I am Joe Weisenfleder with cars dot com
this is a 2014 Jaguar f-type
call the f-type because it is the spiritual successor to the classic
e-type coupe
on as such it's arguably the only pure sports car the Jaguars had in decades
now there's some changes in the styling of the f-type
even when you compare with a lot of the other modern designs
in Jaguars lineup %uh to my eye it looks a little bit Japanese actually in front
I'm
but but Japan aside the
English designers actually say that one of the influences for the headlights was
I'm not making this up Darth Vader's hi fighter
from Star Wars I'm not sure I actually see it but it would think about it
the Empire fuller breasts there are currently
3 trim levels for the f-type those the base which has a supercharged really
Derby six engine
with 340 horsepower there's the f-type
ass same engine more power 380 horsepower and then you have what we
have
behind me here and that is the f-type the eight
s it has a 5-liter v-8 also supercharged and
495 horsepower the real telltale sign is
the exhaust pipe you can get to big bore exhaust in the center has a v6 engine
the v8 has the clubs like this one we're just a couple months away from getting a
coupe version a bf type in the United States as a 2015 model
but Jaguar started with the convertible the two-seater
rotor on and they chose to go with a Howard
fully automatic soft top I think was a good move for one thing it opens or
closes in 11 seconds which is
really quick it happens even at speeds up to about thirty miles per hour so if
it starts to rain or something you don't have to pull over
put in part which you do with a lot of the world retractable hardtop
South Africa love to see vehicles is actually enough space for
a larger adult I'm six feet tall and I have plenty of leg room
especially considering that unfortunately there is no stick shift
version available
least not yet so I'm able to pack a little bit farther nest for headroom
I have to say lotsa really generous vertical motion
on the adjustable feet with the top-up I've got about you know
this much space despair and then if you're shorter driver
you'll find it goes up some religious
quite far far enough that I couldn't fit comfortably with a top-up
and that really makes it versatile especially with the memory settings here
for two drivers have different better
Jaguars often surprise people how engage in the outer drive house forty
even the ones that don't look that sporty this car definitely dials up
it has excellent handling really good weight distribution front to rear I feel
like
the v8 version is a little bit knows heavier there's more push in the corners
I would make sense for the larger engine in front a
good precise steering I think it's a little bit twitchy
at high speeds depending on the road surface though some of my colleagues
didn't have much of a problem with it we all seem to agree that there could be
better
steering feedback but we've also said the same thing recently up the Porsche
Boxster and Cayman
which are in some ways comparable cars on
as for acceleration really really nice 5.1 seconds
to 60 miles per hour in the base version 4.8 seconds
in the f-type F and in this version: 4.2 seconds
the sixty miles an hour unfortunately at this time there's no manual transmission
know if possible will get one in the future
when you get instead is an eight-speed automatic it is not dual-clutch
automated manual
its conventional but it is nice and quick notta lotta lagana much trouble
with it regular drive mode
you can move the stick over and get a sport mode at home the lower gears
longer
and it also comes with paddle shifters as so many cars do these days here on
steering wheel
unfortunately they have a rubbery feel it is just not classy
when the best features in the f-type is the dynamic mode
what's great about this is it lets you set up your own profile
here in the dynamic I page
where you can either use factory or my setup where you choose
dynamic or regular for the engine response
the steering assist suspension level a
the way the transmission response as well and then all you have to do it
anytime
is flip that level 1 and above what you wanted to
now we've seen this in BMW in a couple other manufacturers but it's still
pretty rare
great happier like other Jaguars and Land Rover
the philosophy here for feature control is a simple touch
bring thankfully unlike some other recent Land Rovers
other real buttons flanking the screen instead of the
offensive panels I'd say the system is a little bit outdated
on an actual little slow to react which
a bit of a pain in the butt but otherwise it generally does the job
a one of the interesting things about this car like so many Jaguars is it has
lots of
theater cage VAT are he and the British style
up for example when you first get in the engine start/stop button
is flashing red like a heartbeat I
couple other things we turn the air on for example
the vents kinda rise up but there's no reason for this by the way you can see
over until it's all just
you know a surprise and delight as they call it also you know this is a little
feet
icon on the dial here when you push on it animation that shows you rotate this
way
to turn the CD to that Brittany I think the most useful and new features
motorized features at least is in the stick shift when you have it in
s mode onto left for the transmission sport mode
you go to push the park but many will not going to park instead a beeping at
you and tell you to move the
shift lever over it does it by itself
this brings us to what I consider the f-type a biggest shortcoming it's not
uncommon for a
small car like this that a small trunk I the problem here's
the seven cubic feet which sounds decent is actually strangely distributed
I I'm not saying you couldn't get a setup
valve problem here a few made a real big effort but it's not
terrific what you see is there's one deep well
that nothing up normal cycle finish that may be a backpack and everything else is
just kinda
short and wide within 60 something under their
so I it's a common issue a small cars but the shape itself
his definitely a problem here we're big fans of the Jaguar XK coupe and
convertible
but those little more touring cars them if they have four seats
on this thing on the other hand definitely the real deal
it is a blast to drive Jaguars been out of this game for a long time
really good to have him back