Jaguar F-Type V6 S Review

Take a peek inside the Jaguar F-Type from the outside and you'll see a cabin with massive elements and aggressive details. The way in which the various areas are joined inspires force, as if the cabin was inviting you to a little boxing session.

Only the Master and his protégé will be allowed to find out that the aforementioned impression is only partially true. Once you spend some time together, the Jaguar F-Type starts to show its secondary nature, that of a Grand Tourer.

Before we begin explaining why you can use the Jaguar F-Type for long trips, we have to mention that the optional Performance Seats on our tester are exactly fit for this purpose. They seem to be to firm in the lumbar area, no matter what we did with the buttons. We'd take the standard Sport Seats instead.

Getting back to the bright side of this story, the first hint comes from the roof, which is up there with the big boys like the Bentley Continental GTC and the Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster. Not only does it provide serious soundproofing and sun insulation, but it can go up or down in as little as 12 seconds. The process, which can take place at up to 30 mph (50 km/h) feels surprisingly effortless.

And when the roof is down, the F-Type provides quite a bit of wind protection, reducing your hairdressing costs.

Jaguar got it right with the soundproofing of the car altogether – while the vehicle allows you to feel its speed at all times, no unwanted noise is allowed to enter the cabin.

Since they've only had two persons to save, the interior is roomy, with the cramped feeling from the Jaguar XK being a thing of the past. There are also plenty of storage spaces, but the interior is missing a key area, as we've been left without a rear shelf.

This means you can't bring a single important item inside the car, not even your female companion's purse. Oh and the girls have also asked us to warn you of the mirror-less sun visors.

There was one element that impressed them though and that is the set of center dashboard air vents. These rise from the dash in what has become a typical manner for modern Jaguars, but now the whole assembly is lifted whenever the driver or the climate control system requires the move.

Body and Chassis

Jaguar's F-Type features an all-aluminum structure. The structural alloy is an all-new development, with the various bits being riveted and bonded instead of welded.

Jaguar developed a special alloy for the body panels, with aesthetics being the goal here. Special attention was paid top the clam shell hood. This is a one-piece stamping that requires a 1,000-ton press to be produced.

You can forget all these details anyway, as the hood itself will remind you of how special it is. You'll get to feel this the first time you want to close it – performing this operation on your own will require quite a bit of concentration, as you have to twist yourself a bit in order to do it properly and without embarrassing yourself.

In addition, Jaguar used polymers for the structures found under the boot lid and the sills, all with the aim of reducing weight. This makes it impossible to understand how the finished product surpasses 3,550 lbs (1,600 kg) in V6 form. Luckily, the sharpness of the vehicle means you don't feel the weight on the road.

Powertrain

We've already met the 3.0-liter supercharged six-cylinder unit on the standard F-Type on the 2013 XF and XJ sedans. The unit allows the driver to control 340 HP at 6,500 rpm and 332 lb-ft (450 Nm) of torque between 3,500 and 5,000 rpm. The F-Type V6 S delivers 380 HP at 6,500 rpm and a peak torque of 460 Nm (339 lb-ft) over the aforementioned rev band.

The V6 unit is based on the 5.0-liter supercharged V8, which is also present on the F-Type, albeit slightly downtuned compared to the XKR. Here the V8 churns out 495 HP and a meaty 461 lb-ft (625 Nm) of torque. The torque band is even broader than in the case of the V6 units, spreading from 2,500 to 5,500 rpm.

Jaguar has tweaked ZF's eight-speed transmission for the F-Type. The big trick here is the Quickshift system: once you're in second gear, a locking clutch bypasses the torque converter. This means that there's a direct mechanical connection between the engine and the rear axle.

The transmission has 25 programs to offer, switching between these according to the driving conditions. For example, it can detect when you're cornering and hold on to a certain gear so that it doesn't upset the handling balance.

Once the power passes the ZF gearbox, it's time for the rear diff to work its magic. While the entry-level V6 comes with an open differential, the V6 features a mechanical limited slip differential. The V8 S brings the real treat, the active electronic controlled diff. This is the same type of setup you get in an XKR for example and it employs an electric motor that commands a multi-plate clutch in order to split the torque between the rear wheels.

Road Connection

This Jaguar is suspended on aluminum double wishbones at both ends, with the front suspension mounting points offering extra stiffness.

The F-Type S and V8 S come with adaptive dampers. The system keeps an eye on the car's movements, as well as on the driver's inputs and can adjust the damping rates up to five hundred times per second.

Stopping Power

As the muscles under the F-Type's hood grow stronger, so does the braking hardware. It all starts with the V6 version's system, which features 13.9-inch (354mm) front and 12.8-inch (325mm) rear brake discs. The V6 S makes use of 15-inch (380mm) brake discs, while the V8 S displays 15-inch (380mm) front and 14.8-inch (376mm) rear rotors. By the way, these are the largest brakes to be included in the standard features of a production Jaguar.

