Good point about a manual. The manual F-Types seem really rare.

A manual Mustang GT is one sweet drive too. Really enjoyed the manual with the V8 when I test drove several different Mustangs a couple of years ago when I was seriously considering ordering one.

 

Cheers, yeah they (the Mustangs) are pretty common here too but they cost next to nothing to mod so you can kind of individualise them. I put the mishimoto h pipe in mine and the exhaust is beautiful, like late '60's muscle car, couple that with a manual shift and and the blips in downshifts, it is really an involving ride even around town. Interior is pretty second rate compared to the Jag though (other than infotainment which is better) and it doesnt get the looks like the F Type does.

 

Yeah it's hard not to like the Mustangs. Just incredible bang for the buck. I actually think that its interior is good and never understood why it has been criticized. Back when I was considering one I had an X250 XFS Portfolio with what I consider being one of the best Jag interiors ever and I really didn't think the Mustang interior was significantly worse. Sure the base level Mustang interior felt a bit plasticky in some parts but the upgraded premium interior (or whatever it was called) only felt marginally worse. Finally never ordered one because the facelift was presented but would take ages to arrive in Europe, the back seat crash safety seemed pretty dodgy (intended to drive the kids with it) and at the time it was a total lottery if you'd get a car with a decent prop shaft. Went for another sportier X250 with the supercharged AJ126 instead.

 

ahhh, good choice. Yeah i liked the Mustang interior a lot more when I first got it, but 6 months later i'm noticing things. The steering wheel is too thin for a weighty car (got an aftermarket one to replace it, so all good). The plastics are pretty hard, I actually dont think the seats are leather and they are a bit spongy for spirited driving, and not really supportive enough. I'd happily pay $3K to swap the seats for the leather recaros. Agree re the back seats, it is pretty safe in the front, I wouldnt put anyone in the back either. lol

 

my sentiments exactly. The looks of the f-type are by far so much better (I know, subjective).

 

Interesting and a bit odd that they didn't upgrade the steering wheel more in the facelift. I remember that only the upgraded interior trim had partial leather, only on the seat surfaces I think. The base one were all faux leather and an odd thing was that you could only spec the premium trim in all black which was a bit of an issue for me because I'm not a fan of black car interiors. I actually did some Californian road tripping back in 2016 with a rented Mustang and it felt fine to have kids in the back then. That was lazy California traffic though... I would never put someone in the back in proper European traffic and German speeds.

Back on topic though, yep the P300 feels like a suitable engine in the XE which is a very nice car btw, especially after the facelift. Not so much in the F-Type though... just too much of a mismatch with the rest of the car IMHO. I don't really buy the common statements about that it makes sense because it makes the F-Type more nimble. Being a more or less exclusive semi GT the F-Type is just not the type of car for such an engine and is arguably still not "4 cylinder nimble" enough. If nimbleness really counts something like a Miata/MX5 or a hot hatch is probably a better option. Having said that, if there was a 50k price difference to the bigger engines I'd probably anyway seriously consider a P300.

 

Thx for all the input. This is what I always like about this forum, the complete variety of information. All good, even if some conflicts.

I am glad to get the info on the 4 banger. I wondered how well that would go over when it was first released. I doubt I will even look at one.

When I start seriously (money in hand) looking, it will likely come down to availability of trims and colours. Even though my wife is not big on convertibles(her Hair gets blown!), I will be primary driver, and the top does go up when needed. She was not too crazy about the "Darth Vader" front grill either until she got an RX450h. Now she is a little more tolerant of it.

For now I have to finish restoring the Nash Metro Convertible, sell it and then start seriously looking for the replacement. Anyone want to trade an F-Type for a Nash???

 

You could still test a P300, it's really not bad, but given that you already had an S and given the level of cars you seem to be used to you'd most probably be pretty underwhelmed by it.

Good luck!

 

Well, there are certainly owners of the P300 on here who are happy with it - it all depends on what you're looking for. I still think a lightweight version of the P300 (wheels, brakes, seats, battery, etc.) could be pretty cool - though you'd have to pry my V6S from my cold, dead hands. (Tuned, and I'll do the pulley when I have a barn & lift and can do it myself.)

You can always ask VAP if they have a tune for the Nash.

 

Just before COVID, my wife and I went looking for her next set of wheels. We tested a z4, 718 and the F-Type. Z4 was off the list pretty quickly if only based on looks. The Cayman was really, really good but the 4 cyl. engine sounded dull and so nondescript. Anyway, Wifey didn't actually take to it at all--great looking car as it is, but too many on the road (relative term of course) and just not as cool looking as the F-Type. We drove the P300 and a V6. I really wasn't expecting the 4 cyl to be very good, but we were both pleasantly surprised. The engine actually sounded better than the boxer 4. It was pretty quick too. We didn't get round to buying a car at that time of course, but once Jaguar announced they were dropping both the 4 and 6 cylinder models, getting the P450 ended up being a no brainer for us. Anyway, I agree, the P300 is a nice car and it has a character all of it's own.

 

Hi Sam,
I recently bought a slightly used F-Type P300 ex-JLR executive car. The 4-cylinder was what I wanted to test drive, and I was not disappointed. 295 bhp, 0-60 in 5.4 seconds, 155 mph top speed, that's plenty of zoom-zoom for me. Santorini black with the black package, black Windsor leather heated and cooled seat upgrade, 19" wheels, and a few other goodies came with it. The P300 model is affordable, does everything I need, and is drop-dead gorgeous like every other F-Type. Plus, this frugal 71-year-old New Englander is getting 24 mpg on premium gas.
I come from an antique British car background (1973 TR6 - 100 hp on a good day). You may prefer another V6 or a monster V8. But don't ignore the P300. It's light, quick and beautiful.
My $.02

 

I found the S version of my F-Type more than sufficient for my needs(170mph vs 200??). Will look at all possibilities when I get serious.