7 Things You Need To Know About The Slightly New 2018 Jaguar F-Type

It looks slightly different

Since it’s facelift time for the F-Type, it’d be rude not to have a little comparison with the outgoing model. It’d be tempting to poke fun at the minor nature of the changes, but I’m rather fond of what’s been done: it’s subtle, but it freshens up the F’s face nicely.

The 2018 model year car gets new LED headlights and a new front bumper, featuring a new intake layout, while at the rear there are new light clusters. You can ignore the chunky front splitter though, as that’s exclusive to the 400 Sport model. Speaking of…

There's a new 400 Sport model

If you want a little more power than the ‘old’ S without the crippling fuel costs of the R, the Sport 400 is just for you.

As well as getting a healthy 395bhp output for its V6 (the previous most powerful six-banger had 375), the Sport 400 gets adaptive dampers, bigger brakes, 20-inch wheels and a special Dark Satin Grey finish. Oh, and that big splitter we were talking about earlier.

It’ll be on sale for one year only in both coupe and convertible forms, priced at £70,115 and up. You can have it in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, but only with an automatic gearbox. It’ll do 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds, topping out at 171mph.

The S is no longer a thing

That’s right, the S, which many considered to be the ‘sweet spot’ of the range, is no longer a thing. But don’t panic, it’s still there effectively, replaced by the new ‘R Dynamic’ trim level. This is available with a 335bhp or 375bhp supercharged V6, and is now what Jaguar is calling the ‘core’ of the range’. As well as the new F-Type family look explained above, it gets a splashing of gloss black paint on various bits including the bonnet vents and front splitter. The 19-inch wheels are new too.

The R Dynamic cars start at £55,150, just up from the entry-level V6, which now sets you back £51,450.

No more rear-wheel drive R

In addition to the ‘missing’ S, there’s another car conspicuously absent from the new range: the rear-wheel drive R. Sure, the all-wheel drive R was the sensible choice given the rear-driven V8’s severe, tyre-slaying aversion to traction, but it’s a shame the two-wheel drive lunatic has gone from the range.

So, why has it gone? You can blame the buyers - since the release of the all-wheel drive R, uptake for the rear-wheel drive version dropped right off.

It comes with fancy GoPro tech

For track day addicts wanting their GoPro footage to look a little snazzier, the refreshed F has a little party trick. It’s an app called ‘ReRun’, and the idea is you plug your phone into the car, sync your phone to your GoPro, and then reap the benefits of glorious overlaid info. Speed, throttle position, gear selection and G-forces - it’s all there for you to bore your friends with.

It’ll be nicer inside

Looking to the cabin, the big news is the presence of InControl Touch Pro. You’ve probably heard us moan about the InControl Touch system - the previous version - before, as it’s spectacularly clunky, but the new ‘Pro’ system is much, much better. It’s making its way through the Jaguar range, and while we’ve found that it still takes one more finger prod to navigate through the menus than it perhaps should, it’s a vast improvement. The touch screen is way more responsive, and the layout makes much more sense.

The F-Type’s interior is also awash with new materials, and the seats have been redesigned. The new seat frames are 8kg lighter than before, the ergonomics are supposedly better, and they’ll even move back 50mm more than they used to.

It's on sale soon

Want one? The new range goes on sale at some point in the first quarter of 2017. Imminently, in other words. The range starts at £51,450 for the entry-level V6, rising to £110,000 for the lightly refreshed SVR.