2003 Jaguar S-type 3.0 7.9 16.10
2005 Jaguar S-type 4.2 6.4 14.90
2003 Jaguar S-type R 5.4 13.80
2005 Jaguar Super V-8 5.7 14.10
2002 Jaguar X-type 3.0 7.2 15.50

 

My ramble:

I drove a 4 cylinder Jeep Wrangler for 20 years. Researched for last 10, saved up, etc... finally picked the 2016 6cyl MT in July of 2014 or so when the manual became known...
well..
........it was like angels descending from the heavens. I can't explain it. I get *angry* thinking of this car in automatic. It's absurd. If this car is about the joy of driving.... it's just baffling to me. But *no* offense, of course. There are like 3 or 4 *Very* distinct "types" of F-types, as it takes all walks of people to find their happy place.

I test drove the R with a race car driver at the Sonoma speedway. In my opinion, there's no regrets with owner's buying a 6 vs 8, because they are two different cars. One is a stallion of sorts, one is an unhinged beast. I love power, but coming from the Wrangler, I wasn't worried about tickets so much as peeling my flesh out of the bark of a tree. No R for me. LOL

When it was clear the R would rip apart a MT, it immediately dropped out of the conversation.

MT or up to the MT S = +$10K, +40hp, +1sec 0-60mph. I know the ceramic brakes are a supercool treat, but unnecessary if you aren't doing long track days, etc.

I got the 340hp base Manual transmission, "non-S".

I know I don't need the S. At all. As some have mentioned here, I think there's enough growls and purrs at this dignified level, rather than anger my sleepy little community as I commute out of town at wee dawn hours. *BUT*... I sort of think about the "S" as "what if". I might test drive one to feel the difference after knowing my car. I did just notice that the base non-S has *far* better looking exhaust (dual centered) but that's personal opinion.

Living in Northern CA, this is a commuter and touring car. It is easily, without a shadow of a doubt, the single greatest purchase I have ever made, and being in an industry (hospitality) that has incredible awareness of price vs value.... this has got to have the greatest value of any car on the road for driving experience.

I love this car so much. I also like that it's a superb value for a "supercar" (as my neighbor who owns the dealership suggests it is classified), but under the radar and still unknown enough (especially in BRG) that I don't get gawked at and looked at all the time.

Note: I am sort of anti-consumer guy, I don't like to buy crap, I don't think it's healthy to be attached to in-animate objects, and I would hug this car and sleep by it if it was sick.

 

Love the beige top. That's why I got one.

 

Uncle Fishbits, very well stated. You captured the essence of why I bought mine. It is an inanimate object, its refined and raw all at the same time, its sometimes a bit scary but ends up making me laugh. I sometimes think the only reason I don't sleep in it is because I don't want to give my 20yr old sun another reason to make fun of me. Until I found him hugging it in the middle of the night the week we brought it home.

 

Give yourself a huge thrill....let VMax throw another 90 horses at your car. What a rush, whenever I punch the throttle. This is the power the mid-range offering should have had from the factory.

 

WHOAH. I heard about tuning, but never had any. Please inform me, link me, explain. What other mods / changes have you made? HOW, by the way?? Does it impact warranty?

 

This makes me happy. I hadn't heard of any car owners or cars that have had this impact on people in a LONG time. Frankly, people who had WRX Subaru or a souped up Honda seemed more animated and excited about their cars and driving than sour faced Porsche or Maserati owners.

I have a sense that people love their Teslas for entirely opposite reasons we love our car, but the love is also intense, apparently.

But the scary part of the R... it's like a nightmare for me. I can't shake the white knuckle sweaty palms panic I had while driving it. It would have killed me. Protect me from what I want.

 

Mods to date: Upgrade to 20" black diamond-cut Gyrodynes, Michelin PSS tires, 15mm spacers all 4 corners, lowering springs 1.25" front, 1.5" rear, 2.5% upper SC reduction pulley, VMax tune (429hp/407lb-ft)https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...s-tune-153046/. More mods in process: clutch delay valve delete, short shifter. More under consideration. No car can be perfect for everyone within a specific target audience. But we have the option to build our own (to us) "perfect" cars.

