Jaguar F-Type 2018 Car Review

A turbocharged 4-cylinder engine sits alongside the supercharged V6 and V8 F-Type family. My initial thoughts were taken back to Ford with the eco-boost Mustang and whether I would appreciate the missing few cylinders. In fact this is the first time the British car maker has produced a sports car with fewer than six cylinders. 

It might be short in cylinders, but there’s certainly no shortage of power! If you want noise just push the loud button and the external exhaust sound is opened- best heard in an underground carpark building or tunnel. We tested R-Dynamic Special Edition 300PS model, which had a different body kit, fixed rear boot spoiler and a large central exhaust pipe (like a supercar!)

Equipped with a 10” In Control Touch Pro infotainment system, enhanced by British audio experts Meridian, this car has 10 speakers hidden somewhere inside. The infotainment has quite a few menu options, taking me a little longer than usual to figure how to add an address into the nav, and to find a home screen that has a bit of colour. The heated electric sport seats looked super thin, but provided some maximum comfort, trimmed in a mix of leather and suede fabric.

Jaguar says the F-Type Coupe has a boot that offers 407 litres of space, which the company suggests is enough for two sets of golf clubs. Although the size is reasonable, the shape of the boot doesn't make it especially easy to load up and the large glass screen means you mustn't risk overfilling it.

Thanks to the dark privacy glass that extends from the roof to tailgate, your groceries can sit on the small parcel shelf without too much fuss and the any valuables can be placed around the spare tyre. This car does have the smallest electric opening tailgate I have ever seen!

The car has a low, wide body stance but no so low that it scraped its belly in our carpark as others tend to. Once our rush hour traffic cleared, we hit the backroads for a gratifying experience. The brakes felt super positive (not touchy or hesitant), while the suspension held the car firmly into the corners. Engine backfires on the high rev gear changes induced an ear to ear grin even if my passenger (wife) didn’t think it was a cool feature.

In many ways, the entry-level 2.0-litre F-Type is the best of all. Compared to the bigger-engined models, it’s lighter, more responsive and cheaper both to buy and run. So, like all the best sports cars, the pleasure of driving the F-Type can far outweigh the pain of paying for it. 

Safety systems

• Electronic Brake Force Distribution
• Front and side Airbags
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Blind Spot Assist
• Reverse camera
• Lane Keep/Departure warning system
• Pedestrian Contact Sensing™- Automatically Deployable Bonnet System