We know this seems a bit superficial, but we couldn't help start by telling you that you can't have wood trim on this Jaguar. You do get to make choices, but these include things like various types of metals.

We are full of character flaws these days, as we are also needy – we really, really want you to opt for the switchable active sports exhaust. All S models come with butterfly valves in the exhaust, but ticking this option means you no longer have to wait for the Dynamic mode to release the engine's glorious fury.

Speaking of the Dynamic mode, you should also opt for the configurable one, which allows you to tune individual sub-systems, such as the engine, gearbox, suspension and steering.

You'll probably want to choose a few other extra items like the wind deflector and you'll be done.

And if is tunes you're after, you should know that the F-Type lets you choose between two Meridian sound systems. The first comes with ten speakers, delivering 380 watts of power. The second only adds two speakers, but boosts the output to a coffee-stirring 770 watts.

As for the infotainment, Jaguar has sadly kept the Denso system, which isn't exactly the most pleasant thing to operate. Let's take the navigation for example – we haven't seen a delay so noticeable ever since we tried to convince the office's pet cat to drive and R/C car.

Jaguar sees Porsche as its main competitor for the F-Type, but as far as this chapter is concerned, the two couldn't be more different. The bad side is that the Jaguar doesn't reach the same level of complexity as the Porsche, but hey, at least things don't have to be insanely complicated like in the case of the German.

Confident braking. A sharp response. Good feedback. These are all assets of the Jaguar F-Type that assist the driver in keeping things under control. But let’s not fool ourselves. This is a car that likes to be manhandled at all times, it’s a brute – not exactly the kind of driving experience that determines you to handle things smoothly.

Nevertheless, the Jaguar F-Type comes with a fair amount of safety features, starting meticulously with the pedestrian protection. In the unfortunate event of an impact with a pedestrian, the hood pops up, so that the head doesn't hit the hard points underneath. Jaguar brags that this also improves the protection offered to the occupants of the car.

Speaking of the people inside the Jaguar F-Type, they benefit from active safety systems such as a high beam assistant. This Jag also has your back covered, albeit if you choose the right options – there's a Blind Spot Monitoring System, as well as a Reverse Traffic Detection function. The latter relies on a radar to warn you about vehicles that stand in your way while reversing.

In terms of passive safety, the F-Type Jaguar comes with an average two plus two airbag scheme. It also make use of just-as-average rollover protection bars.

As for an official safety rating, nobody’s managed to convince an F-Type to submit itself to such tests so far.

Jaguar's had a lot to say with the F-Type. To them, this is much more than a two-seater sports car, which is why they've put all their eggs into this basket.

The result is a multicolored personality that you can't help but enjoy. We drove the V6 S model and came to a conclusion that we rarely arrive at: you don't need the V8. If you want to drive this thing every day, this is the model to have.

Jaguar's tale is a story you'll want to hear, because it knows how to transform your life behind the wheel. This is an entertaining car, an extrovert party starter, which makes up the best side of it.

The 2014 Jaguar F-Type is fast and sharp. Alas, if you take it to the limit you won't find all that much precision. This is a car that likes to be whipped and put in a leash when driven fast.

Fortunately, there's more to the Jaguar F-Type than just its sporting side, as this also has plenty of GT features hidden all around. Its nicely-sorted interior and brilliant top play an important role here.

The character of the Jaguar F-Type can be a bit tricky to asses though and this is its worst side. It's very easy to be mean and say that this car has many brilliant parts but seems to lack a strong identity, an ultimate bond between these parts that would make it become an icon like the E-Type.

But let's not get overly picky here. We've seen many cases where companies just put some LEDs over their... old LEDs and called it a day, so we definitely prefer this all-fresh approach. By the way, even though Jaguar tried to keep the F-Type from cannibalizing the XK, the former will steal some customers from the aging GT.

You can have an F-Type starting from $69,000, while an F-Type S like the one we drove will set you back at least $81,000. Those looking for V8 power should be prepared to spend $92,000.In Europe, the F-Type range starts at EUR73,400, with the V6 S having a price of EUR84,900. As for the V8 S model, this comes with a starting price of EUR99.900. The prices include 19 percent VAT.

Jaguar has already promised its model range will explode in the future. We're expecting to see some stripped-out F-Type editions, which will probably go much deeper than disposing of those electrically-controlled air vents on the dash. All-wheel drive is also a possibility, but nothing's been confirmed. Jaguar will basically follow Porsche's way with the 911, offering us the F-Type in all sorts of flavors just to make sure there's one for every taste.

By the way, have you seen the patent drawings for the F-Type Coupe that Jaguar pretends to know nothing about?