Just to let you guys know, courtesy of Harwoods Jaguar Brighton I am test driving a 5.0 V8 Conv F-Type for the day on the 8th of October :-)

I am sooo looking forward to it, can hardly wait :-)

 

Just three weeks to go now.. I am used to my X-Type & the X308.. and it's quite some time since I last had a chance at anything sportier esp something like an F-Type :-) . Does anyone have any pointers or comments I should take onboard for the day?

 

Steve,

Excellent - enjoy it!

Oh, and try very hard not to lose your driving licence.

Graham

 

Originally I wanted to go for an XF or XJ as possible migratory paths.. Theresia (my better half) pressured me into going for something I am far less likely to manage in this life lol.. and I have to admit I am glad she finally persuaded me :-) I will be trying to get time on the day to get some pictures etc to pop up on here (assuming I manage to stay within the law for the day)..

 

I have just confirmed with Harwoods Brighton I can pick her up at 9am on Saturday - just two days off now :-) This will be the first performance Jaguar I have driven.. until now I have only driven Jaguars I have owned.. a 2.5 X-Type & two 3.2 X308's so this is going to be quite an experience..

 

Six hours since the pick up time and no posts ............

........... has he bent it? Has he bought it? Is he in Police custody?

The suspense is killing me.

Graham

 

Today was incredible :-) Photos and a writeup of the day to come over the next few days.. I picked up an 5.0 V8 F-Type R with 550bhp and just 1700 miles on the clock at 9am from Harwoods Jaguar Brighton and I would say put her through her paces through the day, but in truth she put me through my paces trying hard to keep within the law :-) An incredible day and an incredible car! Huge thanks to Harwoods for today and a full writeup and pics to follow...

 

Steve,

Pleased to hear the arrangements worked out. I didn't think there was any doubt you'd enjoy the day.

Graham

 

Saturday morning I woke my son up and we headed down to Brighton, aiming to be there for 9am. Brighton has instigated 20mph speed zones, and between those and the usual traffic jams we made it to Harwoods Jaguar for 9:18am.

We pulled up between two F-Types, on a 'normal' F-Type and the other an F-Type-S. I would say a rose between two thorns, but maybe in truth the other way round :-).

By 9:40 we were on the road, with a black F-Type-R, 550bhp, and less than 2000 miles on the clock. We took things very carefully through town and up to the base of the A23, the gorgeous sound of the exhaust resonating with every accelerator blip.

I turned off the stop/start feature as the day was definately not about fuel economy, and settled into the deep leather seats, enjoying the softness of new leather noting that both driver an passenger are virtually cacooned seperately.

The media centre took us quite a while to figure if honest, but once we had it figured out.. everything we could possibly want to do was there.

Just before we hit the open road of the A23 we stopped off and took the photos that you will see on this post - she looks gorgeous :-)

Whilst setting up to take some quick photos it was great to see the rear parking camera in action with anticipated car path shown, and the front sensors indicating proximity and direction of obstacles.

After taking a few pictures we headed up the A23, first attempt at hard acceleration spun the rear wheels on the spot showing just how much power was on tap, but on the second attempt as we pulled off the roundabout and onto the A23 was incredible. She pulls like nothing on earth! 0-70ish was in less than 5 seconds according to us trying to count seconds as she pushed us well back into the seats. The rear wheel drive giving that fantastic Jaguar feeling of light steering, but still in truth very much in control, with the rear end giving that rear wheel drive feeling like no other car I have ever driven. We then cruised up the A23 to Crawley with the odd blip of acceleration - and yes, she pulls just as quick from 70 as she does from 0!

So that was the first drive, and experiment with what she could do :-)

Parked out outside my home blipping the accelerator as I parked to advertise to the neighbours of course :-)

I dropped my son home, who immediately went up to his room to look down at the car and have a good look again.. one very impressed son :-)

I then picked my wife up and we took her on a food shop run to see how she would behave for the more mundane tasks. We got looks on the way there, and as we pulled into the car park :-) Exactly what you would want if you had this car. As we parked I finally saw what the door handles do.. they go flush when on the move or parked, just swung out for when you want to use them.. yet another cool feature of this car :-)

The boot is 200 litres or so in size according to the Jaguar website, and indeed you can fit a small foodshop with maybe 6 or so carrier bags in it. Meaning this car is not just an open road mean machine - so you could, should you have one, still do the mundane tasks as well as the fun things :-)

We then headed down to Nyman Gardens via country roads.. On the country roads she handles really well, the suspension is hard but still softens the bumps in the road, and constantly you feel like you are holding her back, there is such a willingness to do more. The country roads really put the gearbox to task and it is sooo smooth no jolts or shocks between changes, even dropping the accelerator there is no delay or gearshift jolts.

She got quite a bit of interest at Nymans gardens as everyone else was in SUVs or saloons :-) However she looked completely in place against the surroundings there.

After Nymans we cruised her back to Harwoods Jaguar, parked her up and had a last look around her.

She had used less fuel on the day than my XJ would have, despite the huge 5 litre 550bhp engine, we had not got as far as playing with the climate control etc, or to be honest anywhere near as many photos as I would have taken if we had had her for longer. She looks incredible, but now we knew once behind the wheel she is so much more than that :-)

To summarise, huge thanks go to Harwoods Jaguar for the experience - fantasy met reality with a big bang with this car for me. What did I love? Obviously the power, the looks, and just so much luxury almost cacooning you, and you can even take her shopping knowing you have enough boot space :-) There is a huge well of willingness and power in this car, and you definately know you are in a Jaguar, in supercar luxury & territory.

This was my first time in an F-Type, and if I had garage space and a large enough cheque book I would be buying one of these without question, however I would team it up with an XJ to give myself the best of both worlds :-)

 

And did your wife behave?

Excellent to see Harwoods Jaguar not only consistently supporting forum meetings but also giving you such a great opportunity.

Graham

 

Grin, my 10 year old son absolutely fell for the car and the sheer raw power it had, my wife was somewhat more cautious about the acceleration though :-)

It was in the discussions we had whilst driving that led us to concluding that should we get to the position where money wasn't an issue we would go for an XJ and an F-Type R, which would give us the best of both worlds :-)

Tony at Harwoods Jaguar Brighton has been incredibly supportive with our forum events to-date, and continues to be so with two, maybe even three showroom cars due to come to the next Annual Convoy & Meet event :-)

As of our last event, Tony had asked me if there was a specific model of Jaguar I would like to test drive, and it took me until now to make that decision and take advantage of his kind offer - and boy, the F-Type is one huge experience in the flesh :-)

Whilst picking up the F-Type from the showroom I did also have, for the first time, a really good look around a showroom F-Pace, and have to admit to being far more impressed than I had thought.. I asked Tony how sales were going with them and they are, quite rightly, in huge demand currently! Once inside it is so completely Jaguar, and not anything you might expect..