So, here's my dilemma and I wanted to get any thoughts you folks have.

I just finished negotiating what I think is a pretty great deal on a F-Type R... and then the salesman and myself both realized it's a 2015 model! It's still new, very low miles, etc. To make up for the difference, he's offering another significant percentage off.

So, now I have three choices and I'm a bit torn. Take the very nice discount on the 2015, pay more for a 2016, or just wait a few months and order a 2017.

The biggest difference obviously between the 2015 and the 2016 is the RWD vs AWD and I don't have a strong feeling there. On one hand, this will be my first 500+ hp sports car, so AWD seems like a bit of a safety net. On the other hand I've always driven RWD cars and been fine. So, what would you do?

 

IF you plan on keeping the car for awhile, go for the huge savings on the 2015 (previous model year and no AWD). Unless you are tracking the car on a regular basis or live in a cold weather environment much of the year, the AWD doesn't add much.

 

Yeah, I will very rarely track the car and live in a warm climate. It'll likely be my daily driver, so come out with me in the rain and such, but that's it. I'm thinking I'll probably keep the car for 3-4 years.

 

I live in CA and don't have to deal with much inclement weather other than rain and fog, but I was happy to have AWD on my FTR. Given the power and torque of these cars, I see it as a safety feature, especially since my wife drives the car as well, and isn't used to the acceleration of these cars. She's more accustomed to driving vehicles like our hybrid SUV which have high torque but accelerate fairly slowly.

In fact, AWD has saved my wife's bacon once already... she was a bit too heavy on the gas in a tight corner and flew around much faster than she anticipated. She felt the car help correct her angle and keep her on the road. Still scared the heck out of her (and threw everything around the cabin), so she's a lot more careful now. To me it felt like the extra cost and weight for AWD paid for itself right there.

 

I hate AWD cars. So my choice was simple - 2015.

 

Total opinion statement there. Plenty is added.

 

IMHO I would opt for the 2016 AWD. I just read on Top Speed that there are no changes planned for the R in 2017. So why wait if the deal,is good?

Having just upgraded from a 2015 Base to a late model year production 2016 R there are many little differences in the build quality over the 2015. Although I personally did not have any issues with my 2015, the 2016 is tighter and a little more polished. The fit and finish are improved, the info center on the dash and infotainment center have been upgraded, the doors close with a more solid sound, the stereo issues previously reported on the forum seem to be resolved and the fuel filler neck issue has been corrected.

JLR has to be watching this forum and listening to us because many of the little "niggles" people have voiced concerns over seem to have been addressed / corrected in the late 2016 model.

If you have never had a 500+ HP car capable of 0-60 in under 4 seconds and spinning tires and drifting aren't high on the priority list, I would recommend AWD over rear drive, particularly if it's going to be your daily driver. As many users and reviews state, the F-Type in all of its rear wheel variants can be a little tail happy. Even my 340HP base startled me a couple times while changing lanes and hitting the paint stripe. I felt the rear end slip out from under me on several occasions. No such issues with the AWD. It feels well planted and has amazing grip... it's still engaging and fun, but it's a more confident and controlled fun.

Whatever you decide, I am excited for you. The F-Type is an amazing car.

 

I love the sexy little tail wiggle.

 

Like I told my friend when he asked why I opted for an AWD F-Type R over a Challenger Hellcat... Some people enjoy spinning their wheels while some of us enjoy going forward!

 

And some of us enjoy being able to do both

 

I must congratulate you on having one of the nicest dilemmas any new car buyer would ever have to contemplate!

Any R is going to put a smile on your dial in a way virtually no other car can - or probably will ever again!

I have a 2014 MY V8S convertible and have driven pretty much all F-Type configurations and MY's and they're all subtly different and have their own character - in a similar way to Porsche's range of 911's (which the F-Type strategy is modelled off).

In your case it comes down to AWD as you rightly say. That makes the choice pretty simple as you have really only 2 options to choose from. That makes you life a LOT easier than having to decide between the rest of the range as it's now so varied as to be a full-time job just keeping up with the new ones!

I learned to drive on a Holden Statesman (Australian built 4-door GM full-size lux) with a 308cu in V8. Front-engined and rear-drive - with a 3-speed T-bar auto so I feel amazingly at home with the F-Type V8 platform as a result.

My last car was a modded MB SLK55AMG 2006MY - same config of meaty rear-drive V8 with front-engined weight distribution and inherent understeering predictability and diallable oversteer at a whim.

Through my years of driving such cars I have learned to love the sound and the basically unmatchable instant shove V8 engines provide.

