4 Things I’ve Learned After 2 Months With A Jaguar F-Type R

Two months into V8 F-Type ownership, here's what we've discovered...
4 Things I’ve Learned After 2 Months With A Jaguar F-Type R

Two months have passed since Jaguar delivered a brand new, fully-loaded F-Type R convertible - all £103,000 of it - to my door. It replaced the blue V6 S coupe you’ll have seen in this video, and there have been a few things about the new car that I’ve loved, and one thing that I haven’t.

But let’s get onto the juicy stuff first…

Remote video URL

Yes, this actually happened. While filming with the car a few weeks ago, we found a nice stretch of road that we thought was far enough away from houses to get some sexy exhaust sound bites. Turns out we were wrong, as after a few diligent runs through second gear especially, the police arrived and said that a complaint had been made about the noise. To the house owner we annoyed, I’m sorry to have disturbed your ‘Deal Or No Deal’ viewing enjoyment. To any car lovers in the same area, you’re all welcome for one of the best V8 soundtracks in modern car history.

2. It looks just as good dirty as it does clean

4 Things I’ve Learned After 2 Months With A Jaguar F-Type R

There’s something so satisfying about seeing a beautiful car like the F-Type covered in mud spatter. This occured a couple of weeks ago while CT Editor Matt Robinson and I gathered three F-Types - the V8 R, a V6 S and a 2.0-litre inline-four (yes, that’s a thing) - for a cool triple test (full report soon!). Matt’s choice of location for statics was akin to a swamp, but I’m not mad, because the cars all looked great with their new mud jackets.

Many of you guys will be happy to know that the car is now nice and clean, just in case you were hanging in the uncertainty (I know that for many, a dirty car can be very disturbing).

3. It’s dynamically very capable

4 Things I’ve Learned After 2 Months With A Jaguar F-Type R

For the first time since getting the F-Type V8, I explored the car’s handling and dynamics pretty substantially during another shoot that Matt and I did this week with a Mercedes AMG GT as company. While the Mercedes feels more nimble, lighter and more poised than the Jag (again, full report coming soon!), I was really impressed with how capable the super-cabriolet was.

Thanks to its all-wheel drive system, the car barely broke traction on greasy roads, and was easy to place in the corners. The steering feel is lacking, though, and it’s definitely more of a cruiser than it is a hoon, but yeah, like I said, I was pleasantly surprised by how capable it was. As for the straight line speed thing, the Jag feels actually ever-so-slightly faster than the Mercedes. And even if it wasn’t, it’s still the car I’d go to bed with for the noise alone.

4. There is an annoying quality control issue, though…

4 Things I’ve Learned After 2 Months With A Jaguar F-Type R

Like any relationship, the sun doesn’t always shine. And when the sun literally doesn’t shine, and when the rain starts to fall, the Jaguar has a weakness that I’d be pretty upset about as an owner. The front lights.

As you can see, they’ve already allowed water ingress, which is not ideal. The issue isn’t that noticeable when you’re standing far enough away, but this is an F-Type we’re talking about. It’s a car you want to be close to, and when you do get close to the Jag, you quickly see that the lights don’t look great anymore.

4 Things I’ve Learned After 2 Months With A Jaguar F-Type R

Apart from the lights annoying me, I still love the burly V8 convertible. It’s beautiful, unapologetic, and is still the car that people want to talk to me about most (unless I’m in Phil, of course, but that’s just Phil).

If you’ve got any questions about the F-Type, fire away. I’ll be sure to check the comments regularly and will get back to you.

Oh, and one more thing - Jaguar emailed me the other day to ask if I wanted to keep the car until the end of January, so you’ll be seeing more of it soon.

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Comments

Nishant Dash

Can’t wait for the vids Alex! Imho, the AMG GT is a better proposition 😂

12/10/2017 - 11:08 |
25 | 2

AMG is the one I’d have, definitely! Jag does sound better, though…

12/10/2017 - 11:10 |
15 | 1
ᴶᵘˢᵗᴬᴿᵃⁿᵈᵒá

A beautiful car and with a powerful beast within

12/10/2017 - 11:08 |
1 | 0
5:19.55

Are you allowed to go on a race track with it?

12/10/2017 - 11:09 |
1 | 0
Alex Kersten

In reply to by 5:19.55

If we pay for insurance. Which is really expensive 😓

12/10/2017 - 14:51 |
1 | 0
Anonymous

Why not transplant the V8 engine from this into Phil. Worth a shot

12/10/2017 - 11:19 |
8 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Send back the Jag with Phil’s engine in it? WHY NOT???

12/11/2017 - 20:14 |
1 | 1
......

SO BRITISH!

12/10/2017 - 11:21 |
3 | 0
TheMindGarage

I don’t know what would drive (no pun intended) someone to call the cops on this car. It’s loud, but it doesn’t sound modified like a fartcanned Civic, STI or the like. Motorbikes are far worse, and you hear them all the time.

12/10/2017 - 11:33 |
11 | 0
TheRealBouss

AlexKersten
I have a question for you.
If you were to choose between personally owning an F-Type R, or an AMG GT,
what colour would the Jag be?

12/10/2017 - 11:41 |
11 | 0

Red coupe with black wheels. Like the V6 S we featured on the channel 3 years ago 👌

12/10/2017 - 14:49 |
14 | 0
Anonymous

Is it daily-able?

12/10/2017 - 11:45 |
3 | 0
Alex Kersten

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yeah definitely. Although the coupe more so because of the extra boot/ trunk space

12/10/2017 - 14:50 |
7 | 0
Martin Burns

4 things i’ve learned watching you get to own this:

1 i’m still jealous

2 i’m still jealous

3 i’m still jealous

4 i’m still jealous

12/10/2017 - 12:01 |
54 | 0
Anonymous

I know the focus of this article is the F-Type R, but oh my the 400 Sport fly-by sounds absolutely amazing!

12/10/2017 - 12:14 |
2 | 0