Apologies for the delay in posting my opinions of this car. I will say that a combination of jet-lag and overwhelming focus on the car are to blame.

As you folks may have known, my V6S manual arrived at Plano Jag the day I landed in the UK for a 3 week business trip. Thus began a long wait that I worked very hard to ignore.

That made Monday the 27th the day, with 10:00 AM being the time the events kicked off. My thanks to Paul Light from Plano Jaguar for putting up with my madness since, well frankly, last year about this time.



Nessie waiting for me at Plano Jag

We took the car itself out for a drive before doing the paperwork, and initial indications this car is indeed a monster.

An hour later and several signatures, we were out the door with what I can best describe as my the car of my dreams. It has taken a bit of time to get used to the car and how the mechanicals work. The fact that the rear wheels are more or less right at your back is a radical change from my prior car.

Observations:

Clutch - there had been a wide variety of opinions in the trade press and some from members of this message board. Mine is light and smooth. Really an absolute pleasure to operate. The engagement range seems to stretch across the travel of the pedal, and the pedal action is fairly light and predictable. The reviewer who called it "agricultural" is clearly not driving the same car.

Gear Box - There has been some opinion about the throw being a bit long. I find it nicely compatible to my other manuals. Quite satisfactory. The gears mate with a satisfying tactile feedback, not a clunk or a click, but a distinct mechanical "event" that you can feel with your hand. I must point out there is some additional "magic" going on with this thing. It would seem to have an almost impossible smoothness with low engine RPM without stalling the engine. It's easy to creep forward into a parking spot compared to some of my other / prior cars.

Gear Box Part 2 - In the past I have had problems maintaining certain common road speeds. Specifically the 30 MPH to 45 MPH range. This was probably because of choices made in ratios of 2nd and 3rd gear. This car does not display that shortcoming. It easily holds road speed for city driving in a comfortable (and if you choose, raucous) RPM range.

Engine - Short form - amazing. So much torque, so much power. I have not had it over 3500 RPM yet (breaking it in), but it's obvious what this thing is all about. Coupled with the manual gear box, it's like a mechanical party and you are the MC. It was the second day when I was able to successfully "drift" the car merging onto a freeway "feeder" U-turn on SR-121 (it's a Texas highway building pattern) by goosing the throttle in 2nd gear at the apex of the turn. The beast has so much power on tap, I can be in 6th on the freeway, doing 70 and be at 85 (to pass the cursed rock trucks and cement mixers) in a blink of an eye. I am not sure what kind of elfin magic is in this thing, but I am in mad, mechanical love.

Exhaust - It's true that this car seems to be a bit tougher to get to snap and pop. I have been able to do it twice now, and it all seems to revolve around a fast ramp in throttle with a fast release while under way (i.e., not parked). I am sure once I am done breaking in the motor, I will find the magic combo that makes it sing. The tone under both normal and sport mode is resonant and rich. And loud. I started it in the garage the day after purchase (at 5:00 AM) and it seems I woke my wife and the neighbors with the thing. Be advised. Also, if you are in "loud mode" and you end up gunning it through a yellow light, you are going to be the focus of any law enforcement nearby.

Visual Appeal - Oh my yes. If you enjoy keeping a low profile, do not drive this car. Everyone looks at it. It seems they can't help it. Yesterday I was out with my wife, and we passed a police officer who had pulled over a motorist on a rural road. His eyes followed us the entire time (we were well below the speed limit). Men, women, police, heck babies - they stare at this car. Be warned it also seems to bring out the douche-bags. Only 2 days of ownership and I can't tell you how many numpties have tried to get me to throttle up. I roundly ignore them with a big stupid grin on my face.


Perfection

Final Thoughts - Having had a chance to drive a V8 coupe and a V8 convertible, I would say you can tell these are the same family. But the manual transmission adds an entire new dimension. It's probably anachronistic of me to prefer the clutch and stick, but it is so much damn fun. I realized driving home from work yesterday that I did not have the radio on, and I had not touched any of the tech features in this car. At the moment they are distractions to me, the raw base experience of having this much power and this much interaction with the drive train are more than enough amusement for today.

Bottom Line - overwhelming success. For me, the perfect car.


Orkney

 

Great review Orkney! I'm picking up my base V6 manual tomorrow. Hopefully, I will have the same positive experience.

 

I agree...great review. I'm picking mine up on Fri.

 

Like the others said great review Orkney. Also that British green and wheel combo looks absolutely gorgeous.

 

That's an excellent review, and nice to hear a completely positive report. I had high hopes for the manual, and I'm delighted you're pleased with it.

 

Orkney - Thanks for posting this; that was an informative summary. I'm so pleased that it has turned out so well for you, and validates your decision to go ahead and buy the manual. I couldn't get over hump of ordering car I could not test drive, and I didn't want to wait until? Also I was coming from recently test driving an Aston Martin, and 2 different Caymans S, all with manuals, which beat me up severely driving in town in traffic. I just couldn't see me driving one of those in spite of how much I loved the cars' good points. If I were 20 years younger, it would have been different; I am well past the 25 to 54 year age target, ha! And after my F-Type test drive where everything about the car was so well integrated and the driving experience so good, I'm happy with my decision to order the 8-speed given the constraints. Mine is due in September.

