I took delivery of this new F type R coupe just last week, from a 2013 GTR, a 2016 Z06 and a 2016 Challenger Hellcat, all bought new as well. I really like this F Type, most everything about it, but I am disappointed in 2 areas, one stupid simple and the other an "I can't believe it!" issue.
Stupid Simple....I like black cars and generally have them Ceramic Pro coated...this F type black coupe is going in next week. Pricey, but worth it if you like black and want to keep it sparkling a little easier. Why doesn't this car have a place where you can put your hand to close the door? I guess if you don't appreciate finger prints on the door (not good on black!) or prints on the window, you're SOL. Pull your shirt sleeve down or lift your wife's skirt (now that's an idea!) to close the door. Designer's not thinking on that one.
Second item....To me at least, this is somewhat of an "enthusiast's car".... AWD, 550HP, 2 seater coupe, etc., a true gentleman's sports car. Why oh why are there no gauge packages on the information systems? The GTR and the Z06 toldyou EVERYTHING about what that powertrain was doing....engine oil pressure and temperature, coolant temperature, battery charge level, boost pressure ratings, engine air inlet temperatures, transmission oil temperatures, when you went to the bathroom last, etc....everything! Even the Hellcat had 2 different gauge packages shown on the Infomat screen that told the driver 75% of what the Z06 and GTR gauge packages told you. This car tells me nothing...except battery charge, fuel level and engine coolant (is it in the safe zone?) and you can dial up the tires air pressures (standard in just about everything sold in the USA). I know it's probably "cool" to see what your engine oil level is on a gauge from the driver's seat, but I just hope that sensor never goes bad...just stupid in my mind not to have a dipstick! The owner's manual says not to run the car spirited until the engine warms up...that's a joke! The engine being warmed up is not a criteria that is satisfied by seeing if the engine's coolant temperature is in the safe zone! It's the oil temperature and the fact of the matter is, that oil temperature should be about 170 degrees F to be a fully warmed up engine. It's not unusual to see coolant temps at 200 degrees F and oil temperature still around 120 degrees F driving a short distance on a cool morning. Lack of gauges...designers not thinking on this one.

LOVE the car, really do....but it needs gauges telling you how the vitals are reading and someplace to put your mitt when closing the door...although the skirt option may satisfy that one.

 

About the gauges.
Pretty much all modern Jags from about 2008 on have stuff all gauges, it seems the designers decided that Jag owners were silly old fuddy duddies with no interest in these things, not enthusiasts at all, never opened the hood or did any work on the car themselves, and at best took the car into a dealership once a year for "their man Jeeves" to "fettle".
At least on the F-Type you get a temperature gauge and a digital speedometer, my 2010 XFR (which you would think might be an "enthusiast's" car) had neither of these!

 

Major gripe of many of us on this forum.

 

Welcome to the Club. The list of things missing from the F is endless. My mistake was I figured it was a modern car and had all the goodies. Wrong. You take it for what it is. The schoolbook answers are 1) the 911 doesn't have it and 2) its a performance car. Frankly, its a PITA and I expect to blow it out after a year or so. JLR simply is not a major league player and their products are seriously compromised.

 

I could live with the limited electronics if the goal was making a true purists sports car, but someone needs to explain the excess 500 pounds this aluminum beauty carries around. We here on the forum have found some low hanging fruit and I expect to have removed close to 200 lbs of that bloat, but it's still a bit of a porker.

 

Agree with you about the fingermarks but couldnt give a rats **** about the gauges. I am not mechanically minded at all and wouldnt understand them even if I could read them.

 

 

The physical dials on my Focus RS seem somehow more appropriate than having them on my "gentleman's cruiser" F-Type, so doesn't bother me at all, but I can see the frustration that others feel. They missed a chance to display some electronic dials on the main screen but then JLR has never been the type of manufacturer that I've thought would ever even consider that.

 

Do Project 7 and 8 have them?

 

I had the same information concern with my BMW 2002TII back in 1973. BMW and MB seem to agree with JLR, providing minimal information to the driver. So, go with the flow and enjoy driving it. If it breaks, just have it fixed.
Now why there is no HUD so I can keep my eyes on the road while I am enjoying it is a different matter....
Larry

 

I agree about the gauges -- I'd like to see a cluster update that lets you read these values in one of the displays. Its easy to hi-jack the radio display (NavTV and other modules do this) to display whatever you want; combine this with an OBDII reader and you could have any engine parameter you want.

