ONES WE FOUND
Thumping performance Stylish looks Sounds great So-so interior quality Poor infotainment Not cheap to run
The V6 S is quicker still (0-62mph in 4.8sec), while the V8 R will cover the same sprint in just 4.0sec, making it, like the range-topping, holdon-to-your-hat SVR, a true hot rod.
As a result, the F-type is great fun to drive, although it’s heavier than some of its rivals and occasionally feels it. However, it can still attack corners with gusto, because the steering is precise and there’s plenty of front-end grip.
The ride is certainly sports car firm but not overly bumpy, with the adaptive suspension, where fitted, helping to smooth out some of the larger bumps.
In rear-wheel-drive form, the V8 R can be a bit of a handful, especially in the wet. The introduction of four-wheel drive as standard on the V8 models and optional on the V6 S in 2015 tamed their unruliness and made them more reassuring to drive.
2014
Jaguar F-type 3.0 V6, 64,000 miles, £24,500
2016
Jaguar F-type 3.0 V6 S, 22,000 miles, £36,000
2018
Around £25,000 will get you into an early 335bhp V6 coupé. The V6 S starts at around £26,000, and the same money will get you a later example of the 2.0-litre car. An F-type R will require a budget of at least £32,000 and the rare SVR £55,000.
Insurance and servicing bills are likely to be large, and fuel economy isn’t a strong point, although officially the 2.0-litre model can do 31.2mpg. Expect less in real-world use, and worse still from the rest.
For cars first registered after April 2017, road tax will set you back £465 per year (including luxury car tax, because all F-types cost more than £40,000 when they were new) from years two to six, dropping to £145 thereafter. Even for earlier cars, on which road tax is based on CO2 emissions, the fees will be high.
WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR?
We’d look for a car that’s been serviced to schedule at a main dealer. Reported problems include differential leaks, noisy tappets and camchain tensioners and sticking exhaust valves on some models, as well as faulty seatbelt pretensioners, for which there was a recall in 2016. It’s worth checking that these have been fixed. Parts are generally plentiful but expensive.
The F-type has performed surprisingly well in our reliability surveys, although Jaguar as a brand ranked a lowly 26th out of 31 manufacturers in our most recent one.
Jaguar F-type 2.0 R-dynamic, 6000 miles, £34,999
WHICH ONE SHOULD I BUY?
Tempting though the V8 models are for their ferocious performance and thunderous soundtrack, their high running costs will rule them out for most. We’d go for a V6 S; it’s barely any pricier to buy than the entry-level V6 and provides the best balance of performance, driver enjoyment, comfort and running costs.