Friday 24th March 2017

Jaguar F-Type S Coupe: PH Fleet

Want a limited edition and highly exclusive F-Type on the cheap? Just choose the manual!

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From the 911 R to the Golf GTI Clubsport S people seem to get very het up about the limited availability and exclusivity of special edition cars. To which I say just look at the 'regular' spec sheet and use a bit of creativity - you could end up with something truly unique!

So it would seem with my combination of options for the PH F-Type. Chatting with Jaguar's new PR man it turns out he previously worked on the F-Type programme. Suffice it to say he knows the car inside out - indeed he bought one himself with his own money! Much geekery ensued and he reckons Firesand is very rare on non-SVR cars. The carbon roof? Even more unusual but perhaps not surprising given it costs £2,550 for little more than pose value. My indulgence, at Jaguar's expense. Cough. That combination on a manual though? Given just two per cent of F-Type sales are stick that makes 'mine' a very, very special car! And it was a configurator click away. Well, that and £71,880.

Our man was concerned to hear about the carpet coming away from where it tucks under the transmission tunnel trim. His response this is a 'global fix' suggests I'm not the first and it'll get sorted as and when I take it in. Ditto the wandering stitching on the shifter boot. He also had a proposed solution to the intermittent cruise control error I'll report back on once I've had a chance to try it out.

Now over to Nikolai, who has been enjoying the car in a most Jaguar-appropriate manner...

"It was my turn to experience the GT capabilities of the F-Type on a trip down to Goodwood for the 75th Members' Meeting," he writes. "The morning could have led to an apologetic phone call to Dan having to pass through the two-metre width restrictors getting out of London. Normally these aren't too intimidating but in a car that is 1,923mm wide (with mirrors closed) there were some sphincter clenching moments. Safely onto the A3 there was a pleasing coincidence when I joined up with a British Racing Green V8 cabriolet and an Indus Silver V6 Coupe en-route. Hindhead Tunnel was a good chance to enjoy the louder exhaust setting in Dynamic mode too!

"Living with the F-Type day-to-day is something that needs getting used to, the lack of visibility meaning you feel cocooned but a little remote from the outside world. Not always ideal. Those expensive Performance Seats are pretty snug, look good and I can get over the lack of heating elements especially as spring is here. One annoying oddity is the fact only height and recline are power operated - back and forth adjustment is manual. First world issue I realise but day-to-day I also found the set belt lodges into the epaulette and won't dislodge until the belt is manually redirected."

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FACT SHEET
Car: Jaguar F-Type S Coupe
Run by: Dan, with help from Nikolai this month!
On fleet since: October 2016
Mileage: 10,054
List price new: £71,880 (Basic list of £60,775 plus Firesand Orange paint £715; Jet leather facings and Firesand stitch £0; Jet/Firesand Interior £0; Dark Hex Aluminium centre console £0, 20-inch Cyclone wheels in black £1,785; High Performance Brake System with black calipers £310; Visibility Pack inc. heated windscreen and Auto High Beam Assist £1,100; Premium Leather Interior with Performance Seats £2,495; Parking Pack inc. front parking sensors and rear view camera £515; illuminated metal treadplates with Jaguar script £255; Meridian 770W Digital Surround Sound System £1,380 and Carbon Fibre Roof £2,550)
Last month at a glance: Past the 10,000 mile mark and that noise is still invigorating

Previous reports:
If PH built F-Type Coupes...
Spec blushes averted with de-chroming
Hang on, another spec cock up?
Jaguar + bike = happy Dan
Back to driving school in the F-Type

[em177]

"Given just two per cent of F-Type sales are stick"

What a crazy stat.

[kambites]

Makes you realise why so few manufacturers are bothering with manual gearboxes these days.

[fatboy b]

kambites said:

Makes you realise why so few manufacturers are bothering with manual gearboxes these days.

Indeed - the 8sp quick shift on the F-type (and in my XFR-S) all but obsoletes a manual.

[After_Shock]

Had a V8 R AWD for 8 days earlier this month in the UK, priced it up on the configurator and came out at 99,390 GBP, lovely noise but what a dull thing to drive.

Read several reviews which give the AWD V8 4.5/5 and I genuinely cant see why.

It was ridiculously quick, half economical, made a lovely noise and after than im stuck for anything great to say about it.

Virtually no fun with the speed on offer (RWD would have been hilarious im sure) interior im sorry is not passable for a 100k or anywhere near priced car, its mostly too wide for the UK once you are off main roads, steering feel and feedback not great, infotainment had too many glitches and is vastly out of date for basics like graphics and response times.

Sorry to say it was a let down. Ran a 2016 C63 AMG coupe in December for a week and that in pretty much every area happened to be a better car, not a direct competitor by any means but better and much cheaper.

