I've owned 67 corvette, 71 corvette, 1984 GTI, Couple 89-92 acura legends, 94 BMW 540, 04 Audi S4, 2010 Subaru STI, 2015 Audi S7 and 2019 Miata. And these are only my "fun" cars. Many others in the mix.
So obviously i've sampled a fair amount, but my absolute favorites were the S4, Miata, GTI in that order. So now i've become smitten by the looks and power of the F-Type R AWD. I'm not crazy about the 2021 front end styling, and it seems the best values are in the 2016-17's. So i'm shopping. But I wonder if I will love the "toss-able-ness" of the F as compared to my 3 favorites, or hate the pot-hole tire and wheel eating habits and heavyness of the S7. It will be a weekend car, but I like reliability of a daily.
I also like to do my own wrenching as long as good how-to's exist.
Any feedback and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Your best choice for emulating the handling of your 3 favorites would be theRWD V6 (probably best with the MT) with pumped up to 450hp with a pulley and tune and shaving a couple hundred pounds off the weight with 2pc rotors, forged wheels and a lithium battery. Oh...and be sure to lower it for a lower CG. The feel of the heavy V8 AWD is just not as crisp as the lighter cars and can’t possibly compare to a Miata or S4. (Never driven a GTi)

 

This response sounds slightly bias...

 

Your suggestion still leaves you short of shedding 1000 lb to be comparable to miata.

Honestly, if you are after Mita experience F-type is not the right car. Look into Lotus. F-type is more like a Corvette or a chunky M3. It is composed, great handling, good linear power, good brakes, a bit tail happy, but it is also a heavy car. It is heavy, because of creature comforts. F-type can be tame or wild, but it will never be light and nimble.

 

Of course it is. Whose opinion isn’t?

 

All true, but the Lotus can’t match the F-Type aesthetics.

 

Lotus is in the majority in that regard ...

 

Thanks for all the great feedback.
I'm keeping the Miata forever as my backroads bomber for it's lightness and plain cheap fun. The Jag is more of a GT and I understand that. My deal killer would be how the wheel / tire combo handles minor-medium potholes common here in the Northeast US. The wheels on my S7 got trashed over the 3 years I owned it and had 2 flats due to unseen potholes. A beautiful days drive would be completely ruined because of a relatively minor pothole, or worse yet just the fear / anticipation of one would keep me from diving it. I couldn't go with smaller wheel and bigger sidewall because the rotor was too big. Ruined the whole experience for me.
At first glance I don't see this as a problem on the forum. Is it? Wheel insurance is a partial solution, but it does not solve the anxiety.
Feedback?

 

I saw a video a few days ago in which the presenter stated that Jag wheels are subject to the same requirements as those for Land Rovers, so they should be tough, and goes some way to explain their weight!

 

That would be mine Sir! I was going to suggest a nice Rhodium Silver Type R with blade wheels, red leather, Velocity Coils, 15MM spacers, and a few other things, but I think the choice of air freshener is very personal so I wasn't going to try and sway anyone. Its about objectivity Lance.

Kidding aside, if I didn't live in a place that gets snow and didn't work from home, I would love to have a car with a similar spec to yours. I'm not a manual transmission purist, but I do like going through the gears and your short shifter mod would be a must.

 

I’ve had zero flats or wheel damage in 66k miles and almost 8 years. 19” wheels, car is stored during the winter.

 

Same here, but less miles over 5 years. Roads here not perfect, as winter freeze cycles causes potholes.

 

I have cracked a Gyrodyne wheel hitting a pothole coming around a freeway entrance ramp, but I was pulling close to a g at the time. The suspension handled the challenge without issue. It took a few days for the TPMS to alert me to the crack.

 

I have to say, this is one of the strangest requirements for a sports/GT car I've seen in a while.

A few things to note. If you purchase an older F-Type, and it has OEM tires, the OEM Pirelli are a round tire design. That sounds weird as "aren't all tires round"? It's about sidewall design of the tire. The Pirellis are rounded which gives it a "stretched tire" look on the wheel. This does expose more of the outside rim of the wheel to curbs and other street hazards. Michelin and a few other manufacturers use a square design. Aesthetically speaking, the rounded tire design does give a more modern look while the square design is a more old school look but the square design can also protect the wheel rim better since it will fill out the sidewall more full. This is important when thinking about pothole damage.

In the end, any car with short sidewalls is going to suffer from possible pothole damage. You either deal with it or buy SUV's.

 

Really appreciate the responses and help I'm receiving here.
Strange requirement? You obviously have not driven a 2015 S7. A pothole that is an annoyance in the S4 or miata, (Aftermarket performance suspension) and barely noticeable in your average sedan, would cause immediate attention to the Tire Pressure warning light and images of an expensive alignment bill. As where the 04 S4 is all time favorite, the S7 was only beat by an 08 dodge magnum SVT as the worst cars I've owned. When I hear the fairly common F-type reference of "European Hellcat", I cringe.

 

I uncharacteristically disagree with you about the S4. I found the Audit to be very front heavy and not near the balance of the F-Type R AWD.

 

Hi Rawone - I know where you're coming from. I'm a bit further up northeast in the Boston area. My other Jag is an XF Supercharged. It has 20inch wheels with 30/35 sidewalls (staggered fitment). And yes - lot of issues with wheels bending - prob bent 5 times now, I've cracked one, and tore one so badly on a pothole I had an inch tear in the metal. Bubbled prob 4-5 tires too over the 8 years as daily driver. it had been a frustration! And similarly I can't downsize the wheels due to large calipers.

My F Type is a 3 season driver and I've had no issues - yet. And in general I've not seen people raising this as an issue on the F Type. For the XF it was a common complaint

Road handling over potholes in the F Type is firm but actually pretty good.

Don't think F Type will be any different than another car with limited sidewall. Maybe drive a different car in the potholed winter?

 

We are an Audi family. My wife won't drive anything else so I've been buying Audi's since 2001. My experience has been the tires, not the car. For several years, Audi used Dunlops and my wife would hit every pothole that existed. I replaced more than a few tires and a few rims during that era. Once we switched away from Dunlops, the issues were less severe. Potholes are potholes so if you are smacking them, expect damage at some point.

With a car with lower profile tires, there is only so much that a wheel and tire can take. There is a reason there isn't a standard "pothole test" you see on Road & Track or others, it's just something you have to deal with when owning any sports car with lower profile tires.

 

I've been driving Jags on 20" wheels for some seven years, and the F-Type for the past four years, and have never had a single problem with bent/cracked/damaged rims.
And there are lots and lots of pot holes in my local crappy roads although I reckon I do a pretty good job of spotting them and then steering around them.
So I reckon the latest 20" Jag rims are a lot tougher and let "buttery" than some say.

 

Have you test driven a few? I've owned a Prelude SH and a 911 before the F-type. Both were fun. Both were awesome handling cars. Better than the f-type. They were like scalpels compared to a mallet. I've only driven the RWD v8, and its a thrill and a challenge to drive if you're aggressive. But I knew within 3 minutes of driving my car that I would buy it.

Its a high maintenance trophy wife. Not gonna have dinner waiting for you every night. Other dudes check her out. But, oh what a thrill.