Jaguar F-Type
We find out if heavy update to Jag’s two-seater can see it get the better of its long-time rival from Stuttgart, the Porsche 911
MODELTESTED:Jaguar F-Type P450 AWD First Edition Coupé
PRICE: £80,890 ENGINE: 5.0-litre supercharged V8, 444bhp
THIS updated P450 is an affordable way into one of the most characterful V8-engined sports cars around, with prices starting from £69,990. This rises to a chunkier £80,890 for this AWD First Edition model, yet that still undercuts the Porsche by quite some margin – but is that price gap obvious?
Design & engineering score 4.0
WHILE the F-Type has been fairly extensively updated, it’s not an all-new model like the ‘992’ Porsche 911 was last year. The Jag is still based on the same aluminium D6a platform, with double wishbones all round, and adaptive dampers as standard on this P450 AWD First Edition.
The name signifies the car’s power output, which stands at 444bhp. The 5.0-litre supercharged V8 also kicks out 580Nm of torque, so while the former is identical to the 911, highlighting these two cars as a natural pairing, the later is actually 50Nm more. Remember, though, that despite its use of aluminium, the F-Type does weigh 178kg more than the Porsche.
Power is sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission and there’s an electronic active differential with torque vectoring by braking at the rear to help improve agility.
Jaguar says the dynamics have been “tuned for exploitable performance and driver engagement”, which comes from suspension updates, a recalibrated steering set-up, a new subframe and tweaks to the active electronic differential.
What’s immediately more noticeable are the design differences. The headlights are now wide and shallow, there’s a new bonnet with cooling vents plus a revised front bumper and grille, too. This is the biggest visual change, although the tail-lights are now squarer in their design, and there are a few more pronounced, squared-off edges to the body panels. V8 cars retain their signature quad exhaust pipes.
Inside, the cabin design is familiar, with the same driver-focused environment sectioned off by a big grab handle, but all versions now get a 12.3-inch TFT dashboard display, which lifts the feel.
It gets Jag’s latest infotainment with improved smartphone connectivity, too, while First Edition models (based on R-Dynamic spec) have plenty of equipment, including leather sports seats, cruise and climate control, sat-nav and LED lights. Quality is fine, but still not at the Porsche’s level, because some of the plastics still don’t justify the price tag.
Driving score 4.3
WHAT does justify the cost is the engine. There are a few caveats to this, which we’ll come onto, but Jaguar’s venerable supercharged V8 is oozing with personality. Start it up and it settles from its initial busy idle to a tugboat-like whump-whump-whump noise, reminding you of the performance potential.
The switchable active exhaust now has a Quiet Start function so you don’t deafen your neighbours in the mornings, but the new F-Type has a petrol particulate filter, like all modern cars, and while the signature V8 bellow is present on full throttle, it’s certainly not as loud as before.
Also the crackles on the overrun are less effervescent than the barrage of rumbling and
Performance Supercharged V8 engine powers the Jaguar from 0-60mph in 4.1 seconds, although the Porsche did it in 3.2 seconds