I am new to Jaguar (just became owner of a new XJL sedan). However my heart really prefers the F-type. I have seen some F-types in traffic and they look great.

What model years of F-types would be recommended from a reliability / maintenance standpoint? I prefer 1-2 year old (or older) from a depreciation perspective, to save vs purchasing new.

Would love to hear your recommendations on what model years / trims of F-type to consider, for a Jaguar newbie.

 

They are all good, with few changes being made. They are all intoxicating and addictive: beautiful, fast, exclusive, comfortable. And the first several model years were the purest in design details - at the front end, but taste is individual.
That said, the 2015-onward cars benefitted in minor ways from the "real world use" of the earliest example.
In terms of trim: the "extended leather" interior is gorgeous, and the cars that I personally would not be interested in are the "base level", no options cars - but there were not many of those sold. Most of the cars are very well equipped.
Maintenance? Well, use a "top tier" premium fuel, use the specified oil (Jaguar says:Castrol Edge Professional, 0w20 - which supersedes the earlier 5w20 recommendation), use something like BG44K fuel system cleaner a couple of times a year...the engines are all GDI - gasoline direct injection with everything that implies. There is nothing odd or particularly difficult about servicing compared to other cars with GDI engines. And the exhaust sound....it releases your inner hooligan.
Those that have these silken beasts absolutely love them.

 

I just bought a F Type R and would say first you need to narrow down what motor you are looking for; V6? V8? Then are you wanting a coupe? A convertible? Seems each model year made some minor changes but nothing really drastic that I can see so far. Door sills in MY up to 2016 say "Jaguar" and following newer years say "R". The InControl app seems to be only available in 2016 and up.

 

They are all great looks wise, it just boils down to how much power you want. I would balance cost and remaining warranty. I bought new knowing I would take it in the shorts depreciation wise, but I plan on keeping her awhile.

 

The best of the best fits into 3 categories:
If you want an MT: 2016-2020 V6S available in Vert & Coupe and the two versions of the nose depending on year.
If you want AWD: 2017-2020 SVR
If you want a real hoon car: 2015 R available only as a RWD Coupe. Of course you could also pulley/tune a 2014-15 V8S to the same effect (RWD Vert)

 

I would add a couple of things:

1. the infotainment improved significantly in the 2017 model year (actually it was the second of the 2016 model years for Australia). That also brought in EPAS which I really like;
2. dont disregard the p300 which is a lovely engine and good tech with probably the best handling, but low on noise output and not as wild;
3. there were some cosmetic changes in the 2018 year to the R (horizontal vent blades) which are not to everyone's taste;
4. personally in the auto I think the sweet spot is the 2017 R though I am more than satisfied with a modded v6s.

 

I believe headlight and tail light design changed in 2018. I know 2020 tail lights have a smoked perimeter. I also think the seats changed in the 2020 providing a bit of extra leg room. If R's are a consideration I believe some suspension components of SVR were added in 2020. If you get an SVR obviously not a consideration. SVR eliminated as a model for 2021.If looking at SVR's I'd go for the newer headlight, tail light design (my bias). 2020's will be the last year of front end design closest to Ian Callum's original (head lights, tail lights aside).

Having been around a variety of f-types at once on several Maine trips. the 2015 rwd appears to me to have a more aggressive stance, possibly due to change in bonnett elevation when awd added. You can overlay some of these features if choosing a manual. My latest thought would be a silver/gray SVR with extended leather red interior as again closest to the concept car (in color anyway). The titanium exhaust sounds distinctly different on SVR.

 

I'd rarely recommend a 1year old car verses a new car for two reason:
1) no manufacture rebates(in F type's case it can be as much as 10k, possibly more for last year's unsold inventory)
2) higher interest rate
you also have less warranty left and have no idea what the previous owner did, all for not much less than if you bought it new

For exact model, you need to decide if you want a coupe or vert, v6 or v8, rwd or awd, auto or manual, color and specific options you must have?.

Once you figured these out we can easily pin point the best model and year for you, then you can evaluate their respective price and warranty situation.

