I always thought there would be, I think it's gorgeous with a roof, and it sounds fantastic, even V6. So I was lured into a dealership today, a red metallic 2016, good deal, the options I wanted. But...(and I had been warned by reading tests)...the suspension was WAY too hard. Why? The shocks are adjustable, why have ridiculously hard and even harder? And no, to me this is not a GT/Sportscar issue, I've had pure sportscars, none this unpleasant on normal city streets. Somebody made a mistake in F-Type development. Tribute to E-Type? The E-Type was not like this to drive.

Drove home in my XKR, man, I was happy driving my XKR... No F-Type in my future

 

Read this with interest, as the wife has recently been suggesting I look into something smaller than the XK (especially after I brought home a newer XKR on a test drive). She likes small cars (as a small person), while I still miss my Caddy and Lincoln. She thinks the F-Type might be ok, while I see it as impractical. Guess I’ll have to test drive it with her over some rough roads.

 

I tried out an F-Type R AWD several years ago and found it way too meeawtuh-like, as in it was gross. I DID like the acceleration though, but combine the mazda-girl-car feel with the zero visibility behind with the convertible top up and it was a hard pass for me. Of course that was the first year they were out. Maybe I'll take a look at the newest one.

 

I have both-2014 V6S F-type (vert), and a 2007 XK vert. Two very different cars. My wife loves the XK-swoopy, curvy shape, enough oomph to have fun with. I prefer the F-Type-drop dead gorgeous, and more smiles per gallon than I know what to do with. You name your poison, can’t go wrong with either.

 

Two entirely different animals.
The XKR is the GT car that stands out of the crowd, is remarkably reliable, fast when you want it to be, but always comfortable (as long as you don’t switch into inspired driving in S mode, which you still can do once in a while). And a beauty of sorts. One to fall in love with.
The F-Type is loud, aggressive, probably was meant to be a sports car competing with Porsches. And an incredible fail on that account. Too heavy, too broad, too insecure when cornering at high speed. Any (!) Porsche will dwarf it on any windy road. Yet it is impractible compared to the XK. So what?
In my humble view a terrible strategic mistake by JLR, in particular as they tried to sell it as a successor to the XKR.

 

They didn't really, there was a 2 year overlap but sales dropped as the market moved on. They actually marketed it as a replacement for the E Type, hence the name. They did plan to replace the XK but didn't have enough money to fulfill all of their plans so had to concentrate on other projects.

I test drove an F Type SVR last year and found the ride to be pretty similar to my '10 XKR. It didn't feel quite as quick mid-range but was absolutely fine to drive.

I was initially disappointed with my Aston as I was surprised by how hard the ride was around town compared to my XKR. I had expected them to be very similar cars, just a bit more upmarket, but after going in a friends Ferrari 360 recently plus a Lamborghini Gallardo I realised that it isn't as bad as I thought. Those would be fun weekend cars but I wouldn't want to take either on a long trip and are not suitable as a daily, which is what I would be buying them for. It also made me appreciate how good the XKR really is!

 

I never have been that interested in the F Type, so I am keeping my X150, I sold my 2000 XKR and I'm selling my 2008 Granturismo, and I have a C8 Corvette Z51 Coupe on order.

 

I owned a 2007 XK coupe for years, and loved every minute of that ownership for all the reasons that X150 owners know well. But I replaced it in the garage with an equally beautiful F-Type S, now owned for more than 5 very satisfying years and looking forward to many more.

I agree with and would stress that they are entirely different beasts. The X150 is a touring car and it excels in that capacity. It remains a balm to the eyes (true beauty does not fade), it is very reliable, very comfortable, very powerful, and despite having a rear seat useful only for legless beings, it does everything a touring car should do - and does it with grace and elegance.

The F-Type, in contrast, is a full-on sports car, entirely different except for sharing the beauty! The fact that there is no wood trim available in the F-Type is a not-so-subtle marker of the difference Jaguar intended (think of the no-wood E-Type vs the Jaguar sedans of the 60’s - veritable forests of walnut trim).

Yes, the ride is firmer but the handling is much more precise. The exhaust note of the F-Types is intoxicating, the supercharged engines (every one of them) can get you into trouble in a nano-second if you are not careful…but they are entirely and satisfyingly controllable. And a well-optioned F-Type (as mine is) gives nothing away to the XK in terms of beauty or luxury (except for the wood trim). Which do I prefer? Neither one over the other - because they are different in purpose and on purpose. Both are destined to be classics, both can keep you in the garage for hours just looking at them from every angle and because they both share that soul-satisfying Jaguar beauty, every time you park either one, you look back at it.

 

Yes, it is a notorously difficult topic to discuss beauty. Yet I would maintain that the convertibles (not necessarily so the coupés) of the XK series and the F-Type differ in that department. And, of course, the sound of the F-Type is “intoxicating” - again, de gustibus non est disputandum! Hoewever, as a true sports car, the misery is that it cannot compete with the Porsches, both 918 and 991/992 and their predecessors. Personally, I would have preferred a continuation of the XK/XKR, which Jaguar’s marketing did not sell as these gracious cars would have deserved in light of their combination of style, luxury, elegance, performance and long-term usability / reliability. At their time, they were the better alternatives to BMWs and Mercedes SL models, and even to some Porsches (at least in some respect), but they were never sold adequately.

