Well, the title says it all however, I remain on the fence for following reasons, of which I would appreciate your candid feedback...

Can I carry my golf clubs and a small suitcase?
Will the ride be comparable to my XK?
Should I wait for the next model year?
For those of you that came out of an XK or XKR how would you describe the difference?

Thanks in advance for your feedback...

 

Dave - I traded my black 2010 XK for a 2015 F Type R and can tell you that they are both great cars, but the F Type is definitely a much tighter car (from a storage perspective). Supposedly will hold two smallish golf bags but the F Type is really more of a second car and not designed to fill it with luggage etc. The trunk is roughly comparable to the XK but there is zero back seat area and the smaller cabin is noticeable from a storage point of view. The cabin area is fine for two adults and can take some soft luggage in the trunk, but if you are shopping and come to the car with some small bags, you could toss them into the back seat area of the XK, but would have to put them in the trunk of the F Type.


Having just bad mouthed the lack of space in the F Type, let me say that I have not regretted for one moment the choice to switch cars. Once you start driving the F Type you will see the difference.

 

I assume you're talking Coupe? I can squeeze two smaller carry golf bags in the trunk of the convertible, plus shoes. Woods go in with passenger. I would think the coupe would be fine. I'm thinking of getting one of the strap-on luggage bags so I can do an overnight golf trip with a friend.

 

I also assume you are looking at a Coupe, otherwise you would only get a small golf bag in and a very soft bag squeezed in front of that.

But the F-Type really shines as a vert. I am Coupe guy and would have never bought a vert. Wifey had a Boxster Spyder, I had a Cayman S and a 997 turbo. I have the XKR-S and she has the F-Type vert now. But here is the thing, the top down is the way to drive the F-Type, the difference in exhaust note is just crazy. Even with the soft top up you can barely hear it, in a Coupe even less so. I love the Coupe, the lines are so much better than the vert but when you drive the vert with the top down .... amazing.

Now for the ride comparison, the F-Type is more nervous, you will have more steering input than in the XK.
The XK soaks the road up better, the F-Type is just a tad harsher. Not to the point where I would not take the F-Type on a long cruise or weekend trip. We will do a 4 day scavenger hunt in NY in the F-Type and that is about 8 hours in the car every day. But for reasons of comparing, it is stiffer and more nervous, following more grooves etc on the road.
The F-Type "feels" quicker even compared to my XKR-S but that might be subjective again because of the sensation when the top is down with the wind and the exhaust note.

 

I had an XKR coupe and now the F type R coupe..
The F type is tighter on the road with a bit more stiffness and better handling and cornering overall. It seems a fair bit faster as well.
The Meridian 770 system in the F is really good and somewhat better than the XKR system.

The F has very little storage in the main compartment, and the trunk is fairly small, yet without the spare, I can get a couple of modest suitcases in it, no problem. Have not tried clubs.. just go to a dealer with a set of clubs and try it and while you are at it, drive the F and decide for yourself.

Both are beautiful and I would class the XKR as a GT and the F a sports car overall.
Lawrence

 

I drove the XKR for a few laps at the Jaguar Performance Academy. Base on that alone, I would say the F-Type R is a much better performance car. The transmission alone was way better than the XKR. Regarding storage...if you take out the privacy cover, the F-Type coupe actually has a lot of space for luggage.