Yet another reason not to buy it.

 

There are plenty of reasons not to get the SVR, but AWD isn't one of them.

I have been very happy with both the performance and handling of my car. I prefer the confidence that the AWD provides to the driving experience. While I thought the RWD car was fun to drive, my wife needs to be able to drive it too, and she insisted on the AWD since the RWD was just too unpredictable.

 

I won't get into the RWD vs AWD debate, except I wished North America just had the option like the rest of the world...why not let the customer choose? Rhetorical, bc I'm sure JLR has projected that it isn't worth it for them to bring both to the US market....

 

When I was at the level 1 Jaguar Experience they had RWD V8, AWD V8, and RWD V6s for us to drive. I did not like the AWD car at all on the track ... it just felt numb and boring compared to the RWD cars. I'm sure that the AWD can achieve much faster lap times, it's just not for me.

 

There are obviously RWD people and there are AWD people. Some people like the feel of being on the edge of what a vehicle can handle while others prefer pure grip and that seat of the pants feeling during acceleration. Neither are wrong, they are just different. So its a moot point to argue AWD vs. RWD. You call it numb, i call it exciting, who really cares as long as we're both happy?

 

again that's purely marketing driven

the faster f-type must also lap the ring fastest

it makes no product positioning sense to build an SVR in RWD, hype the hp number increase, add a fast n furious fixed wing, charge more for it, and have it lap a track slower than an AWD R

 

I have to admit, I'm a little surprised that for the price tag Jaguar hasn't given owners the choice of RWD... No, not as a straight up purchase, but as an electronic option. There are plenty of vehicles out there that let you disable AWD through an electric switch, which alters the behavior of the center diff. Wouldn't this make sense in a ridiculous car like this? Wouldn't it also not cost much extra for JLR? I'm pretty sure they even have it as a feature on their Land Rover vehicles...

 

There really are no F-Type faults .. just personality traits.

Lawrence

 

That would almost be enough to get me to buy one.

 

These awd systems are all "active" so you only get awd when the computer thinks it's needed. Since these cars are rear wheel to begin with they are rear biased, better than Audi's that are front wheel biased,Except Q7. I always got our Audi's as quattro so as not to have front wheel drive and they were great. Got Maserati Ghibli as rear drive as I couldn't tell the difference with the active awd and live in the desert anyway.

 

It would be interesting to see back-to-back lap times, same driver same track, same day...

Having driven both I am willing to bet AWD will be faster...My experience with the AWD was nothing like the article...


YMMV


MC

2015 Jaguar F-type R Coupe
1996 Acura NSX-T
1995 Miata #34

 

The center differential in the AWD F type is essentially a electronically controlled clutch that engages the front wheels. You could absolutely set something up to constantly send a signal to the unit which would make the vehicle full time RWD... but probably with some warning lights.

 

Or remove the front driveshaft.

 

That would cause more problems including immediate limp mode.