And finally, I readily admit: this is a very subjective statement.

If there is anything I’d wish to see: it is that JLR honored their heritage in a way as Porsche does. It is a shame to witness coming shortages of replacement parts, and this situation does not do anything good to the image of JLR in the future.

 

Why do you assume a coming shortage of parts? There is not only a robust aftermarket industry for Jaguar parts but JLR itself has a Classic Parts program.

And with regard to the F-Type and Porsches, the main difference lies in a reflex assumption by auto journalists and therefore their assessment of German cars as being always superior to anything else. Sometimes they are but often are not.
I say this as a recovering BMW and Mercedes owner.

 

Well, I owned a 991 Turbo convertible from 2014 through 2021. Technologywise, two worlds ahead of Jags. And driving performance unmatched, too. Nevertheless I returned to Jag. But certainly not because of the Jag being the faster car.

 

I think really its been a VERY long time since Jaguar was on the leading edge technologywise. Disc brakes, inboard rear brakes, the XK six, etc. These are all innovations of long ago. I enjoy them for being a luxury grand touring car with a little oompf, loving the warmer interiors with wood and leather that have less sterility than German cars, and I feel they're much easier to work on than many German luxury performance cars (I've owned S/7/A8 and more with 8s and 12s).

This said, Porsche with the 911 really does offer a more bleeding edge vehicle with the newest tech, and raw performance that makes the people speculate the specifications sheets are underrating them. I LOVE Jaguar XKRs, will own another X150 XKR when I decide to get rid of mine, and love what they are. The 911 is an awesome car and every time I've driven one, whether a 930, 964, 993, 996, 997, 991; I've had a blast. I've come close to buying more than once, and I will own one eventually. They're different than an XKR though and it's a difference not a criticism.

 

BUT, how many Porsche drivers take their cars to even the top 25% of capabilities on even a seldom basis? Sure, performance is there when you need it, but how often is that? I'd rather be all comfy and happy for the 99% of the time I just 'drive' than deal with the harshness (and cost) to use a vehicle that doesn't suit my needs.

 

Where I live Porsches are a dime a dozen, never get a second look. On the other hand, my Jaguars never fail to elicit a response.

 

This past weekend on our usual Sunday morning car meetup run, I got a chance to drive a friend's Ferrari F8 on the way to the show, and his C8 Corvette on the way home. I really disliked the F8 for a number of reasons, the most important of which is "it wasn't fun!" It drives like and insulates you from any feel like driving a Cadillac limousine. And the drive by wire throttle is unnerving since the car doesn't move until your foot is half way down the pedal. There is no coherent relationship between your foot, your brain, and the gas pedal. But more than that,it's just boring to drive. Yes, it is capable of great speed and acceleration, but devoid of thrill (feel) getting there. I was thinking about my XKR and how when briskly accelerating and upshifting how good it feels to drive, much better than the F8. When I drove the C8 on the way home, I much preferred how it felt to the F8. Still a little too smooth and insulated for my taste but much better than the Ferrari. As crude as my Pantera is, it is miles more fun to drive and feel than either the F8 or the Corvette though not as capable as either, the experience is greater. The XKR, however, is the best of both worlds. Great performance and anough feel to make it thrilling. That's why even after 202,000 miles I still look forward to driving it everyday.

 

I can understand perfectly the disconnect on the F8 between acceleration/speed and driving satisfaction - they are not directly related. And that is why those very fast appliances marketed as EV units hold no interest for me. In 1974 I bought a new MGB. No one will ever say that the 4 cylinder MGB was a fast or powerful car. But fun to drive? You bet, and I drove it daily for 31 years. The fun never faded.

 

Being a proper 2+2 Maserati Gran Turismo and a direct competitor to the xkr I'm surprised no one has really chimed in on these beauties , for me the determining factor was at the time ford had had ownership over the jag and that represented reliability which in end was the determining factor making myself go with the Jaguar .

​​​​​ The Maserati does tick a lot of the boxers and I'm pretty sure I'll be heading down this path when I'm ready to part ways ...it's a shame we never got the option to make that choice as we have no replacement!

 

More expensive, less reliable and not as 'fun' are the reasons. Of course since no other choices anymore, they have about the only new car option. Other than Aston Martin.

 

To my eye the Maserati has always looked like an XK designed by a committee whose members couldn’t agree on anything. The result is an XK wannabe, neither as beautiful nor as reliable as the Jaguar.

 

I'm excited to sell my GranTurismo. It is a proper 2+2, but the interior quality is attrocious. The garbage vinyl, sticky buttons, cheap materials feel all contributed to me being excited to leave it behind after 2 years. I kept my X100 for 13 years, my X308 for 5, I have had my X150 for 5, and I'm happy with Jaguars. The Maserati looks a lot better on paper than reality. The XKR is quite a bit more powerful feeling from having the same displacement but also a blower on it, 70lbs of torque, that comes in low at that, will do that.