It's like a drug and I'm an addict.

My V8S is old enough to have hydraulic steering and comes without brake-torque vectoring - both to my preference. I can pick a subtle difference between the hydraulic and electrical steering systems - but there isn't much in it.

It's the brake-torque vectoring I'm most delighted about not having - as I strongly prefer to have control of the car in my hands with a minimum of uncommanded interventions when going hard.

The BTV system in F-Type is beautifully calibrated - as are it's TCS and ESC systems in the way they ever-so-gently intervene so your passenger has no idea your collective bacon was just saved from crunchy embarrassment by a software technician with a slide rule and infinitely better judgment than yours. But nonetheless I resent it's intrusion - as it has a very powerful effect on the driving experience for me as it destroys most of the sense of 'risk' that comes with driving the car to (and slightly over) it's tractive limits.

It takes away a lot of the need to know the car's limits - as it knows what they are and steps in to provide assistance whenever you push that little bit too hard. It's a godsend for those who find themselves out of what they thought was their comfort zone just a few milliseconds before and for those who don't have the time or interest in learning advanced car control of their F-Type - but for me it actually provides way too much 'stop/reset/repeat' functionality that I can't work out how you could ever get scared enough to feel truly enlivened from the experience of driving the F - or any other performance car fitted with BTV for that matter.

I remember driving an Audi R8 V8 Spider in the delightful hills behind Monaco on a beautiful sunny day while on a professionally organised supercar driving holiday with 5 other sportscars.

They were perfect conditions - smooth tarmac, perfectly curved and cambered corners, no traffic, good vision through corners, dramatic elevation changes and spectacular scenery, and the sights and sounds of driving a convertible supercar in total fury in the company of 458's, Superleggeras, 911 TT's etc in a country I couldn't lose my licence in!!

I was going harder than I had ever driven in my whole life. As a matter of fact I was wondering how the tyres stayed on their rims!! The pace was as blistering as the sun above. The 4wd systems, TCS, ESC, and various other electronic gubbins worked tirelessly to make the drive experience effortless and removed most of the work we need to do when we push a car harder than it really wants to be pushed and usually gets a bit squirelly. It simply didn't - ever. It never once put a foot wrong - never chirped it's tyres nor pushed even a centimetre wide, missed an apex, or gave me a microsecond of worry or concern.

But something - something rather big - was missing.

After driving it for about an hour it struck me that my pulse was - and had been all along - normal. So was my breathing. And I was holding the steering wheel lightly in my hands and wasn't clenching it like I usually would to hang on for dear life when punting at the limit of my experience.

Because despite driving harder and faster than I had ever done in my whole life - I wasn't in the least bit excited.

I could have done the same pace with one hand on the wheel while drinking a latte. Or texting. Or shaving.

It was like driving with a condom on.

There just wasn't the depth of feeling - it was all so very remote and the sense of risk utterly absent.

It was then that I realised something about my driving that might help you reflect on the choice before you: that sportscars are all about emotion.

And I had none for the R8 as it was a car that I had no reason to fear.

BTV takes the risk out of corners - so for me it's like wearing a rubber. I'd rather not do the deed if I have to wear one - it's just like going through the motions but you can never get where you're trying to go because something robs you of that exquisite sense of being just about to do something that will have (potentially) permanent consequences - and I found that it's in that moment I feel the most alive.

From what I understand (I'm not entirely sure) BTV can't be turned off in the F-Type unless you disable the fuses for the entire ESC system - which is something I'd only do on a dry racetrack with good tyres - not on the road except to do burnouts.

I don't know how you feel about driving but BTV is one reason why I'm never likely to update to a newer F-Type.

The other reason is rear-wheel drive. All U.S. MY16+ F-Type V8's will be 4wd as you already know. Here in Australia we can still opt for a 2wd or 4wd V8 (I think the 4wd option is around AUD$15,000) - but I suspect the vast majority of buyers will option it in - as will the dealers who are ordering floor-stock to suit an increasingly unskilled buyer pool for such a powerful and 'peaky' sportscar that could be a bit of a widowmaker in the wet if they didn't.

The same argument above applies for me and 4wd - the added traction means that precise throttle inputs become 'a bit smoother' as opposed to 'utterly critical' - and less attention needs to be paid to drive hard - and only colossally poor conditions would force you to lower your pace.

The added weight of the F-Type's 4wd system (80kg), the slightly higher centre of gravity (5mm), and consequent nose-heavy balance robs the 4wd R of some of it's sharpness - it's a subtle difference but yes you can tell in the same way you can tell the difference between driving with a passenger and driving in a car on your own. Maybe even a little bit more than that.

