Hi All,
New to the Forum but have been a fan from a far for a long time. I have talked myself out of a Jag and Rover every time due to what may be my mis-perceived reliability issues. I may finally be ready to jump in. Have been browsing F-Type Convertibles and their specs from months now. 2015-2017. It seems like they change packages and options names almost annually. But I came across something curious lately, It was a F-Type advertised as a Base, but first thing I noticed was upgraded rims - ok, that's possible, So I look at the interior photos and see the "Flat Bottom" steering wheel and the additional control for the sport Exhaust. Could it be a coincidence that this has all 3?!?! I could not pay for and pull an invoice sheet, at least not on monroneylables, to see what was possibly installed as an option vs. package. I did however use the nifty VIN decoder on this site and I believe the telltale to the contrary is the HP reported at 340 vs 380. There is a vast knowledge base on here and so I thought I'd ask for your thoughts. Possibly a relevant aside is that this car was originally imported to Canada - I know that may open the possibility of different configurations. Ideally I believe I want, if budget holds, a 2017, premium or above with less than 30k mileage and having at least 18 months warranty left. Also, I do not think I am a big fan of the pseudo suede seat combo, it just seems like it looks dingy with wear and I would think for a summer use car impractical - finding the extended leather package has also been an interesting option - is this just me?

 

In some model years more things came as standard on the S, but it has always been possible to have all the options fitted to the base model. Anything with silver brake calipers will be a base model - this is especially apparent if the wheels have been upgraded because the smaller brakes don't fill up the space very much.
To make matters more confusing, a 2015 S won't have the S emblem on the center stack above the infotainment screen, while later model years do.
I prefer the look of the performance seats and the extended leather pack helps give it more of an interior feel appropriate for the price point.

For identifying what the available options were for each model year, I suggest you check out the brochures Auto-Brochures.com|Jaguar Car PDF Sales Brochure/Catalog/Flyer/Info E-Pace F-Pace I-Pace E-Type F-Type S-Type X-Type XE XF XJ XJS XK

 

Lani Kai,
Thanks for the Brochure link, not sure how I missed that, Helpful. Funny though, they cant even keep consistency with their brochure layout, not to mention there are 2 versions for 2016. I am also a little more confused. As you said you can option almost anything but as I read it, in both of the versions for 2016, the wheel package and the flat bottom steering, seem pretty particular to the S; although it looks like you may be able to get the flat bottom steering with the "Black Pack" didn't even know that was a thing before seeing those brochures. I really of course want this to be an S - but the VIN decoder (with respect to HP) and lack of any badging (exterior could be chalked up to paint work - which probably would be bad but its also missing on the center stack - another thing I just learned) seem to say otherwise.

 

Welcome! The F-Type is a fabulous car. There were relatively few "base", unoptioned cars. So what you found is not at all unusual. In fact many cars (mine, for example) have virtually every option specified.
It is important to note that the Canadian and Us specification cars are not identical, so items standard on cars for one of these markets are not necessarily on those for the other market. Historically, Jaguars for the Canadian market are more fully optioned for standard equipment (if that makes sense), but that varies from year to year. And the missing badges: on the exterior some owners favour having them removed (child's play: a length of dental floss and some heat applied and off they come); regarding the S on the console top: the S is not there if the car has the "black pack" interior option (that is the case with mine, for example).

One important thing to note. Unless this car is to be used on a regular basis (meaning at least weekly and for an extended period sufficient to keep the battery fully charged) you would be well advised to get a CTEK battery maintainer and use it whenever the car is not being driven. This will ensure that the battery can fully power all of the electronic modules that fill these beautiful cars; you can buy this maintainer with the JAGUAR logo on it ($$$$$$) or buy the same unit branded as CTEK ($$) - or you can really splurge and go to your local Bentley or Aston Martin or Maserati or Bugatti or...dealer and buy the identical CTEK unit for much more ($$$$$$$$). All of these companies sell these units because 1) their cars need them if not used as daily drivers and 2) because the CTEK maintainers work!

 

Gregory,
Thank you. All good info, especially on the charger side. This will be a second/sunny day ride for us and I was getting a sense about the battery from other posters. Yes, I understood what you meant with more fully optioned. So as I understood you, the Black Pack would override the S on the interior stack. Hard to believe that someone would pull the badges off the grill and rear on a car with only 20k mileage, but one never knows. Everything seems to have an explanation but the two final things I have I can not consistent, the VIN Decoder indicating only 340HP and the wording on the Brochure for the installed wheel package. As I said, I would really like it to be an S otherwise its a bit overpriced and too far away.

 

A debadged S would probably still have the S on the grille. I think the grill has a pad for the letter, and it would look odd without that.

There were many options available when I spec'd my car, but I don't know as much about what the base model could get because I was only looking at the S.

 

So, this is the actual wheel on a 2016, with a black brake caliper... Lani or anyone else, venture a guess?

 

Couldn't really tell much from just that photo so I pulled up the listing with a Google image search and didn't see any reason to doubt that it's a base model with a bunch of options.
I always hesitate when I see cheap tires on an expensive car.... I guess it's possible the dealer slapped them on though.

 

The only thing I would be cautious of with an optioned up base against an S is that the base is unlikely to have adaptive suspension. With adaptive suspension (or I think it might be adaptive dynamic suspension) the standard setting is pretty comfortable, then in dynamic mode it gets quite firm. With the base suspension it is in one setting, which is pretty firm. That would have been a deal breaker for me, but nowadays I drive in dynamic most of the time anyway and barely notice the firm ride, though I do have better tyres and wheels than stock which improved the ride a lot.

 

That is a pic of a front wheel with the 355 mm brakes, even though the tyres are 20" and very likely to be absolute *****.
Any F-Type with those front brakes is 99.999% guaranteed to be a base model as I doubt anyone in their right mind would either spec an S or R (standard with the 380 mm front brakes) with those 355 mm ones, or swap them later.

 

I did some of the badges, in the back (lettering, but not logo or "S") and I know I'm not the only one. Pulling the letter off the front would leave a blank space on the grille that would be obvious. I'd trust the VIN decoder and conclude this is a base model with options.

 

That “pad” actually comes off if the grille S is unbolted. So it can be fully removed, but the entire nose piece needs to be removed to gain access to that bolt. Few, if any, bother, even if they remove all the other badging.