Warranty: if the manufacturer can even remotely tie a modification to a failure, the warranty is in jeopardy. Doesn't mean you can't fight for warranty coverage if the failure isn't related, but you can't count on it.

My suggestion: if you lease, don't mod. If you have financed the car, don't mod unless you can continue payments without use of the car.

 

+1

 

I got the R because I didn't want the vehicle that was replacing my modded 996 turbo to be a let down. I looked at the Maserati Granturismo but thought it would be about as fast as my DD Mercedes E550. But, I wanted a beast that I could take out a few times a week and just have a great time with. The R fits the bill to a tee! I laugh every time I am in it's so much fun. As for lack of manual, I loved to heel-toe in the Porsche and that was much of the joy with driving that car but honestly, I don't miss that in the Jag. Maybe I'm just getting old and lazy. But either way, they are both great cars!

 

I own, just bought, paid outright... mod away with 4.5 years of warranty or hold on, IYHO?

 

You already know what I chose.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these cars. I bought a rWD V6S because it was the right colour and right price and convertible and ready to pick up straight away. I was toying with a white V8S coupe which was available at the same time but all the other stuff wasn't right.

Pretty much all the love and the reasons for the love that the V8 owners here are talking about I can translate to my own experience of the 6, the feeling of being slightly unhinged the grin everytime you drive it the childish giggle when you blast through a tunnel with the roof down, the sublime exhaust note, the little snake through the rear when you give it a little bit too much boot around a corner.

Once in a blue moon when I hit a freeway on ramp and actually get to punch it to the floor a tiny little bit of me would like just a bit more, but that is very rare, 99.9% of the time if you have it in Dynamic and Sport there is MORE than enough neck snap and responsiveness for anyone in any normal situation off the track. I'm sure I would love a V8, but I am very happy with my decision and I am very happy having the extra bucks still in my bank account.

 

I spent quite a while looking for a successor for my 2.3 HOT SAAB 9 5 Aero. I wanted the same great acceleration, top speed, handling, snow traction, and fuel economy. I led myself to believe all that would be present in my V6/AWD XF Port. Almost made it, except for the gas milage and a few disappointment in the infotainment gadgetry. May swap it out for a 4cyl XE. Don't need the car for thrills, as I have several bikes, and I can certainly afford the gas, even more so lately, but the frequency is the thing. A turbo four with front or all wheel drive would get my money right now.

 

It seems clear that almost everyone is happy with their choice. Count me among them, although I DO have one regret - that I waited for the coupe and then decided I'd prefer a vert.

 

My test drive was the Level 1 Jaguar Performance Driving Academy at Monticello Motor Club in July 2014. The best part of the day was the lap I did in the F-Type R behind Davy Jones, the Lead Instructor (and former Le Mans Winner), "catch me if you can" he said as he took off in the F-Type R ahead of me.
You could touch the max 550HP twice: once at the beginning of the long straight on the way to 150+ MPH, the second time in the back coming out of a hairpin turn into an up-hill bit: easy to get the car sideways, reverse lock, smoking the tires up the hill. Great fun! I wish I could do that every weekend, but like most of us track days are very rare events in our lives.
I did lots of Skip Barber and the F-Type R active dynamics with the e-diff made me look fantastic out on the track -- I would have spun off multiple times in the "simple" Skip Barber cars.
Then I went home and ordered the V6S.
My V6S has most of the options, pushing the price up past the V8 cars. The base V6 was of no interest because it didn't have a locking diff. I wanted the vision pack (rear camera a must, and the front lights that turn are gorgeous). I wanted the performance seats (worth the price) and flat-bottom wheel. Leather sun visors and headliner wound up packed in with other options, I could have lived without that but cruising on the highway it's a very nice interior to inhabit. You all know what a blast they are to drive.
Not once have I wished for more power.
I'm grateful that JLR put the C-X16 into production as the F-Type in all it's wonderful, different glorious permutations.
And I'm grateful that JLR made the Project 7 for serious track use... I won't be buying one, but it's really nice to know it exists.

 

Is that 429 wheel?

no regrets on the v8. i do wish i had a different color after seeing all the colors we had at our lancaster meet a few months ago.

 

No sir, 429 at the crank. 429 at the wheel would be more than the V8S is pushing out.