I do like the F-Type R a lot because it's pretty much the absolute best balance of brawn and balance in the F-Type range and somehow manages to stay sane (just) while doing it - massively playful and edgy but with true finesse and brilliantly able to express whatever driving mood you may be in at the time.

The 4wd R is just that little bit slower and just a tiny bit less able to rotate at turn in - and once on the power it just 'goes around'.

Thats what it does.

It just goes around the corner. Every single time. You can get the back out but it's a bitch to keep it there as the system fights you for control and will ultimately win. And - you can't turn it off. Not the 4wd system. Ever.

My other two cars both have 4wd - and I use them on wet days (a VW Passat CC 3.6 4Motion and Porsche Cayenne Turbo 4.8) and LOVE the way they just make those wet roads dry out under my lead foot!

I have always had a rule that my family would only ever travel in cars with 4wd. Sounds weird? Not so. The Cayenne is for my little 7 month old boy to be driven around in - and I recall on the very first test-drive his mother was turning right from a Stop sign, and after seeing the coast was clear turned the steering wheel and just floored it. In a front-wheel drive it would have just spun up and gone nowhere, in a rear-wheel drive it would have launched hard and then the back would have swung around and hit the power pole in front of us - but the 4wd system did it's job and we just launched without a chirp of the tyres and rocketed down the road - my partner utterly unaware of the miracle of technology that had just saved her from a rather difficult explanation to some unimpressed insurance assessors from the car dealership's insurer.

So I totally get it when other members here say that 4wd is a great idea if you're lending the car out. But it's up to you if you want the dynamic compromise every second you're in the car in order to provide that to someone else.

It really comes down to what you want from your sportscar.

In Atlanta it sure can rain - but snow isn't much of a problem and most days are dry. 2wd is a good option - but if you like that enveloping sense of protection that 4wd offers then you know what to do.

So good luck - whatever you choose you'll have a magnificent car.

As the world goes turbo, hybrid, and full EV - the R's S/C V8 and it's weapons-grade soundtrack will never be repeated. It's almost painfully beautiful and ignites so many driving emotions there isn't space to list them all here.

There really is no bad choice.

It's just down to whether you want to be scared more or less often...

Cheers,

JD
Sydney Australia

 

On the RWD V6S with TVB, just turn off the DSC. Plenty of tail wiggle and 4 wheel drift.

 

To me, it would depend on the discount. How much more are they offering to take off of the 2015? I don't care about AWD, so I wouldn't factor that in at all. Another consideration is that the 2016 has the 5 year warranty + free maintenance. So, if the discount is significant, go for the 2015.

 

They are offering an additional 7k off, in addition to the 9k or so I've negotiated on a 16.

 

Free maintenance is just an oil/filter change along w/ an annual service check, which amounts to about $2K max over the 4 extra years of maintenance thrown in on 16s. The first year was free on earlier MYs, which saved me $350. Anything else is covered for 4 years under warranty on 14-15s.

The extra year of warranty is hard to place a value on. It could be worth nothing or a lot if something major happened in year 5.

 

AWD is certainly a big safety net. When you are driving anything 500HP+ that is RWD, you need to ALWAYS BE AWARE/REMEMBER that you can NEVER press the gas pedal with reckless abandon. In a normal car, if you get restless you just mash the gas and let the car do its things. That changes as soon as you hop in the RWD FTR.

Here are some rules you need to never forget when playing with the throttle on a RWD FTR:

0-30% = Regular driving, stop and go, drive to work, fun but nothing exciting
30-60% = Merge onto highway, pass on highway, make some fun exhaust noise
60-100% = Woah, heart is racing. Rear end wagging. You remember you are driving something violent that is unforgiving. Forget for 1 second the capabilities of this car and you end up in a guardrail or the woods.

I have had 2 AMG RWD cars which were 500HP and this Jaguar makes them feel like they had AWD. If you want a safety net then go AWD. If you can respect the power then RWD is a lot more fun. I went RWD but I saved a lot of money on the purchase like you.

 

If you still have the car in year 5, you can probably buy an additional 4 year extended warranty for under $3500, so you'd still be money ahead.

 

I would probably go for the 2015 and save the 7k. That's a pretty good discount. I also look at the whole picture.... what does my gut tell me? Do I like the color, interior options, etc? I mean I wouldn't get a car in a color I don't like just to save money.

 

Holiday Sales Event just announced by Jaguar. $2,500 off 2016 F-Type R, lease or finance. Good until 1/4/16.

 

Holy Cow! How long did that take to type...