Not here to bash the Jag at all as im all for British cars but just passing on my personal findings.

[W124]

I've driven quite a few F-types. Deliver them from time to time and often over pretty big distances. They are lovely looking things but, to drive, they always feel like a bit of a lash-up. Which, I suppose, they kind of are. And, to me at least, the ceaseless noise seems just a bit crass.

[DoubleD]

fatboy b said:

Indeed - the 8sp quick shift on the F-type (and in my XFR-S) all but obsoletes a manual.

Im glad that they still offer a manual version. If i was in the market for a car like this I would only want a manual and not an automatic. For me automatics are great when you are stuck in traffic, but manuals are great for when you want to have fun.

[fatboy b]

DoubleD said:

fatboy b said:

Indeed - the 8sp quick shift on the F-type (and in my XFR-S) all but obsoletes a manual.

Im glad that they still offer a manual version. If i was in the market for a car like this I would only want a manual and not an automatic. For me automatics are great when you are stuck in traffic, but manuals are great for when you want to have fun.

Not driven a quick shift then

More fun than a manual IMO.

Best of all worlds. D for relaxing. S for fun. Paddles for quick shift mega fun.

Edited by fatboy b on Friday 24th March 19:47

[DoubleD]

fatboy b said:

DoubleD said:

fatboy b said:

Indeed - the 8sp quick shift on the F-type (and in my XFR-S) all but obsoletes a manual.

Im glad that they still offer a manual version. If i was in the market for a car like this I would only want a manual and not an automatic. For me automatics are great when you are stuck in traffic, but manuals are great for when you want to have fun.

Not driven a quick shift then

More fun than a manual IMO.

Best of all worlds. D for relaxing. S for fun. Paddles for quick shift mega fun.

Edited by fatboy b on Friday 24th March 19:47

Ive driven quite a few automatics like DSGs and BMW 8 speeds. I find them all boring. But hey we are all different.

[FN2TypeR]

fatboy b said:

DoubleD said:

fatboy b said:

Indeed - the 8sp quick shift on the F-type (and in my XFR-S) all but obsoletes a manual.

Im glad that they still offer a manual version. If i was in the market for a car like this I would only want a manual and not an automatic. For me automatics are great when you are stuck in traffic, but manuals are great for when you want to have fun.

Not driven a quick shift then

More fun than a manual IMO.

Best of all worlds. D for relaxing. S for fun. Paddles for quick shift mega fun.

Edited by fatboy b on Friday 24th March 19:47

Different folks for different strokes but in a "fun" car I'd want a manual every time - but I see these as more of a GT/cruiser type motor so an auto would suit it down to the ground and I'd be happy with that if I were to own one.

[kambites]

The clutch pedal is a fair chunk of the fun for me. All things being equal, I probably wouldn't buy another manual family car but I wouldn't buy an automatic sports car.

[After_Shock]

DoubleD said:

Ive driven quite a few automatics like DSGs and BMW 8 speeds. I find them all boring. But hey we are all different.

Agreed, unfortunately I now live in country which auto is the mainstay and trying to get a manual let alone sell one later are both disasters.

Driven all sorts of autos in everything from crappy hatches to Mclarens and genuinely cant say ive driven one that does what I want when I want it, but it is what it is.

Hoping they launch the Focus RS so I can finally get something with a clutch pedal again!!

[r1monkey]

the only problem i can see with the manual is that the road tax is £500 versus £290 for a car with the same engine. Automatic is only good for people that use the jag to commute into
a city every day ,which is not really why you should buy a performance car in the first place.
I would have the manual over the auto ,but £200 per year more to use the same car on the same knackered roads would stick in my throat.

[Robert-nszl1]

Drove a manual (gen 2) 991 Carrera S yesterday, and it was an amazing combination of new car ability and old school driving. Sat in a V8 F type R and agree with a previous poster- just not special enough. But the Porsche? Beautiful interior, great drive, and that manual box. And turbo charging? Well it is like no other turbo charged car I have ever driven. You very occasionally hear the whoosh but if it has lag I didn't notice. Revs to 7k, and sounds like a 911 should, but with much better mid range. I was deeply sceptical having owned 996s and 997s before but just drive it. And the F Type? Too wide, boring gearbox, but great sound. By all means yawn but the 911 is just a way better car. And with that manual box, will be very rare. Yes I bought it.

[Goofnik]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I believe from 2012 to 2016, the take-rate for manual transmissions in Porsche sports cars (where choice of transmission is offered) has gone from 25% to 10%.

[fatboy b]

r1monkey said:

Automatic is only good for people that use the jag to commute into
a city every day ,which is not really why you should buy a performance car in the first place.

Incorrect.

It's personal choice, and nothing to do with the journey.