 

Lease returns are a good place to look. They're typically low mileage with some treated better than others. A friend got a three year old lease return that was the same year as mine. It had front end damage that was repaired reasonably well, although not what I'd accept on my own car. It was less than half what I paid new, thanks to that and the CarFax blemish on its record. Nothing depreciates like luxury.

 

All F-types are reasonably reliable, but 2017 and later have updated coolant pipes.

 

2018 was the "refresh" of the body style among other things, so new nose (with no-blade lower openings) and LED headlights standard (instead of HIDs). The infotainment was updated (and I think it's pretty good), but with rare exception most 2018s still can't do CarPlay (you need the big 10" screen and no buttons on the sides of the screen to have CarPlay which was late 2018/early 2019 builds).

 

im with you. I went for a total value purchase. I don’t care much for the wider screen and certainly wasn’t willing to pay $15k more for that. I found a 13k mile 2016 in early 2019 that was close to mint and paid a price that I believe I could sell it for now. Obviously it’s all about your preferences, budget etc, but I liked the noise it made and don’t drive it enough to worry about CarPlay and updated taillights to pay some crazy premium.

 

All of the answers you received are thoughtful and well reasoned. I'm biased, and only have experience with the 2017 MY. I leased a new 2017 S convertible in 2017, loaded ($105,500 MSRP), and loved every minute of it. Amazed by the tractability, and how it can turn into a beast with the push of a switch. The sound is amazing. Toured with my brother in it, one 4,500 mile trip, only drawback was limited luggage space. Surprisingly comfortable tourer, even got great gas mileage while pushing it hard. At lease end, the residual was higher than I was willing to pay, and I really wanted to try a coupe. Found a 2017 coupe with almost the exact same equipment as my convertible, 2,500 miles on the clock, for $5k less than they wanted for my convertible. Bought that one, and am very pleased. As others have mentioned, the styling issue is a matter of personal taste. I like the "blade" front end, and also don't care for the more "modern" headlights on the later years. I would add that you should drive both convertibles and coupes, V8's and V6's (prefer the S), and decide for yourself. I drove them all before leasing my first one, and while the V8's are a real kick in the pants, I loved the balance and sound of the V6, and for my purposes, never found the power wanting. Good luck in your search, it will be fun to try a bunch out. No matter what you choose, it will be a winner. These cars are simply magnificent.

 

And the V6S is powerful enough to get you into trouble really fast...

 

My opinions, which closely mirror others with some small differenced.

For a Coupe 2015 is something special. It's the only year you can get a RWD V8. You can get V8S models in prior years.

2016-27, the differences aren't really enough to matter for me.

2018, slight change to the front end and new headlights. Bigger infotainment system with some more functionality.

For the most recent model year, the major facelift.

If it were me, knowing what I know now, I would get a 2015 R and make sure it did not have Pirellis on it.

Vik

 

I was focused on the upcoming 6MT so didn't pay as much attention tot the 2015 as I otherwise would have, but I think the 2015R was available with *optional* AWD. If that's the case, I don't know the split on production.

As for Pirellis, if you've got the V8 and RWD, you could make short work of the rears and then go the P4S all 'round

 

I'm pretty sure the 2016 on R was/is AWD only in NAS (ie USA and Canada) and it's only in ROW (Rest of World) markets you has a choice between RWD and AWD.
Coz apparently JLR decided those Yanks and Canucks couldn't handle a RWD V8 while the rest of us were quite capable of doing so!

 

Could be. We can't even abide by "slower traffic keep right" here. How hard is that? Certainly easier than not wrapping a RWD V8 around a pole.

 

It's not the drivers that are a concern, it's the NA lawyers.

 

[QUOTE=Unhingd;2328213]The best of the best fits into 3 categories:
... If you want AWD: 2017-2020 SVR ...

OR if you want the added performance and the status badge doesn't mean anything to you - any "R" from 2016 and beyond with a tune and pulley - you'll end up with more power than an SVR with about $2K cost for the pieces/tune.