I wish I could have been the one to have written the summary you wrote. I loved every word of it.

 

Orkney:

I have to say I had the same level of excitement as you when I picked up my car and still do after almost 10 months. The F-Type is the first car I still thoroughly enjoy even after the honeymoon period. Beautiful car…enjoy!

I signed up for a Jaguar Drive event in Carmel, CA during Pebble Beach weekend next month and I hope they have a manual available to drive so I can experience it for myself.

 

After 4 months with the MT, I'm even less satisfied with the clutch than when I first got the car. Now that I'm well past break-in, I feel at liberty to push the car hard. Under a full power launch, the clutch refuses to hook up quickly enough to avoid substantial slippage and the smell of burnt friction material. I took the car in to the dealer for a couple of other issues and asked them to look into this matter. The service writer suggested that it might be related to a safety device that is now included in the hydraulic systems of modern vehicles to prevent rear wheel lockup in the event that someone does not release the clutch smoothly (or at the correct engine speed) during a downshift:Clutch Delay Valve.

Note that the 135i, and 335i with the same trans as the F-Type are included in this list of BMWs affected by this device. If the F-Type MT has such a device, it may be responsible for the vague clutch engagement we are experiencing. A simple solution may be at hand.

 

The clutch just refuses to hook up during a full throttle launch. With foot off the clutch pedal you actually have to back off the throttle for the clutch to fully engage. Lots of burnt clutch smell! 0-60 time suffers severely as a result.

 

Jesus Unhinged, I can smell it up here! Where are you at [re] swapping stuff out which might help correct this problem?

 

I need access to parts diagrams and part number so that I can identify the part that throttles the fluid flow when the clutch is released. Apparently Jag doesn't use a standalone valve. The valve mmay be incorporated into the cylindrical throw-out piston.

As soon as I can identify the right part, I'll order one to see what modification can be made to eliminate that valving.

 

Well, good luck with all that!

Separately, unless I'm mistaken, I'm a bit surprised that no other MT owner has chimed in with [the same or similar] gripe? We all have different levels of skills and "acceptance" - and while I love an MT, you already know I'm supremely satisfied (in love actually) with my AT - and I'm curious how others feel about the same issue. Assuming they feel the same way.

 

I would welcome that fact that it might just be my car. Then I could get it fixed. However, the Jag shop already pronounced everything working per plan. (And we know how accurate they can be).

I may just give up using the clutch for heavy acceleration up-shifting.

 

I have not had any complaints about my clutch, but then again I am not trying to measure and improve my 0-60 times. Not to say that my car does not fly off the stoplight grid if I goose it, but I could guess that Unhingd is doing something above and beyond anything I have tried.

That being said - I am sure there are ways to improve it.

Orkney.

 

I could be wrong, but he may be trying to burn some rubber in addition to the clutch disk.

 

Exactly. Tires should lose grip long before the clutch. Also, full-throttle up-shifts to 2nd should light up the tires rather than fry the clutch. First of several dozen cars I've ever driven with this problem unless the clutches were truly worn out. Note the early trade mag reviews of the MT: a lot of commenting on "worn-out" clutches.

Nobody will experience this issue during the break-in period (nor did I). Not a problem when I'm not on it hard. I'm used to having the drive wheels loose on my MINI when accelerating hard. Should be able to have that on my Jag as well without smelling clutch.

 

I have to agree with you there. Any halfway decent clutch set-up should tolerate breaking the tires loose every now and then. I see it almost daily in the AT, and you shouldn't be smelling clutch. It's disappointing to say the least.

 

I'm now focused on working with Fidanza on the short shifter. Once that project is complete (or dead-ended), I'll work on the clutch solution. It could be one or more of 3 issues (weak clutch, dual mass fly wheel, clutch delay valve). I'll focus on the CDV first, as that was the issue for a lot of Bimmers.

 

I had a feeling that the clutch on the F-type is set up for newbies or inexperienced manual drivers. So, last week, while sitting in traffic, I was trying to push the manual transmission to stall. It is actually somewhat of a difficult task -- even if you really slowly release the clutch in first gear, you can actually start off (without stalling) without applying the gas at all.

I also noticed that it was hard to roll back whether in neutral or at start up (ie when pressing the clutch and switching to first gear). Unless you are on a significant grade hill, it's as if the car won't roll immediately just to give you the chance to get in gear.

I still love driving the manual transmission -- especially on straightaways on the highway... but, it feels like someone at Jaguar doesn't trust me to drive stick.

 

Virtually everyone still selling manuals is putting the "hill assist" feature on the manual transmission. I know BMW and Corvette have had it included for years on manuals.