What a car!

Ride is superb as are the steering and brakes. The chassis is exceptionally capable.

The engine is just as in my XF only more so. You really notice the lower weight an shorter final drive.

The automatic is very quick, though the shifter is dumb.

Most significant is the total driving experience. Jaguar has nailed this car perfectly. Lap times are not relevant. This is a sportscar for the road, real roads.

 

THe new F-Type has really caught my eye, thanks for the mini-review.

By the shifter being dumb, what do you mean? Is the design bad or does the transmission shift at the wrong moments? (maybe it's still in it's learning cycle?)

 

The new 8 spd is great especially with the new Quickshift software designed for the F Type.

The stick is a dumb regression. The rotary selector used in all other Jaguars is much superior.

The new stick has no detents except left for Sport.

You pull a trigger on the front of the stick, while depressing the brake pedal, to push forward for Reverse or backwards for Neutral (if already in Reverse) or Drive (if in Neutral). The stick is spring loaded and remains central when released unless Sport is selected. In Sport the stick also remains central but to the left when released from a manual upshift (pull back) or downshift (push forward).

To select Park a separate button is pressed on top of the stick.

The whole thing is rather video game pointless for us older buyers who appreciate the drive and do not need all this Walter Mitty fakery. Spoils the style of this car in my opinion and I suspect Callum was opposed to it.

On the plus side I never used the stick to shift anyway, paddle shifting is very satisfying even if pointless given the intelligence of the transmission software.

 

I believe that Chrysler uses this similar stick in the 300 series.....I drove a few and hated the damn thing....not intuitive at all!!

 

Drove one last weekend. Even took my boxster just in case I was ready to trade.
Well........ I just wasn't that thrilled. It felt some what like my XF but smaller and didn't feel as sporty as my boxster.
So my garage stays the same for now. XF, Arden XK8 and Boxster.

 

"Not intuitive" is exactly the problem.

F Type is not a Boxster type of car. The F TYPE is pretty IN YOUR FACE and DOWNRIGHT EXCITING. A Boxster is a surgical instrument and, for some of us, pretty dull. The Boxster/Cayman duo is the best sportscar on the market, bar none, but the F Type is far more exciting.

 

This car has been promoted as direct competitor for the Z4 and the boxster. I was surprised to see how big it was. Up until I saw it in person, it looked much smaller and more in line with these cars. It simply felt too big to me. I also drove a new XK ( which the dealer was offering me almost 10,000 off sticker) and except for the space behind the seat, the two felt very similar. Maybe due to the F type being a base model.
Even the dealer said the xk sales have dropped since the f came out. For me, the price is so close, I'd rather spend a bit more and get an xk. And not even that much more!
The F is a beautiful car and I'm for the most part a Jaguar guy but just a little disappointed. I was expecting a small, zippy sports car and found a big aggressive machine. Nothing wrong with that but not what I personally wanted!

 

The F Type IS an XK just shorter. The XK is due to be made longer so as to fit four adults as for the Maserati GT.

There's no market for a narrow Jaguar in this price bracket.

Which reminds me, has anyone else noticed the remarkable similarities between Maserati sedans and Jaguars? In particular the new Maserati Ghibli looks just like the XF inside and out and even seems to sport very similar drivetrains.

 

I think you will see that Jaguar is cutting way back on the XK production. If you asked the dealer if they could find or even order you an XK the answer would be no. There are not many out there. That being said the F Type is a great car. I was totally amazed by the performance on the V6 S. If I could find someone that would buy my XKR I would be driving an F.

 

Yep, that shifter doesn't sound intuitive at all. I imagine that if there's enough backlash, they'll go to a rotary shifter next year or some other modified stick that's a bit easier to 'grasp' (mentally).

 

It would be nice if Jaguar offered the rotary shifter as a no cost option.