Fantastic write up. Thanks so much for sharing your experience

 

Hahahaha!!!! Great stuff Walt! Us pilots seem to need the power =)

Great thoughts regarding used. Might do that and wait for a used R in a year or so.

What are you flying? Man you guys at Delta are crushing it!

Cheers

Miles

 

[QUOTE=schraderade;998197]So, I bought the V6.
This is the first car I've owned where I haven't bought the top of the line model.

My reasons were:

• I'm not an aggressive driver, and I don't track the car.
• I change cars frequently and the difference between the V6 and the R is 30K+. I'd rather spend that money absorbing an extra year of depreciation and switching my car a year earlier, than upgrading this car.
• I'd be spending the $30K to buy additional performance which is way outside the performance envelope I actually use for the car. I can see why the V8 would make sense for forum members who are enthusiasts or who love extra power for its own sake, but for me, personally, it would be pure vanity which I can do without.
• I'm involved in some environmental technology investments and couldn't bring myself to unnecessarily burn gas in a V8.
• I'm a design nerd and realized that there is very little difference between the V6 and V8 models design-wise.
• The sound on the V6 is ferocious and intoxicating. The V8 is even more brutish, but although there is a difference we are talking about the difference between an A and an A+. I bought the V6 with the active exhaust option and have found that I leave it off most of the time because even without it on, the engine sound instantly rubbernecks heads of everyone I pass. That said, I would absolutely recommend that option if you get the V6.

The final point I'd make is: this is a car that is capable of an enormous range of expressions. Unlike a Ferrari or a BMW, the F-Type is able to be classy, elegant, aggressive, muscle, gangster, or track-ready depending on what options and colors you choose. So rather than paying attention to the endless magazine obsession with 0-60 times and engine size, I'd suggest taking advantage of the F-Type's versatility and figuring out how you want to design your own, personal driver's experience. Perhaps you'll find it has much more to do with color than with horsepower (or vice versa!) but I think you'll be that much happier with your decision in the end.

In this vein, I optioned mine more for restrained elegance than for road muscle...more James Bond than Dario Franchitti. For this, I didn't need the V8 at all....just the V6 with a judicious set of options.

And it is sublime....it's the least expensive car I've owned in the past decade, but it's the most satisfying by far![/QUOTe

Although I opted for the R and the V8, I really enjoyed your perspective. I thought your take on what options are chosen will determine the general sense of the car.. ie: muscle (black pack, black wheels) is spot on. My approach seems to have been a bit middle of the road, possibly leaning to elegant or classy with a bit of an edge... your explanation brought this home, as I had not previously considered just how broad a palette the F type represents.
Lawrence

 

I leased a S vert with a capitalized cost of $86K off of a $92K list.

If I remember correctly the base residual was 50-51% and the S residual was $47%.

 

Lawrence, remind me of the basic exterior combination you ordered.
I know... I could probably dig it up via the search function, but I'm feeling lazy.

 

Attached, I hope, is a picture, although for some reason the angle doesn't seem to catch proportions of the car all that well.
..Italian racing red
..Jet / camel seat
..camel seat belt
..Gyrodyne black and diamond wheels
..Alloy spare
..Heated windscreen
..Illumined treadplate
If I find some other pictures I'll post them.
Lawrence

 

To your earlier point, the color totally changes the personality of the car IMO.
The coupe looks really great in red....very evocative of Pininfarina desogm!

 

Oh yea.. I'm really loving this car.. the more I drive it, the better it gets. Picking a colour was a tough choice, anyway this red is really good in the sunlight and I can't seem to capture that in a picture.
For those who have earlier queried the look of Gyrodyne black diamond wheels, I believe if you double click on the picture once it opens, you can get a close up of the wheels.
Lawrence.

 

So, after looking at my stratus, I figured out why.
The xirallic paint is deeply enhanced by the reflections from the metallic nanoparticles suspended in the paint.
These just don't get captured well by cameras because: (a) most cameras don't have the resolution to capture the particles; and (b) for cameras that do, the digital noise filters will treat a lot of the lustre as speckle and filter it out.

As a result the paints looks dull/opaque in most photos, and doesn't "pop" at all.

 

Thanks for clarifying! If you had bought a coupe for that I was going to ask for your salesperson's name.
I've purchased 3 of my Jags from one dealership and 2 from another dealership and neither one are giving discounts on the coupe. To anyone so they say.

 

I got mine at a meagre $1.5k below msrp in northern California. There are no dealer incentives for the coupe yet.

My dealer was quite constructive because they were willing to give me the $1.5k plus whatever dealer rebates were available at the time of delivery (Jaguar announces these every 2 months). Unfortunately when mine was delivered there weren't any rebates for the coupe. You may want to try something similar.

 

Thanks, I will speak to the GM about it. I thought my order was going in at the first of June, but the special allocation has not come through yet. The GM has all the specs in the system but can't send the order through yet. The LR-Jag Rep has given me the next special allocation in the South East Region, just waiting on approval. If approval doesn't come through next week then I get the dealership's July allocation. That being the case my F-Type S most likely be here in September. Maybe by then there will be some form of incentive.

 

I got the V6-S for the adaptive suspension mainly, because the ride is smoother; the little extra HP and limited slip diff were just the icing for me. The Sport steering wheel is fantastic but you have to buy the Performance Pack which I didn't really need. I strongly recommend people get the Active Exhaust (comes w/ Perf Pack, but can be ordered separately); it amplifies the F-Type's superb exhaust note and adds 'bite'. Also the optional Performance seats are comfortable, and the suede-cloth interior option adds a nice 'bespoke' touch.

 

You're missing the steam catapult? The R I test drove did 0-110 faster than any car I've previously driven, so could be a good choice...

 

I do miss the catapults. 0-130MPH in about 1.5 seconds.

Want to talk about acceleration? Not much out there that can beat a tuned 997 Turbo S.
The F-Type does not even compare to my TTS in performance but when I walk in my garage to go for a drive, I keep going to the Jag for some reason.

Interestingly I have never been interested in Jags but this F Type V8 S just speaks to me and after obsessing over it for a few weeks I knew I had to have one. Will I get rid of the Porsche's, hell no. But for the guys that can afford both,,,, WOW- we are extremely lucky!

Walt

 

The SF dealer offered me $3500 off MSRP after he knew I had already made a deal with another dealer at $2k off...he was trying to steal the deal...show's you there's room to deal on these cars.

 

Was that for the coupe? Thanks

 

Yes, sorry for not mentioning that.
Local dealer would not come off of MSRP,both Bay Area dealers were willing to work with me,no one had a mark-up on the Coupe...which was surprising to me.

 

Great! Thanks for the info!!! I'll have to do some price shopping!

 

I managed £500 - ~1% - off the OTR price of a base model coupe, plus a third off the fitted cost of the Jaguar Trackstar.

Oh, plus a full tank and a set of carpet mats thrown in.

More a series of 'nibbles' than any real negotiation, as it was no where near the end of the month.

There is something to be said for hurrying salesman.