What are the main advantages to buying a 2018 or newer F Type? I understand that the Vision pack is standard and the infotainment system is upgraded. Is the interface a great improvement to justify paying more for the car? I have read that the camera display is subpar on the pre 2018 models. Is this a really big deal? Trying to make my mind up on what is important as I search for my first F Type.

 

LED headlights and lighter seats are new for 2018. Also mid-year lane departure warning and collision avoidance mitigation.

 

Honestly, I would only consider pre 2018 if budget is a big factor. I'm on my 2nd 2015 V6S (long story) and I've driven a 2018. The camera and infotainment didn't bother me too much between the two (a 500-800$ upgrade can add apple car play to the older models), although the sport seats in the 2018 are nicer and slimmer than my 2015. It's not too hard to find older models with vision and extended leather packs either.
Another thing to consider is the factory 5 year warranty that older models of course don't have anymore. I chose a second 2015 V6S because of budget.

 

Camera quality on the 2016 - 2018's is pretty good, I cannot speak from experience for the pre 2016's save to say that I had an XF with that infotainment and it took ages to boot up so you had no access to the camera for maybe 30 seconds plus, mega annoying. But I dont know if that carried over to the F Type.

The 380W meridian stereo in the pre- 2018's delivers a good, clear sound cranked up, not very good at low volume. There is a base sound system that I thought wasnt great. We have the new version infotainment in our XE. Personally I find it fussier to use than the 2016, you dont get many songs on the list because it is wide and not deep, and I still find the nav a challenge. It has some apps that you might like but for android auto you have to plug the phone in which seems pretty primitive to me, if I wanted to do that I would hitch a horse to a dray and drive that to work blasting out tunes on my gramophone. The 2016 version NAV is out of date over here (Aust) and cannot be updated, but you can run maps through bluetooth from your phone.

Pre-2016 didnt have EPAS. Personally I like it, but some complain that you lose steering feel. 2018 R's have the horizontal fins on the brake vents which may or may not be your cuppa, previous years had the vertical fins, then the 2020 swapped over to the new front end and bonnet. Pre 2016 R's had RWD.

Main advantage to the new ones is warranty. Put it this way, I normally change cars every 2 years, but I havent felt the need or desire to update the f Type after 6, though maybe I'm getting more conservative.

 

Infotainment suck on all of them. Here's my short list of selling points for year ranges:

2015 and earlier - RWD!!! (RWD was still available on the V6 for a few more years
2017 and earlier - Vertical slits in the front on either side of the grill as opposed to horizontal or none on later years
2018-2020 - smoked taillights
2016 - Project 7
2017-2020 - SVR
2021 and newer - Good looking grill. Much improved infotainment

Ideally, I 'd like a 2015 R with 2018 taillights, 2021 infotainment and a project 7 grill. I bought mine over a used 2015 because I heard the RWD cars were uncontrollable and liked the idea of AWD. Knowing what I know now, I probably would have gone for the 2015. Having said that, my 2016 is so good that I have no desire to switch it out. For me, I know the entire history of my car and I'm such an idiot, that I would do bad things in a RWD F-Type.

I'd like a 2016

 

Someone on this forum said that Jag charges roughly $4K for each LED lamp assembly!

 

The seats are different and may fit you differently. I found that the 2016-2017 Performance Seats are more comfortable for me, plus they have adjustable side bolsters where the 2018-on do not. Try them both to make an educated choice.

 

The Most important character that everyone falls in love with of the F-type that no one has mentioned so far is the the exhaust sound .. Newer car exhaust note depending on which year you end up with is muted so just make sure you dont get addicted to the exhaust sound of an older car and expect it to be the same as a later model otherwise you will be disappointed. Drive both if you can before buying otherwise you may end up disappointed with a newer car or have to go and spend more $$$ with aftermarket mod in a attempt to get some decibels back

 

Thus far I’ve owned a ebony/black 2015 & 2016 F-Type S RWD coupe. Now I have a Ultra blue/sienna tan F-Type R-Dynamic AWD coupe. If you must know, the 2015 hit a deer at low speed and I subsequently traded it in for an identical 2016 that had many options. As the 2015 was devoid of any options except the meridian surround sound system the 2016 was an upgrade in color, features and price. Internally and externally the 2015 & 2016 looked identical. Mechanically and performance/handling-wise they appeared to be the same. The 2015 had hydraulic steering which seemed to me to have a skosh more feel. In 2016 the F-Type came with electric steering. The infotainment/nav systems in all three is okay but the systems were upgraded in 2016 and again in 2018. Each version became a bit faster to boot up. Starting in 2018 the nav system offered a satellite view through AT&T here in the States (nice but my free view just expired). In 2019 (I believe I’m correct) F-Types got a 10 inch infotainment/nav screen which I prefer (we have it in our E-PACE, F-PACE & XE). All the Jag nav systems in the F-Type allow one to store an unbelievable number of favorite destinations whereas our 2016 XF doesn’t allow many. (The XF also lacks surround sound which I highly recommend.) Unfortunately, updates to nav systems are no longer available for older models. 2018 came with LED headlights and the thin seats. I prefer LED headlights over HID only because the whiter light is easier on my eyes (I do a lot of long haul driving at night). Try out the thin seats before you buy as, for me, the driver’s seatbelt rubs my neck and really starts to hurt. If you can afford the options, make sure to get the glass roof on a coupe as it really brightens up the cabin. Backup cameras were an option on pre-2018 models. A backup camera is really a good thing even if it is like looking through a fishbowl on the one fitted to F-Types; not so on the cameras to our other Jags. Backup cameras on newer models don’t seem as grainy at night. Don’t buy an AWD if you can avoid it. Much too heavy in weight and feel in an already porky car. Performance, handling and gas mileage also noticeably suffer - more of a boulevard cruiser than a sports car). Of all our three F-Types the 2015 was the best to drive. Lots of pros and cons in each of them. The experience has softened with each model year but the beauty remains.

 

Yes. Love my awd 16 S.

You can get it and these cars tuned (the older ones..not sure the newer cars can be VAP tuned....defer to others....that may matter to you).

The sound. The looks. The quality. No rattles. No issues at 54k miles now. The V6S is super balanced and drives great. It is both a GT and can do sports car stuff at anything you can do legally really well. It is a remarkable car. People love it. At car meets people move toward it still...they are sort of rare. I think of them as today's 993's. Hope I am right in 10 years.

I added wireless carplay/android auto via aliexpress from a sellers called carsight for 350ish USD (took abotu 3 weeks to get here fyi) ..Then another $100 for a local audio pro to install it. Works perfectly now...wirelessly. Amazing stuff. Makes the 16 to me optimal (I prefer the older, real gauges and the older front end a lot). Jaguar did an amazing job with the AWD....it handles great and is much safer...and launches MUCH harder.....you get traction......for me traction matters (I drive it in rain, snow, cold, etc......). It was fun going equal or better than the local Audi's last winter. (conti dws06plus tires are really quite amazing). The stock P-zero's that seem to still come on these were my least favorite part of the whole car and most hate them....just plan on putting new tires on the car to fix a lot of issue with the car (Michelin, conti, whatever you like but I recommend something really nice and appropriate for your use case).

This forum is great too.

Good luck. They are all beautiful. The coupe even has enough luggage space.

 

2015 rwd r

 

the footwell got bigger in 2018