 

I agree that the minimalistic approach to gauges leaves us somewhat in the dark, but the truth is that this tendency to remove "unnecessary information" from the driver's sight (and I do not agree that it is unnecessary) is almost universal. Nowadays people have different expectations regarding cars - they seem to want them to be rolling I-Pads and they get VERY upset if the colours or graphics or compatibility or speed of the infotainment systems are not "cutting edge" - they don't take into account that the edge moves not year by year but month by month. They then rant against Jaguar (see post #4) because the car (which they have chosen) does not meet their expectations.
Happily, most people who buy Jaguars do so because they are beautiful, capable, well-engineered and well built automobiles with a pedigree - some models, like the F-Type are also astoundingly fast (depending on the engine).
Every marque is deficient in some respect. A minor example - Mercedes and Audi and other brands that, as an apparent afterthought, stick a touchscreen (not retractable) at the top of the console/dash interface like a wart. Contrast that to the nicely integrated screens on all Jaguars ...this morning, in fact, a Mercedes employee, admiring my F-Type (and he took photos) commented on this very fact, remarking that the Jaguar system looked far better (of course it does). Does it work better? I don't know and don't care because for me a car primarily is a performance machine ((which must be beautiful and comfortable).
Jaguars are not perfect; I too would rather have an oil dipstick than an electronic readout - but again, this morning (at a European car gathering) a BMW enthusiast complained about the lack of a dipstick in his car...when I read generalized "everything is terrible" complaints (see #4) about Jaguars I wonder why the complainant did not do proper research before buying the car....was it only the gorgeous appearance?

 

Have had my Black Coupe for over three years, also with Ceramic Coating for the same reasons. Don't have any problem closing my door and avoiding fingerprints.

You may just need to make a minor adjustment to how you have closed the doors on some of your previous vehicles.

I use one of three different techniques - all successful in avoiding fingerprints or other smudge marks on a perfectly clean black car:
1) Open hand and the aft EDGE of the door works great. Doors are not that heavy and close easily and fully.
2) A modest nudge with my knee or thigh near the aft end of the door. Important here that you not use a knee anywhere near the center of the door or you will quickly learn how thin the aluminum door panel is. I've been surprised that I haven't caused a permanent crease on more that one occasion but the aluminum seems to spring back each time.
3) Use the palm or your hand, instead of your fingers, on the upper aft surface of the door, near the window. Best to avoid using the window itself.
4) Park facing uphill on a steep incline

Now, avoiding fingerprints left by my passengers is a whole different matter, lest I spend 2 minutes nagging them how best to "touch" the car... before they get anywhere near to it.

 

The funny thing is that the car "knows" almost all the information the enthusiasts would like to see, it just doesn't share it with the driver unless something gets out of range when everything lights up !!

I would think it would be fairly easy to put virtual gauges onto the systems screen where the satnav normally appears, or, for those with a virtual speedo panel, like the XJ put them on there.

It just needs somebody in Jaguar to get off their a*se and get it done.

 

Since #4 was mine I will tell you the F was not my first choice. As for doing research I had my first Jag in grad school an XK-150, then I had a XK-8 for 15 years. So I figured I knew the marque. Both of those cars were more successful than the F as far as I am concerned. But come on, when you buy a 70-125K car do you really look to see if it has a mute button. I knew it had no trunk capacity, no spare, semi-manual seats, no memory, no home link, no back up camera, no front sensors, limited visibility, no driver assists, no BLIS, and no voice control, but its a winter car, that I only use for maybe 4000 miles a year. I guessed I could put up with the shortcomings. Did I buy it for the looks, no I bought it because it was so damn cheap. The things depreciate like a stone in free fall. Sometimes I forget I should spend more. So in the Fall I'll go look at MB and see whats going on. That P3 package is the state of the art, and I like that the E will have a 450 range. I was really hoping that I would like the F more, I was even contemplating a XF wagon. But I can't see that now.

 

Let me give you an example of where more information is called for. The TPMS on my F tells me a tire is low and which one, but it does not give the actual pressure like other manufacturers' systems. You don't know if its going flat or simply a slow leak. You need to stop and pull out a gauge (like your grandparents would) to find out what is going on. Clearly not state of the art.

 

hahahaha, you mean pull out a gauge like I would have - 5 years ago! No doubt when I move on to a car that gives me exact pressures I'll get all hot and bothered if a prospective replacement doesnt have them, but at the moment just having TPMS at all is enough. It's not as though we have to get out a handle and crank these cars to start them...

But I agree that you do miss this kind of wizardry when you get used to it. My wife groans at having to manually close the hatch in my car, and I think I'd miss the ambient lighting if it wasnt in a replacement car, notwithstanding that I only play with it once in a blue moon.

 

Later MY do show the tire pressure, but not the '14. One of the (small) prices of being an early adopter.

 

Most of the newer F-Types have the 14-way automated seats with memory for both driver & passenger, home link, back up camera, front & rear sensors, auto wipers & auto high beams, power trunk (for both open as well as close), etc...

so your error doesn't appear to be with the car or its features but rather is an issue with the early model car you bought which probably explains why it was "so darned cheap". Just trade it in on a newer model with all the bells and whistles